Pet Peeve

I hear a lot of people criticize what they describe as Bush's theory of the "unitary executive." What they usually seem to mean is Bush's theory (I say "Bush's theory" but of course, I mean his handlers' theory, since he is clinically retarded*) that the executive has a constitutional right not merely to discharge his Article I duties without limitation, but that any act by any other branch that arguably complicates that effort is unconstitutional, even if it is plainly a core function of that branch (like, say, hearing habeas appeals from unlimited incarceration, or oversight). But that's not quite the theory of the unitary executive -- I'm not sure what that is, the theory of the imperial presidency, I guess. Strictly speaking, the unitary executive is the theory that any one who discharges an executive function is someone that is directly accountable to, and can be fired by, the President. I suspect it was raised from obscurity as a principled objection to the growth of independent agencies into political significance when Nixon tried to fire the special prosecutors. Bush embraces this theory, of course, and it is quite breathtaking, but its only the tiniest bit of his assault on separation of powers. And by "his" of couse, I mean his handlers.

* Shitstorm fully supports the complete integration of the clinically retarded into the fabric of American society, and encourages readers to support all measures and organizations that promote their autonomy and well-being. Please forgive the ghetto-ass* cut and paste link. http://www1.nmha.org/fund/support/donate_now.cfm

*Shitstorm fully supports the complete integration of the American inner-cities into the fabric of American life, and encourages all readers to support all measures and organizations that promote the improvement of economically depressed regions of our fucked up* country. http://partners.guidestar.org/controller/searchResults.gs?action_donateReport=1&partner=networkforgood&ein=52-0880375

* Shitstorm fully supports the complete integration of the fucked-up into American life, and in particular, their right to blog. www.flingerstorm.blogspot.com

UPDATES
Heh, turns out Presidential powers arise from Article II, not Article I. Heh... Yeah... Heh.