Brett Stephens on the Executive Branch Declaring War: It’s Democratic Politics At Its Worst and Dumbest
EXCERPT:
STEPHENS: "This is in my view, democratic politics at its worst and frankly at its dumbest. Clinton attacked Iraq multiple times in bombings and strikes. President Bush Sr. invaded Panama. This is part of a normal give and take in trying to define a president’s constitutional authority to wage war, at least to conduct military actions on a relatively small scale. This is not the question of North Korea. We’re talking about Syria, which is busy continuing to gas its own people. What I fear is there’s kind of a political muddying of the waters here, because on the one hand, we want to have a serious discussion about what the Trump Administration may or may not have done vis-à-vis the Russians. That’s a genuinely worrying thing. The idea that the executive branch of government is having a conversation with itself attempting to define the scope of presidential authority strikes me as totally normal executive office politics. And so saying this is a secret memo, a lot of stuff that happens in the executive is and needs to be secret. That was part of Hamilton and Madison’s design for the office. so sort of suggesting that there’s something really dark and amiss here I think plays into the White House's hand. Maybe they should just release the memo and say, 'Here is your conspiracy.'"
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