A crony sent me this excerpt from a speech Sen. Leahy gave in Georgetown today. Look, I understand that the Senator is only trying to explain why he's voting against Alito, but shouldn't even political attacks be tethered in some way to reality? Leahy said, speaking of wiretaps, among other things:
"This is an extraordinary era of governmental intrusion into the lives ordinary, average Americans," Mr. Leahy said. "It's been left to the Supreme Court to restore a balance."
"Left to the Supreme Court?" What's Congress for? Does he really think the Court is the most effective check on executive power? Has he heard of purse strings? I am tired of legislators on any side of the aisle and at all levels of government who refuse to tackle tough problems, abdicating decision-making to the Courts. That's one area where poor, beknighted Harriet Miers was exactly right. Cowardly legislators create a leadership vacuum that it's only too tempting for judges to try to fill.
Incidentally, the main thing Leahy was complaining about was the fact that when the President signed the anti-torture bill, he also issued a "signing statement,"
indicating the executive branch would construe the measure "in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the president to supervise the unitary executive branch and as commander in chief and consistent with the constitutional limitations on the judicial power."
I didn't know that, but I'm glad. Here's the full story.
