United Liberty

In case you missed it, George Will wrote a great column on December 21, titled “The Final Blow Against Congress” in which he shows how superfluous Congress has become in the age of presidents who prefer to govern without constraint of any sort.

Of course, our Founding Fathers wanted Congress to be the strongest branch of government—that’s why they gave them the “power of the purse” (the right to coin money, raise taxes, and spend money).

Will condemned President Bush for completely snubbing the clear will of Congress in rejecting the “Big 3” auto-manufacturer’s bailout. Not only did President Bush ignore Congress’s authority, but he thought their $14 billion proposal was too skimpy. So he authorized $17 billion from the $700 billion bailout package previously passed by Congress to be spent on the failing US auto industry.

This is an outrageous insult to the Constitution, but President Bush doesn’t exactly have the best reputation for letting the Constitution interfere with his agenda. Even the RNC is considering a resolution this month denouncing the President’s bailout proposals. If the Republican Party is to survive the Bush Presidency, that resolution needs to pass by a wide margin.

The sad fact is that, considering President Bush’s track record on spending and many other issues, incoming President Obama will have his work cut out for him to prove that he’s more liberal than Bush! But something tells me he’s up to the challenge…