McCain and the “Unitary Executive”
By Robert Parry
The Consortium News, via Truthout
Tuesday 13 May 2008
If John McCain wins the presidency and gets to appoint one or more U.S. Supreme Court justices, America’s 220-year experiment as a democratic Republic living under the principle that no man is above the law may come to an end.
To put the matter differently, if a President McCain replaces one of the moderate justices with another Samuel Alito as McCain has vowed to do then Justice Department lawyer John Yoos extreme vision of an all-powerful Executive could well become the new law of the land.
On May 6 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during a speech aimed at appeasing conservatives, McCain promised to appoint justices in the mold of George W. Bushs selections, Justice Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts, expanding the courts right-wing faction that also includes Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Continue Reading »