by Nomad
Former vice president Cheney must be watching in dismay as the Republicans in Congress are tearing apart a doctrine that he has spent his whole life promoting.
The now-infamous letter of the 47 Senators may not be treasonous although some on the Left may think so. The unsolicited advice to the Iranians may not be a violation of the Logan Act and some lawyers might disagreed.
Nevertheless, in one aspect, there is something distinctly peculiar about what Congress did and has been doing since President Obama took office.
This new activism is a reversal of policy that has been the long standing hallmark of conservative principles. That principle is known as the Unitary Executive Theory and one of its chief promoters has always been former Vice president Dick Cheney.
According to this doctrine, all executive authority must be in the President’s hands, "without exception." The President and other members of the executive branch have special rights and privileges that come with the office. And the legislative branch, according to the proponents, has no authority to question presidential power. The president as the head of state and that preeminence required Congress to recognize its lesser position.
