Please stand up to Obama
During the last eight years, Republicans set a dangerous precedent for America: side with your party's president even if he is wrong.
I do not view former President Bush as a malicious leader who desired to destroy freedom, but I think he overstepped his constitutional bounds.
I don't have the expertise to give a definitive answer as to whether the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program was constitutional, but what worries me is that so many congressional Republicans simply stood by while Bush stripped power from them and gave it to himself.
Regardless of whether the wiretapping violated the Constitution, it is clear that the program violated laws requiring the president to report intelligence findings to Congress.
Bush's unprecedented overuse of signing statements was also troubling. Although it never caused great harm, Bush set a precedent that put us on a slippery slope.
He basically told Congress, "I don't have to listen to you," and got away with this until 2006, when Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., introduced legislation that would invalidate signing statements. Unfortunately, the bill never made it through Congress.
Many Republicans in Congress stood by when Bush issued Executive Order 13233, which restricted access to the presidential records of former presidents.
The order revoked Reagan's executive order designed to increase transparency in government. Although a bipartisan bill was drafted to override Bush's order, it ultimately was blocked by Republicans in the Senate.
So far, President Obama has shown that he will increase government transparency. He overturned Executive Order 13233, reinstating Reagan's original executive order.
While Obama has so far shown that he will respect the Constitution and the powers vested in Congress, the precedent set during the last eight years is still a dangerous one.
Partisan politics can be a very dangerous thing for America and there is a severe problem when party loyalty trumps the Constitution.
When Republicans in Congress failed to stand up to the president, they opened the door for a war that could last for decades. It is not a war with soldiers and guns, but rather it is a war of responsibility.
While many view politics as a complicated and sophisticated field of study, politics can also be simplified to the actions of a child with a 'he started it' mentality. Many Democrats are angry with the actions that Bush got away with, and the last thing America needs is for Democrats to pull the 'well, Bush got away with it' card sometime down the road.
We have already seen this happen with the Minnesota Senate race. Some have argued that since Bush "stole" the 2000 election, Al Franken deserves to be elected as senator.When politics becomes a back-and-forth revenge game, America is in for some serious trouble.
Next time, it won't just be signing statements; it will be one step further. As each party continues to take it one step further, Americans lose more freedoms.
Bush's presidency is over, and both parties need to move on. The focus must be on what is best for America, not revenge on political opponents.
Nathan Inks is chairman of the College Republicans. He can be reached at n.d.inks@gmail.com.
