Inside the bunker -- The fall of the imperial presidency and the rise of Dick Cheney : 1789-1976 -- "A cabal of zealots" : 1977-2000 -- The agenda -- "Behind closed doors" : secrecy I -- The unleashing : laws and treaties I -- "A hollow shell" : secrecy II -- The perseverance and the purge : laws and treaties II -- The torture ban -- Power of the pen : signing statements -- "To say what the law is" : the Supreme Court -- Discipline and control : the Executive Branch -- The politics of presidential power.
Summary:
This book lays bare a hidden agenda three decades in the making, one that links warrantless wiretapping and Bush's judicial nominees, torture and Cheney's energy task force, the faith-based initiative and the imprisonment of citizens without trial. In 1789, the Founders devised a system of checks and balances to keep kingly powers out of the hands of presidents. But in the 1970s and 80s, a faction of Republicans, outraged by the weakening of the presidency after Watergate and Vietnam, abandoned the traditional conservative suspicion of concentrated government power. These men hatched a plot that would allow the White House to wield enormous powers, operating behind a veil of secrecy and unchecked by Congress or the courts. Today's administration is bringing this project to fruition.--From publisher description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.