John W. Whitehead’s prose is in demand. Whitehead, founder and president of the Rutherford Institute (and recent C-VILLE cover boy), has provided written testimony to the Senate Constitutional Subcommittee about the need to “Restore the Rule of Law,” which he feels has been weakened under the Bush presidency.
The main focus of Whitehead’s testimony was the seeming failure of the constitutional system of checks and balances in the Bush presidency. “The Framers were deeply devoted to securing a government committed to equal distribution of power,” wrote Whitehead. “Fresh in their minds was the oppressive colonial rule of the British Empire. If power was not shared and checked, a dictatorship would arise.”
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John Whitehead rocked the cover of C-VILLE before sending testimony to a Senate subcommittee. |
Whitehead finds constitutional abuses everywhere from the Patriot Act to Guantanamo Bay. “The structure of the Constitution fails to support George Bush’s contention that the President has unfettered wartime powers,” Whitehead wrote. “The Language of the Constitution makes the President commander-in-chief. However, it does not allow him to bypass domestic and foreign law.”
He did more than criticize, though, and actually suggested several strong methods for rehabbing the rule of law. “If there is any hope for restoring the rule of the law, it must begin with Congress.” He also believes that the American public must make the effort to increase our knowledge of our constitutional rights, our history and our government. “Fear, apathy, and escapism will not carry the day,” wrote Whitehead, echoing the theme of his latest book, The Change Manifesto, which C-VILLE excerpted earlier this month. “It is within our power to attempt (in a nonviolent way) to make a difference.”