War and the Rogue Presidency

Overview

The Office of the President of the U.S. isn\u2019t what it used to be—it has morphed into an overgrown beast. So says presidential scholar Ivan Eland in his landmark new book War and the Rogue Presidency: Restoring the Republic after Congressional Failure.The presidency no longer simply enforces the laws passed by Congress but literally dominates American political life. Its vast bureaucracy is flush with cash and wields powers never authorized by the Framers. But who do we have to thank for this distortion of the Constitution? Congress.The presidency, says Eland, isn\u2019t inherently imperial. It\u2019s contingently imperial. Particularly when wars loom and Congress refuses to forestall our engagement in them—with inevitable consequences. Armed conflict bloats armies and emboldens the commanders-in-chief who wield them. Presidents, for instance, now unilaterally start wars and kill Americans (and others) overseas without due process.But wars also lead to massive domestic government interference. Income tax, estate tax, gas taxes, the IRS, public housing, rent control, inflationary money printing, financial bailouts—all have their origins in wartimeThe solution is clear. Congress, says Eland, simply must refuse to fund the undeclared wars presidents seem bent on waging. Yet to do that Congress must first implement reforms detailed in this book: weaken the committee structure; eliminate the seniority system, outlaw covert destabilization of foreign governments, and back federal courts seeking to limit the national security state—and many more.In sum, liberals, conservatives, independents—anybody concerned for personal liberties and good governance—should read this pathbreaking book and grapple with its implications. For they are wide-ranging and entail staggering consequences for a free people.Ivan Eland\u2019s book Answers Questions such as:? Why has the Executive been able to become the dominant branch of government since World War II—and how has that aggrandizement accelerated during the terms of recent presidents?? Is there anything we can do to restore the Constitution\u2019s original balance of power among the three branches? Or is the slide into Executive tyranny inevitable?? Attempts have been made in the past at restoring Congress as the first branch of Government. Why did they fail?? Must we just accept that complex modern societies must have large administrative states with dominant presidents—constrained only by popular opinion and periodic elections?? What reforms must Congress enact—to its own procedures and for the nation at large—to restore balance to our government and ensure protection of personal liberties and meaningful nation

Reviews

"Since World War II and then with the post-9/11 'War on Terror,' the enormous expansion of presidential powers to wage permanent wars around the world has had ruinous effects on U.S. foreign policy and the liberties and security of both Americans and people worldwide. Ivan Eland's superb book War and the Rogue Presidency could not be more timely in examining in depth the history of the congressional-executive tug-of-war over U.S. security policy, how the imperial presidency has created and perpetuated major defense and foreign policy failures, why reclaiming congressional oversight is essential, and what specific measures can and should be adopted to restore an effective national defense and constitutional liberties. I highly recommend War and the Rogue Presidency for anyone." —Daniel Ellsberg, author, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers and The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner "War and the Rogue Presidency is a fascinating history of the relationship between wars and the rise of the imperial presidency. If war is the mother of Big Government, it is also mother to presidents who used their expanded powers in ways exceeding the limits envisioned by America's Founders. The solution, Eland argues, is for Congress to restore its authority and restrain the 'creeping despotism' that has led to unbridled presidential power. Eland provides concrete steps Congress may—and should—take to keep presidents from going 'rogue.' Highly recommended!" —Jonathan J. Bean, Professor of History, Southern Illinois University "In War and the Rogue Presidency Ivan Eland chronicles the rise of the imperial presidency with great insight. But does he have a solution? It's worth pondering." —Mike M. Moore, former Editor, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; author, Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance "In the well-written and thought-provoking book, War and the Rogue Presidency, Ivan Eland convincingly demonstrates that the expanding power of the executive branch, which has resulted in the creation of the imperial presidency, is a result of our increasing involvement in foreign wars. A must read for those concerned about the decline of the checks and balances envisioned by our Founding Fathers." —Lawrence J. Korb, former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense; Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; former Senior Fellow and Director of National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations "Ivan Eland's learned and balanced book, War and the Rogue Presidency, identifies war as one of the chief threats to the Republic, whether we win or lose, given the effect of war on presidential power. Few subjects are worthy of greater public debate." —Richard Shenkman, Founder, History News Network, George Washington University "The seemingly permanent mobilization of American society since the Second World War to manage global security has produced a bloated, intrusive, and increasingly imperial and unresponsive federal government. In his book War and the Rogue Presidency, Ivan Eland sees clearly the danger to our freedom and outlines the Congressional and other reforms needed to find the path back." —Harvey M. Sapolsky, Professor of Public Policy and Organization Emeritus and former Director of the Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "After seventy years of a monolithic, interventionist foreign policy that has ruled Washington elites, the superb book War and the Rogue Presidency is calling for an essential, realist American foreign policy emphasizing a robust diplomacy, military restraint, and increased congressional oversight. Author Ivan Eland has assembled an outstanding and lucid, critical examination of how the Executive must be reined in from being granted unprecedented powers to wage perpetual war globally that is subverting the Constitution, costing trillions, harming millions, trampling on civil liberties, and creating more and more enemies who endanger America. War a

Author Biography

Ivan Eland is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at the Independent Institute. He has been Director of Defense Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, and he spent fifteen years working for Congress on national security issues. He is a graduate of Iowa State University and received an MBA in applied economics and a PhD in Public Policy from George Washington University. His popular writings have appeared in such publications as the Dallas Morning News, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Washington Times. He is the author of Partitioning for Peace, Recarving Rushmore, The Empire Has No Clothes.