The opposition to President Bush's use of signing statements is not confined to just members of Congress.

The American Bar Association weighed in on the debate on Monday, stating President Bush's use of signing statements run contrary to the system of separation of powers and "the rule of law," Roll Call reported.

The ABA further explained the seriousness of the problem (via Roll Call):

"Quietly, but with devastating force, modern presidents are using signing statements to seize that which our nation's founders purposely denied - absolute power...without any check or balance," said ABA President Michael Greco at a press conference Monday. The executive and legislative branches "must negotiate with one another, and neither must unilaterally impose its will on the other."

Roll Call provides some of the hard evidence:

A Boston Globe report on April 30 cited 110 signing statements by Bush that sought to question or contradict nearly 800 portions of laws passed by Congress, many of which checked executive authority.

Some of the ignored provisions included reporting to Congress on the USA PATRIOT Act and the amendment sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), which opposed torture of detainees in U.S. custody.

It is fairly obvious that a Congress under Republican control is unwilling to rein in the president's inappropriate use of signing statements. I think having new Libertarian leadership in Congress will go a long way in restoring our constitutional system of checks and balances.