A Constitutional Crisis

By Al Gore, AlterNet. Posted January 17, 2006.

The former vice president warns us what can happen without congressional oversight over a defiant White House.

Editor's Note: Following is the text of a speech delivered by Al Gore in Washington, D.C. on January 16. Gore was introduced by former Republican congressman Bob Barr, an arch-conservative advocate of privacy rights.

Congressman Barr and I have disagreed many times over the years, but we have joined together today with thousands of our fellow citizens -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- to express our shared concern that America's Constitution is in grave danger.

In spite of our differences over ideology and politics, we are in strong agreement that the American values we hold most dear have been placed at serious risk by the unprecedented claims of the Administration to a truly breathtaking expansion of executive power.