At first glance, the line-item veto seems like a good idea. With the way Congress lumps unrelated bullshit into everything they pass, it makes sense to trim the fat somewhere. But there are some good reasons why the line-item veto should be opposed. For one, it’s unconstitutional (via C&L) :

The line-item veto is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court decided Thursday, ruling that Congress did not have the authority to hand that power to the president.

The 6-3 ruling said that the Constitution gives a president only two choices: either sign legislation or send it back to Congress. The 1996 line-item veto law allowed the president to pencil out specific spending items approved by the Congress.

In his majority opinion Justice John Paul Stevens upheld a lower court’s decision, concluding “the procedures authorized by the line-item veto act are not authorized by the Constitution.”

So if we want to discuss passing a line-item veto eight years after the Supreme Court blocked it, we’re into the realm of amending the constitution. But if we’re going to go that far, why not address the real problem and seek an amendment that forbids Congress from adding unrelated earmarks, provisions, etc. to their bills? Because the GOP, who’s have always been the ones who fight for this, have never wanted to kill the goose that laid the golden egg, they just want to cut enough spending to look like they care.

With a Bush Presidency, there’s an additional reason why the line-item veto is a bad idea. He’s always been too chickenshit to use a real veto, but you can bet he’d take the first opportunity to use the line-item variety to punish Democrats and “moderate” Republicans. With the way things work in Congress right now, individual earmarks are the main tool used to collect votes for controversial bills. Most controversial bills are a “bridge to nowhere” or two away from passing, but what’s to stop the White House from stripping those legislative bribes from the bill after the fact? Considering the unusual closeness between Congressional leadership and the Presidency, a good cop / bad cop routine would be be inevitable.