Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Politics or Duty: Should Obama Be Impeached?

I was never a fan of impeaching Bill Clinton. I thought it would turn out much like it did; no conviction, a political wash at best and in the end just a huge waste of time. Did I think he was guilty? Oh hell yes! He was clearly guilty of obstruction of justice, subornation of perjury, sexual harassment, abuse of power and a host of other crimes too numerous to mention. The man and his administration pushed the envelope of propriety, custom and Presidential privilege laying the groundwork for the current administration's abuse of power. If I had had a vote I would have asked myself what would Jefferson or Madison do? In terms of duty, honor and fidelity to the Constitution and Republic I think I would have reluctantly voted yes concluding it had to be done. So, the question today is should Barack Obama be impeached?

The liberal law professor (and Obama supporter) Jonathan Turley has been a very vocal critic of President Obama's lawless abuse of power. He is set to testify before Congress today urging Democrats and Republicans to unite in their opposition to what he calls "...one of the greatest challenges to our constitutional system in the history of this country".  Sounds pretty harsh to me, especially from a supporter.

Now I'm not a Constitutional scholar like Professor Turley, I'm just your everyday drunk at the bar spouting political opinions out my ass until I'm asked to leave. So take what I have to say with a grain of salt. But the President has a duty to defend and protect the Constitution, to enforce our laws fairly and appropriately and to do all this in good faith, in other words with an eye toward maintaining our liberty rather than subverting it. From day one and at every turn Obama and most especially his Attorney General Eric Holder have politicized the law to the point of dictatorship. From election law to IRS abuses to the the arbitrary negation of whole swaths of laws and regulations passed by the Congress, this administration treats the US Code as a cafeteria buffet where one chooses this or that depending on the current political calculation.

This is not how the system works. All Presidents are given a certain amount of leeway in terms of enforcing the law, but no President has the right to ignore or replace the law as a matter of policy. It was wrong when GWB chose not to enforce immigration law and it's wrong now that Obama has taken it to the next level and opened our borders wide open. Turley is right, the system must be respected regardless of political considerations. Boehner has taken the first step by suing the President. If Obama doesn't get the message then impeachment is the Constitutional obligation of Congress. It's a question of duty.  

2 comments:

Mudge said...

Going to the third branch to decide whether the second branch took too much power from the first branch reinforces that the first branch, who has ample authority to enforce it's power, is populated by citizens unbefitting power or authority. These are the people we today call Republicans. The left laughs at them. In this time of Constitutional crisis, they are far from equal to their tasks, so sworn upon taking office. Upholding the Constitution must be their first, second, penultimate and final guidepost each and everyday they have the self-sought responsibility of serving as our representatives in Washington. I fear it is rarely in their thoughts on any given day. We must demand more if we wish to salvage our liberty.

ZZMike said...

There are at least a dozen issues that might warrant impeachment. But it would be way too divisive. Those on the Left would close ranks and never let go.

Just look at how long Hollywood has been anti-Republican, ever since the McCarthy days.

Our best bet is to work diligently to get our guys elected - all the way up and down the line, from dog-catcher to president.

The problem is, they've got their candidate at the starting block - unpleasant as she is, and they've got the social networks sewed up (that's how Obama got in, both times), and the MSM is still railing against conservatives.

And o our side? We're still going through half a dozen candidates, each with a narrow following.

Unless we can get independents on our side, it doesn't look good.

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