U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas has rendered the nation a service by placing Barack Obama's impeachment on the national stage.
As the editor of a website dedicated to impeaching Obama - which its founder, Floyd Brown, states has delivered more than 2.5 million petitions to Congress - I know there is no question: Obama has committed an ample number of "high crimes and misdemeanors." His impeachment is not only warranted but may be necessary to defend our nation from his continued onslaught against our freedoms.I therefore was profoundly disappointed by the Star-Telegram's Aug. 9 editorial, "Impeachment is not a political tool." The Editorial Board may find Burgess' call to use impeachment to "tie things up" beyond the pale, but the Founders would not. In the Federalist Paper, No. 65 Alexander Hamilton described impeachment as "a bridle in the hands of the legislative body upon the executive servants of the government." Hamilton wrote impeachable offenses "may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL." (Emphasis in original.) The famed jurist Joseph Story wrote these "political offences" include not only crimes but "misconduct, or gross neglect, or usurpation, or habitual disregard of the public interests ... unconstitutional opinions," and "attempts to subvert" the law.In the Founders' eyes, President Obama has committed numerous impeachable offenses:The Libyan war. Obama did not seek congressional approval as the Constitution requires before placing troops in harm's way, although he conferred with the United Nations and the Arab League. The War Powers Resolution requires the president to get Congressional authorization or remove all troops within 60-90 days. Instead, Obama attempted to skirt the law by redefining the term "hostilities," a legal opinion rejected by his attorney general, Eric Holder.Race-based justice. After the Justice Department dismissed voter intimidation charges against the Black Panthers, the head of its Voting Rights division testified about a "deep-seated opposition to the equal enforcement of the" law - that Obama is denying equal justice based on race. This fundamental perversion of the law is an impeachable offense.Not defending the border. The executive branch enforces existing law, but Obama has systematically ignored his duty and enacted a backdoor amnesty for illegal immigrants.Illegal government propaganda. Last August, Rep. Darrell Issa of California issued a 36-page report highlighting the president's "sometimes unlawful ... propaganda initiatives," including having taxpayers pay blogger Tracy Russo to make pro-Obama comments on websites anonymously or under a pen name.Punishing whistleblowers. The Department of Homeland Security may have illegally demoted Catherine Papoi, former deputy unit chief in charge of the Freedom of Information Act, for exposing its "illegal politicization" of FOI Act requests.These are but a few examples. Contrary to the editorial, the time to hold Obama accountable has not "passed;" there is no statute of limitations on illegal wars. Founding Father James Wilson said, "No one should be secure while he violates the Constitution."Impeachment is the Constitution's self-defense mechanism. The late U.S. Rep. Peter Rodino - a Democrat - once wrote that "the framers intended impeachment to be a constitutional safeguard of the public trust."As Obama shreds the Constitution, breaks statutory law, bankrupts the country and presides over the TSA's molestation of the pregnant, the elderly and the infirm, the United States desperately needs representatives willing to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."If only the Republican leadership in Washington had the courage of the Founders -- or Rep. Burgess.Ben Johnson is the editor of several websites, including ImpeachObamaCampaign.com. Ben@TheRightsWriter.com.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
