Posted by
Steve on Monday, June 20, 2011 11:36:37 AM
One issue that will define whether we are a Republic or a dictatorship is the War Powers Act dispute. Under the War Powers act, the President can commit troops to a conflict for up to 60 days before Congress has to approve. The first deadline passed about a month ago. Congress felt that there may have been a misunderstanding, so they gave the White House an extension until yesterday. The deadline came and went with no answer from the White House.
Many Republicans feel that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional. Most, if not all, Democrats believe that it is constitutional. When Obama consulted with his attorneys about the application of the war powers act in the case of Libya, the first two he consulted told him that the act applied in this case. So, Obama searched until he found a government attorney that said that the war powers act did not apply to Libya.
When Richard Nixon wanted to fire Archibald Cox, he went to the Attorney General. The Attorney General said he would not do it and resigned. The Deputy Attorney General did the same thing. On Nixon’s third try, he found an attorney that would fire Archibald Cox. That established the standard by which government attorneys are judged when Presidents act on the line between legal and illegal. If the attorney believes that the President is acting illegally, it is his/her responsibility to resign from office. If they believe the President is acting legally, of course they stay and defend the President. There are two attorneys in the government that believe that Barack Obama is acting illegally in regards to Libya. If they have personal integrity, they should resign to emphasize the point. That would make Obama look bad, but if he is acting illegally he is already looking far worse than an attorney’s resignation would make him look.
Democrats love to berate Republicans for their acting as an Imperial President. But no Republican President has ever acted extra constitutional as much as Barack Obama. Barack Obama is establishing records that will probably never be broken again in acting in an Imperial manner. Obama basically disregards Congress, except to rubber stamp what he wants. If they do not rubber stamp what he wants, he just orders agencies to go around Congress and implement his agenda anyway. If a Republican acted like this there would be endless press reports berating him/her for acting in an Imperial manner. Today, you hear nothing out of the Democrat Press about Obama acting in an Imperial manner.
Congress has the second deadline for the War Powers act to deal with. They have some choices to make. They can either decide that Obama is right and they are irrelevant or they can stop Obama in his tracks by denying him the money he needs to fund his Imperial dreams. To take option one would be the end of America as a Republic. That option is by far the more dangerous option.
The second option of cutting off funding for Libya is a serious act. Our troops need the money to fulfill their mission. But, if they are doing something illegal, they need to be stopped. Congress has hold of the purse strings. By removing the money to continue operations in Libya, they would be telling Obama that he does not have the authority to send troops into harm’s way without authorization from Congress. The hue and cry from the media would be swift and loud. But anyone who knows anything about the Constitution would know that Congress has to authorize sending troops into battle. This week is important to see if Congress has the will to fight for its right to exist. If it does not have the will to fight, it is doomed to be nothing.