Let's sue the President

Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner (pronounced "boner") has announced a plan to ask the United States House of Representatives to file a lawsuit against the President, which would require him to enforce, protect, and defend the Constitution.

Isn't that a noble concept?

Just days after the Fourth of July, such an action would be suggested against the Executive Branch. I find this idea ludicrous at best. How can a house of Congress sue the President to perform his duties? I think in a counter-suit, the President would sue the House of Representatives to conduct itself, through a constitutional manner, to create laws, rather than sit on its collective thumb and do nothing.

Perhaps, the only legal remedy available to the Speaker is found in Article II, Section 4, of the United States Constitution, which allows the House of Representatives to lay charges of impeachment against the President for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Accordingly, can the House of Representatives lay a charge for impeachment against the President for enacting executive orders, which is at the heart of this squabble? The President is the head of the Executive Branch of government, which contains many, many organs (yes, I'll use an old communist term here) that allow it to operate. The President has constitutional power to execute the laws of the United States, through the enactment of executive orders. (No, there is no clause that allows for executive orders in the Constitution itself. Executive orders are implied rather than explicit.) For example, President Obama issued an executive order raising the federal minimum wage for its employees. Seemingly that is within the purview of the President, since the executive order only impacts those organs--or parts--that are within the executive's sphere of influence (a Cold War reference, yes). Does such an order maintain that the states must now raise their minimum wage?

No.

Does that mean Hobby Lobby must now raise its minimum wage to offset the cost of birth control pills and Plan B for its female employees?

No. (It's in the Bible! No, don't look it up.)

So, who can help in such a quagmire?

Let's look to the Judicial Branch, through the Constitution's well-crafted plan of Checks-and-Balances. Outside of impeachment, the only remedy for Speaker Boehner's complain can be found in the courts; however, which court has original jurisdiction over such a suit? Will the Speaker, along with a throng of Republicans, file suit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia? Or like Bush v. Gore (2000), will the case go directly to the Supreme Court of the United States for adjudication?

When it's all said and done (if it ever gains traction), I believe that the courts will find that the only recourse for action in such a case is within Article II, Section 4, of the Constitution of the United States. Previously, the Supreme Court of the United States has determined that the language of the Constitution is quite sufficient and clear in such a case. Inasmuch, Nixon v. USA (1993), the Supreme Court found that it has no judicial review of impeachment proceedings or outcomes, as such proceedings are the "sole" charge of Congress.

In other words, draft articles of impeachment, or hush!

I blame George W. Bush

Conservatives are crying their eyes out today after the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare's primary mandate stating each American must have health insurance by 2014 or face a tax. The highlight was that seemingly conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberal majority (5-4) in upholding the most polarizing portion of Obama's legislation; he even crafted its opinion!

Now, I cannot confess to have any love lost on Chief Justice Roberts. He is a George W. Bush appointee, after all, who came with high conservative backing during his nomination and confirmation to the Court. I thought Republicans were surely going to win a victory in the healthcare reform battle, with people like Roberts sitting on the bench, but boy was I (and many other people) wrong. Even CNN and Fox News incorrectly reported that the mandate had been overturned this morning.

It just goes to show that sometimes a Bush appointee can join with Clinton and Obama appointees when the stakes for our nation are highest.

Healthcare

The CDC reports that about 2.5 million more Americans now have health insurance because of what Republicans have termed "Obamacare."

I say if there are 2,500,000 people (and young people, too) who now have access to decent healthcare insurance, then Obamacare is a perfectly acceptable program in my book!

Healthcare

See if you've heard this joke.

A man walks into a bank and hands the teller a note demanding $1 and healthcare. He waits patiently for the police to respond to the robbery and take him into custody. As a ward of the state, he is now receiving the healthcare he couldn't afford on his own.

The only thing is that this really happened. It isn't a joke. It was a reality, recently, for a 59-year-old North Carolina man. As Republicans and Democrats wage a war on the cost of national healthcare--whether you want to call it "Obamacare" or "Obamneycare"--there are people who cannot afford to receive life saving health care. They can't afford medications, medical procedures, or long-term life extending care, whether in public or private facilities.

Our country has the money and medical resources to guarantee each American top-notch medical care for those who cannot afford it through no fault of their own, whether or not they are homeless, laid off from work, injured, and the list can continue.

As American taxpayers foot the bill for two wars, which cost ten-of-billions of dollars annually, we allow our own citizens to suffer and die needlessly. Besides these two wars, we are set to fight another one in Libya. It's time for President Obama to live up to his promise of ending the Bush wars. Thus, bringing home those billions of dollars dumped into a bottomless blackhole located on the other side of the globe. There is no hope that these wars will ever end satisfactorily. My suggestion is to stop Libya before it begins in earnestness. It's not our fight. We weren't there when it began in 1969, why do we insist on being there at the end in 2011? Yes, innocent people are dying there, but the same is true about the United States. In the final analysis, who deserves our money most?

Healthcare Reform

George W. Bush appointed Henry Hudson, who is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, declared the individual mandate of Obama's healthcare reform bill, as passed by Congress, to be unconstitutional.

It is no surprise that a Republican-appointed judge would find in favor of the Republican agenda. (I'm certainly not shocked!)

Healthcare Reform

To be or not to be....

Today is the BIG day!

Healthcare

So, I'm watching the House debate on C-SPAN about healthcare.

A Republican representative from Iowa, who thinks that the tax money that will be used to give 30,000,000+ Americans a right to healthcare is his, is acting like a real know-it-all prick.

I love how he is rambling off BIG business names that probably finance his campaign, as a way to divert attention away from the real issues surrounding healthcare. He says that the TARP funds used to bail out Wall Street was a bad idea. I wonder how we got to that point? Did George W. Bush have anything to do with that?

But, will America be better if it helps out American families gain access to the right to health? I think so.

Let me ask him, how has America benefited from 7 years of Bush's war in Iraq?