Do we the people have the power and responsibility to remove executives who transgress the rule of law ?

Question

The oaths that the President and Vice President take binds them to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." The failure to do so forms a sound basis for articles of impeachment.

The President and Vice President have failed to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" in the following ways:

1. They have manipulated intelligence and misled the country to justify an immoral, unjust, and unnecessary preemptive war in Iraq.

2. They have directed the government to engage in domestic spying without warrants, in direct contravention of U.S. law.

3. They have conspired to commit the torture of prisoners, in violation of the Federal Torture Act and the Geneva Convention.

4. They have ordered the indefinite detention without legal counsel, without charges and without the opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention -- all in violation of U.S. law and the Bill of Rights.

When strong evidence exists of the most serious crimes, we must use impeachment -- or lose the ability of the legislative branch to compel the executive branch to obey the law.

-- Middlebury

Vermont Votes to Impeach Bush/Cheney http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070307/cm_thenation/1172344

Has G.W. Bush led our country to a constitutional crisis, and is it our responsibility to remove him from office?

Answer 1

So you asked two questions:

1. Do we the people have the power and responsibility to remove executives who transgress the rule of law ?

and

2. Has G.W. Bush led our country to a constitutional crisis, and is it our responsibility to remove him from office?

Here are my answers:

Yes. We, through our representatives to Congress, have the power and duty to remove any President who has broken the law. If enough people write or call their congressman, eventually the House will pass articles of impeachment (provided that they think a law has been broken).

I am not sure Bush has led us into a Constitutional crisis. The courts have often stopped him when he usurped his authority. In my mind, some laws HAVE been broken, and the best legal case would be the wiretapping. I'm pretty sure that's grounds for impeachment, but should we?

I don't really think so, at least not based on what we know right now. He has less than two years to serve, and Cheney would likely resign if impeached. Bush would appoint a new Vice President who would take over in the event the Senate convicted him. By the time that process were completed, we'll be well into the next Presidential election. It would be a huge distraction.

Besides, there's now an opposition Congress, which should provide some balance. Many Republican members have already distanced themselves from the White House. I think we should just wait.

That's not to say Congress shouldn't investigate some of the Administration's actions. I think it's their duty to. But impeachment at this juncture would probably do more harm than good. I'd rather see a Presidential election that's not marred by that sort of thing...in the long run I think it's more important.

Answer 2

No, we the people don't.

Only Congress can impeach the President. Specifically, the House files the bill of impeachment (like an indictment) and the Senate acts as Jury for the trial.

The problem is, there's no way 2/3 of the Senate would vote to convict under any of the facts or situations so far revealed. So, there's no point proceeding -- Bush just gets away with his crimes.

BTW, #1 is not an impeachable offense, though giving false information to Congress is (18 USC 1001). #2 is 18 USC 2511. #3 is 18 USC 2441. #4 is in violation of the Supreme Court holdings in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Hamdan v Rumsfeld.

Answer 3

Look at World history during periods like The Crusades,or The Inquisition,and you will have your answer.Every place that has been ruled over entirely by their Religion has been a true horror to behold,with very few exceptions. Even in today's world we can see the majority of the Middle East,where the entire concept of human rights is just a fantasy. There may be relative peace on the surface in some of those countries not at war,but even in the seemingly ordered societies there is an undercurrent of something far more vile.I cannot imagine living in a society ruled entirely by the Dogmas of any of the Abrahamic religions,the least repulsive of them being Judaism,at least in practice. But even they can get rather nasty when the opportunity arises,Crucifixion anyone? The point being,our best bet for peaceful co-existence comes in almost entirely secular societies. If others wish to hang on to their ancient myths and superstitions that's fine,but they need to keep it to themselves for the most part. Obama666

Answer 4

Unfortunately our Constitution doesn't give us a peaceful way to dethrone a President. We have to rely on the politicians to police their own. Sometimes I find that relief to be sorely inadequate and I would support a Constitutional amendment allowing a recall of the President and/or VicePresident. The Constitution is a great document, but I don't think the founders ever envisigioned a time of such corruption and cowardice among our representatives.

Answer 5

Well pretty much you have said it here.

I'd say all of this fell under non-gentlemanly conduct to which the president swore an oath.

Answer 6

I'll bet your eyes are brown. Shouldn't you be asking why your Representatives haven't done a damn thing if the case against GW is so strong as you seem to think? You people keep accusing Bush of being a dictator and god knows what else but you can't do diddly squat about it because ya got no case.