Did Nancy Pelosi Violate the 14th Amendment?

Question

I am not a liberal or repbulican. However, it would seem that Nancy Pelosi went to Syria and was glad-handing the Syrians. The Syrians are funding, training, and giving safe haven to those who wish to engage in the "Sunni Insurgency" within Iraq. Mainly these people who are attacking US Forces in Al-Anbar Provience Iraq are Ba'athists(a political party formed in the image of the German Nazi party), and Sunni Muslims like the Syrians so the Syrians help them any way they can with money, training, and weapons.

The 14th Amendment states
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

If Syria is helping those who wish to kill Americans, should our elected officials be able to go over and talk to them, without permission? My education tells me that this is illegal in the US. I could be wrong however.

I understand that our elected officials must do things like this to maintain diplomacy. However she did so on her own, with no sanction from the US government, and no authority. She was not directed to go there, she just did, and no she is not a private citizen so once she was elected she gave up certain rights.

Crabby_blindguy
You are incorrect, totally thats the most simple way I can put it. Yes I do know about politics, infact I have a B.S. in Political Science.

I dont care about partisan views, as I stated I am not a liberal or republican. I dont care what people did in the past. I am talking about now. Do you think that she violated the 14th Amendment?

Thank you for your reply's ahead of time.

Answer 1

It's been done before, not an uncommon practice. However, Pelosi was re-iterating Bush's idiotic strategies as per the Repubs. who visited with her. Hastert told Colombia to bypass the White House completely...this info wasn't released until after Clinton was out, and you know the Repub. Congress wouldn't investigate their own speaker.

WASHINGTON –– While the Clinton administration was pressuring Colombia to stop human rights abuses, Rep. Dennis Hastert was telling the country's police and military leaders that rights concerns were overblown, a newly declassified government document says.

In a May 1997 visit to Colombia before becoming House speaker, Hastert "decried 'leftist-dominated'" U.S. Congresses of years past that "used human rights as an excuse to aid the left in other countries," according to a cable signed by then-Ambassador Myles Frechette.

Hastert "vowed that he was committed to correcting that situation," it said.

Hastert also encouraged Colombian military and police to bypass the White House and deal directly with Congress, the cable said.


http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/headlines02/0504-02.htm

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/05/04/Worldandnation/Documents_detail_US_r.shtml

Answer 2

So you must have the proof that Nancy Pelosi "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the U.S.A., or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof"? If by any chance you possibly could be defining the 14th Amendment, why hasn't the great 'decider' Bush has not use his appointed attorney general to bring charges against Nanciy Pelosi? You seem to forget that Bush was the sole decider to invade Iraq and try to impose democracy there at. Justifying the invasion of Iraq by misinformation and deception to convince congress to support the invasion, is more of a criminal act that Nancy Pelosi's visit to Syria.

Answer 3

Crabby is right, and did you also know that in 1997 Newt Gingrich went to China and threatened them with military action. This was contrary to the President's policy. Quite a difference from Pelosi's visit, which was just a talk about future talks. And BTW, Pelosi's visit was preceded by that of 3 other Republican congressmen, one of the congressman in her entourage was a Republican, and a fifth Republican Darrel Issa, an Arab American, visited the next day and made an even strong bid to renew relations with Syria.

Answer 4

If you're going to complain about Nancy Pelosi, to be consistent you should also complain about the 3 Republicans who visited Syria a week or so before her.

But let's have no reckless accusations of treason. We are NOT at war with Syria, no matter what incidents they may be perpetrating. All she's doing is talking, and as JFK said in his Inaugural Address, "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."

Answer 5

Newt Gingrich tried to handle foreign policy when Clinton was in office, and Denny Hastert went to Colombia and told their government to "bypass" the president and deal directly with Congress. So unless you want to start with those two and work forward, I'd say it's a non-starter.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/08/fox-confronts-gingrich-pelosi/
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/04/hastert-colombia/

Answer 6

I don't believe Syria is the bad country that the propaganda would have us believe. A few months ago, Syrians defended the US embassy from a truck bombing. Al Qaeda nearly detonated two trucks loaded with explosives in front of the US embassy. Does our enemy protect our citizens lives in their country?

Can any proof be shown that connects Syrian militias with their government? I don't think so. I don't doubt that terrorists or insurgents may use Syria as a safe haven, but is their government obligated to root them out on account of our actions causing them to hate us so much?

Answer 7

Given that she spelled out for Syria that the U.S. objects to their support of terrorism and insurgency (basically the same position as the Bush Administration), I would say, no.

Answer 8

Yes she did. At the least (if bush really didnt want her to go) then she should be held accountable for defying the commander in chief !!

I dont work under him, (citizen) but congress does, they are to work with ,,not against the presi Dent.

irregardless, Syria is against Israel.

Answer 9

Pelosi was accompanied by a bipartisan congressional delegation, by the way. Does anyone think the Republicans there were traitors too?

Answer 10

So Bush would be in violation for flying the Bin Laden family out of America after 9-11 and for having dealings with Saudi families whose money funds terrorism... I like where this is going :)

Edit: By the way, the President is not the U.S. government. He is the guy in charge of one of the branches of the U.S. Government. While he has authority over his branch, and while he can veto anything passed by the other branch, he is not in control of them as that would impair the system of checks and balances thought up by our fore fathers.