There is something very wrong with the U.S. political system.
A recent Gallup poll shows the American people are profoundly alienated from and disapproving of our government.
Only 29% of Americans (a little more than 1 of every 4 Americans) have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the presidency. Congress fares even worse, way way worse. Only 7% (or 7 out of every 100 Americans) have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in Congress, the law-making body of the U.S. federal government which supposedly represents us.
A main reason why Americans are so disillusioned with Congress is our perception that our elected representatives seem to be in a state of paralysis over just about everything, including mustering up whatever little courage they have to impeach the occupant of the White House who has, time and time again, acted in violation of laws (e.g., Sec. 1035 of the 2014 NDAA) or simply refuses to carry out the law (e.g., enforcing border control to stem the tidal wave of illegals pouring from Mexico at an alarming rate of 35,000 a month into just one state — Texas).
President Richard Nixon’s Watergate is piddling compared to what Obama has done and is doing.
Since Congress refuses to act, the American people and state politicians are taking matters into their own hands:
- Bikers went to southern California’s border to protest the Mexican government’s arrest and imprisonment of U.S. veteran Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooresi.
- Militias are riding to or are already in place along the Mexican border to “put up a man-fence” against the invasion of illegals.
- On June 18, 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry directed the state’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers to begin securing the Texas-Mexico border to stem the flood of illegals.
The latest:
Yesterday, June 21, 2014, the South Dakota Republican Party state convention passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Barack Hussein Obama.
David Montgomery reports for Argus Leader, the newspaper of Sioux Falls, SD, June 21, 2014, that the convention resolution says Obama has “violated his oath of office in numerous ways.” As examples, the resolution specifically cites:
- Obama’s release of five Taliban combatants in a trade for captive U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl.
- Obama’s statement that under Obamacare (aka the Affordable Care Act), the American people could keep their insurance companies.
- Recent EPA regulations on power plants.
“Therefore, be it resolved that the South Dakota Republican Party calls on our U.S. Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president of the United States,” the resolution reads.
Convention delegate Allen Unruh (Sioux Falls), who sponsored the resolution, said “I’ve got a thick book on impeachable offenses of the president,” and calls on South Dakota to “send a symbolic message that liberty shall be the law of the land.”
Delegate David Wheeler (Beadle County) disagreed: “I believe we should not use the power of impeachment for political purposes. By doing this, we would look petty, like we can’t achieve our political goals through the political process.”
Delegate Larry Eliason (Potter County) agreed with Wheeler, noting that he opposed the impeachment resolution even though “the only thing (Obama’s) done the last six years that I approve of is when he adopted a pet.”
But Larry Klipp of Butte County, a retired Marine, said matters go beyond mere political disagreements with Obama: “If anyone in this room cannot see the horrendous, traitorous scandals run by the Obama administration, I will pray for you.”
Delegates voted 191-176 in favor of the resolution. The Pennington County delegation voted 47-9 in favor of the impeachment resolution, and Minnehaha County voted 28-15 in favor.
Rep. Kristi Noem (R)
But Congresswoman Kristi Noem, a Republican and South Dakota’s lone delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives — which has the power to initiate impeachment proceedings — is cool to the resolution because she doesn’t believe impeachment is the “best way” to deal with Obama. Her spokesperson, Brittany Comins, explains: “The congresswoman currently believes the best way for Congress to hold the president accountable is to continue aggressive committee oversight and investigations into the administration’s actions like the ongoing VA scandal, the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS, Benghazi, and the recent Taliban prisoner exchange.”
My question to Congresswoman Noem is: “What aggressive committee oversight and investigations?”
If the U.S. House of Representatives were to vote to impeach Obama, the Senate would then rule on the validity of the charges. It takes a two-thirds majority in the Senate to remove a president from office. The Senate, of course, is dominated by Demonrats: 53 Dems; 2 Independents; 45 Republicans.
~Eowyn