Monday, December 01, 2008

Obama's Disregard for the Constitution

Barack Obama announced today that he will appoint Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State.

This is another clear example of his disregard for the Constitution of the United States.

First, he has never proven that he is eligible to be president. His status as a natural-born citizen is in great doubt, and he is spending a huge amount of money in the courts to make sure no one ever finds out the truth about his past.

Second, as you'll notice in the photo, he has invented the "Office of the President Elect." There is no such office, but he is already using taxpayer money to fund it.

Third, he is not even the president-elect. In November, the states held elections to choose electors, and they will meet on December 15 to vote for the president. Still, Obama ignores the facts that are clearly presented in the Constitution.

Finally, Hilary Clinton is not qualified to be the Secretary of State. Article one, section six of the Constitution states:

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Emoluments are payments for employment. Since the salary for this cabinet position has increased during Senator Clinton's term, she is not allowed to be Secretary of State.

This has happened before, and the cure was to lower the salary to the previous level, but that still violates the Constitution. It doesn't say that the level has to be the same; it clearly says that if the level has been increased during the term, the senator cannot take that office.

Still, since Obama has no respect for the Constitution regarding his own qualifications for office, he will ignore it with regard to this office as well.

Obama's disregard for the Constitution means that he cannot be president. He cannot take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend a Constitution to which he has already thumbed his nose.

If he never proves that he is qualified, then, oath or not, he will not be the true president, no matter how many people proclaim him to be. He will be a usurper, and his decisions while pretending to be in the office will be null and void.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow.
i never thought about it like that.
very good points. I will continue to pray for our Country.
-Tyler Kline

Araken said...

I did not know about his using money for a non-existent office. May God have mercy on us

BookRyder said...

This just keeps getting worse and worse.

What can we do about it? Isn't there something? Besides prayer...

I'm feeling rather helpless at this point.

Bryan Davis said...

Araken, there is an existing act that allows taxpayer money to be used for a president elect's transition, but it doesn't establish an official "Office of the President-Elect," which Obama is using to make it appear that he holds a government office.

He doesn't. He is not a Senator, and he is not yet the president.

BookRyder, have you written to your representative in Congress? That's a good step.

According to the Constitution, we have the right of redress, but the government ignores that, too. They have ignored the Constitution so much, it seems to be an everyday event. It just doesn't matter anymore. The people don't matter. The politicians listen only to whatever they think will affect their power and ability to stay in office.

Anonymous said...

woe is me to see my nation in this state that it even disregards its a own constitution.
can -no-will anyone try and fix our nation?

I will pray.

Anonymous said...

that was an extremely revealing post =/ is it protected by copywright because i can think of numerous forums where it could be put to good use.
P.S. Your books are Ownage =)

Bryan Davis said...

David, you may post this elsewhere as long as you credit me and link back to my blog.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Davis,
While I agree with your position on Mr. Obama's flagrant and disgusting disregard for both the Constitution and the principles upon which this country was founded, it seems to me that Sen. Clinton would be able to wriggle around that law by resigning from her position as Senator. I haven't studied this, but that's what my cursory reading seems to indicate. Might this be so?
Sincerely,
S.W. George

Bryan Davis said...

S.W. George,
That's a great question. Notice in the text of the Constitution, it says, "no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office."

In other words, Hilary Clinton is not allowed to be a Senator and take this job. She must resign from the Senate. That is a given.

Notice also the start of the wording, "No Senator or Representative, during the time for which he was elected ..."

The time period is the normal term of the Congressional office, not the length it actually lasted.

So resigning isn't a remedy. If simply resigning would make her eligible, then the first part of the requirement wouldn't have any force. Why make any such requirement when all the Congressman would have to do is resign before he or she takes the office?

When this has been done is the past (e.g. Lloyd Bentsen), they knew that resigning wasn't a remedy. That's why they decided to lower the salary to the previous level. As I wrote earlier, that isn't a real cure, because the requirement makes clear that it is the fact that an increase occurred during the term that disqualifies.

I hope that clears it up.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Davis,
That does clarify things. Thank you.
Soli Deo Gloria,
S.W. George