Pelosi Abuses Power with Regard to Military
by Big Dog on Jan 15, 2007 at 19:52 Political
Nancy Pelosi had a stern warning for President Bush. She said he should not abuse his power with regard to troop levels and that Congress had an oversight authority. Sorry Ms. Pelosi, it is you and the Congress who are abusing power. You have not let Republicans be involved in any of the early legislation and several of the idiots in your party are trying to pass illegal legislation to limit the President’s role as Commander in Chief. It would do Nancy and her gang a bit of good to review the Constitution and to speak with a few lawyers. The President has command authority over the military, not the Congress. The Congress controls the budget for and laws governing the military but the President exercises command authority over the armed forces.
For years we have heard the Democrats cry and whine about Mr. Bush’s abuse of power. He spied, he listened, he did this and he did that. Yet, the first opportunity the Democrats got, they moved in to usurp the Constitutional authority of the President. Several, including Teddy the Boozer, have introduced legislation designed to make the President have to run everything past them and get approval. This is illegal. The President has the sole authority and does not need the permission of the Congress to move troops. The Congress has authority to declare war on other nations but the President is in charge of running the military. He, in concert with military experts, decide when and how to use the military.
The Congress has legislative and appropriations authority over the military. The Congress shall have the power to:
- Declare War, grant letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make rules concerning Captures on Land and Water
- To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years
- To provide and maintain a Navy
- To make rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval forces
- To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrection, and repel invasions
- To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the appointment of officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress
The militia are the National Guard so the portion on the militia describes how they are handled when called into active service. The militia is not the active military. Each of these items deals with either providing money or legislative authority. The rules governing the military are nothing more than the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It has been written by Congress and is the law that governs the military. The founders designed coequal branches of government. The President can not make laws governing the military and the Congress can not infringe on the President’s command authority. This system helps keep one branch of government from taking over through a military coup and it ensures that at least two branches have oversight. They must work together to make things happen. Congress voted to authorize the use of force so now the use of that force is governed by the President.
I am getting sick of Pelosi and her thugs trying to hamstring the President with illegal tactics and toothless warnings. They need to stay in their own lane and stop trying to exercise control they do not have. If they really think they can solve the problems by cutting the money for the military then let them do so. That will really play well the next time they want to be elected. If they give up that misguided idea that the election was a referendum on the war they might find it a bit easier to stick to what the Constitution says they are supposed to do. They should also consider the stupidity of trying to pass legislation that restricts the President. Besides being unconstitutional, the President can veto it and they do not have enough votes to override such a veto. It is a waste of time and a show to the people in this country who actually think we would be better off by leaving Iraq.
She said that in the last election, “the American people spoke out for change,” and “nowhere was that voice more clear than in the war in Iraq.” Today, “Democrats oppose the escalation of the war,” she said to cheers. “Let me repeat that: Democrats oppose the escalation of the war.
“We have said to the president … we want you to have a plan, and this is what we suggest,” said Pelosi, “a redeployment of our troops out of Iraq” to help “make the region more stable and make America safer.” SFGate
As stated, the last election had little to do with the war and we are not going to rehash that. As for Pelosi and their plan? Retreat is not a plan. You can not win by running away from a fight. There is no way the President is going to consider retreat. We will not cut and run so Pelosi should get it through her thick skull. We will not cut and run! This, America is what you elected to Congress. People who believe that surrender is a plan. I have an idea. Why don’t the Democrats surrender control of the Congress to people who actually know what they are doing. I would love to have a discussion with Pelosi. I would love to have this discussion with Pelosi. I would have grandma moonbat so flustered she would not know what to do.
The Democrats are doing nothing but laying the groundwork for the next election. Part of that plan involves America losing the war, because without defeat, it is likely they will not win the White House in 2008.
To Nancy and her fellow moonbats, see Article I, Section 8 and Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.
Of course, I am no Constitutional scholar and I am not an attorney but it seems clear when I read it. That does not mean some activist judge will see it the same way. We allow abortions in this country and that word [abortion] does not appear in the Constitution and somehow, the act of Flag burning became speech so anything is possible. I only hope that if we are overrun by the enemy the first place they seize is the Capital. Congress would get what it deserves and those of us who KNOW what the Second Amendment says can take it from there.
[tags]Pelosi, war, President Bush, terror, Congress, retreat, surrender, inept, corruption, Constitution, second amendment[/tags]
Tags: Commentary, Political