Obama Cannot Accept Nobel Prize Without Congress' Consent, Three House Republicans Claim

[cali]

In a letter penned to President Obama on Monday, Florida Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite claims Obama is obligated under the U.S. Constitution to obtain Congress' approval before he formally accepts the prize.



As critics continue to mull over whether President Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite says the U.S. Constitution does not allow him to accept the award without the consent of Congress.

In a letter to Obama delivered on Monday, Brown-Waite, R-Fla., along with Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, claim the president is obligated under the Constitution to obtain Congress' approval before he formally accepts the prize.

Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution, the emolument clause, states: "And no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince or foreign state."

The five-member Nobel commission, which awarded Obama the prize earlier this month, is elected by the Norwegian Parliament -- the Storting. The award is therefore made by a group representing a foreign state, the writers argued.

"As the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway, the Storting, the prize is clearly subject to the requirements set forth in Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution. Obtaining permission from Congress should be straightforward," Brown-Waite wrote in the letter.

"I urge President Obama to affirm his devotion to our Constitution and seek the consent of Congress before accepting the award in Oslo, Norway, on December 10," she said.

>snip>

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/27/obama-accept-nobel-prize-congress-consent-claims-congresswoman/

[goclark]

1. Amazing ~ why don't they spend their time

working for something positive?

Nevermind ~ they are crazy!

[billybob537]

8. Repukes hate amurka!

Hate olympics
Love Joe Lieberman!

[saigon68]

22. Ah Joementum Limpmann

Surfaces in the discussion, like a fresh TURD floating to the surface of the toilet bowl, because his composition is gas and fat, thereby making him lighter than water.

[RiseInside]

2. Wow.

This seems a little petty to me. Whether we agree that Obama should have won the Nobel Peace Prize.....seriously? Wow. I wonder what the decision would be.

[Luminous Animal]

3. I' not a constitional scholar

but if it turns out that they are right, then, yes (oh yes yes yes), Obama should go in front of Congress. The minority that vote no will become a historical laughing stock. And I don't even believe Obama deserves the prize!

[Bucky]

10. I've studied a bit about the Constitution. These guys are crazy.

There's a bunch of cranks out there with untested (but fanatically held) views on tangential issues in the Constitution. These walking moobs fall into that category. Two presidents in the past have won the Nobel Peace Prize and virtually every president has won some kind of honorarium for public service. The Constitution's clause about emoluments refers to the 1787-based fear that England or Spain might in the future bribe a president by making him Duke of the Chesapeake or the Count of Manhattan or some other such silliness. It's about salaries, not one-off prizes for public service.

[pnwmom]

12. And the prize isn't awarded by a government; it's from a private estate. n/t

[adamuu]

38. Exactly. None of "king, prince or foreign state." n/t

[TexasObserver]

4. When there's a job too crazy for a real lawyer, call Oily Taint!

[pnwmom]

5. And they are all three wrong. The Nobel prize money comes from

the estate of Alfred Nobel, not from any government.

A committee of 5, selected by but independent from the Norwegian parliament, is in charge of deciding who receives the prize, and it is physically handed out by the head of the committee. No king, prince, or foreign state awards this prize.

Here is the background of the current committee, from Wikipedia. They are all former -- not current -- members of parliament.

Thorbjørn Jagland (chair, born 1950), former Member of Parliament and President of the Storting and former Prime Minister for the Labour Party, current Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Member and chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 2009.
Kaci Kullmann Five (deputy chair, born 1951), former member of Parliament and cabinet minister for the Conservative Party. Member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 2003, deputy chair since 2009.
Sissel Rønbeck (born 1950), deputy director, Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren), former member of parliament and cabinet minister for the Labour Party. Member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 1994.
Inger-Marie Ytterhorn (born 1941), former member of Parliament for the Progress Party. Member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 2000.
Ågot Valle (born 1945), former member of parliament for the Socialist Left Party. Member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 2009.

[cali]

17. thanks so much for the info!

[bulloney]

24. Since when has any little thing like the law stopped Republicans from obstructing?

I hope to God the majority of people in this country are seeing the Republicans for what they are--whining obstructionists with no real agenda for the good of the people of this country.

[flor de jasmim]

6. Accepting the HONOR should be OK, the $$ may be questionable (but I'm not a lawyer)

[pnwmom]

9. Obama's already said he'll be donating the money. n/t

[saracat]

7. nutz as they are, they may be right. But noone in Congress is batshit crazy enough to vote against

awarding the prize to the president. That would prove them certifiable!

[pnwmom]

11. None of the 5 members of the Committee is a part of the Norwegian government

and the prize money comes from the private estate of Nobel.

The complainers are wrong.

[saracat]

14. One would think they would have researched that before filing! But heck too much to expect1

It sounded reasonable to me, but I don't know much about the Nobel's. Guess they don't either! LOL!

[pnwmom]

18. They filed because they want to make Obama look bad. It doesn't matter to them

whether they're right or not. Some of the smear will rub off on him.

[saracat]

31. I dunno, seeing as this is Ron Paul, he may believe this!

[JI7]

15. they may be right ?

[pnwmom]

19. They are not right. The Nobel Committee of 5 contains no current members

of government and the prize money comes from the private estate of Alfred Nobel.

[saracat]

32. they are arguing that the members are "elected" BY the Norwegian Parliament

is that true?I really know nothing about this.

[pnwmom]

35. The Parliament appoints them. But that doesn't matter. They are not a part of

any government, they are an independent committee using private money and they make the decision about who to choose on their own.

[FSogol]

26. C'mon, when is the GOP ever right? If the GOP said the sky was blue,

I'd go outside and check.

[saracat]

33. I think it is a stretch and ridiculous but if the committee are "elected" as they say,

by the Norwegian Parliament it is an argument but a specious one.

[pnwmom]

36. Agreed. Their argument is specious but it will be appreciated by the birthers

and everyone else who has been trying to make him out as subject to foreign ties all along.

[Bucky]

16. Actually, they're flogging their own personal interpretation, which has no standing.

It's legally akin to the problems based on the "natural born" clause which might, had it ever been decided that way by a judge, have effected the eligibility of people like McCain or Goldwater because they weren't born in an actual US state. It's an untested argument that any fool can reject as irrelevant.

If these fellows were really all so faithful to the Constitution, they'd leave interpretation of the Constitution to the judicial branch.

[asjr]

13. Republicans should officially change their name

to The Contrary Party. If they spent more time working for us instead of against us we just might make it in this world.

[pnwmom]

20. I think they're the Sour Grapes party. n/t

[Ineeda]

21. NOW they're Constitutional purists???

Cheezits. As my dad would say, "a day late and a dollar short."

[shellgame26]

23. did any of these guys

Object when Bush went to war without seeking the congress' approval?

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PeaceNikki]

27. Also published in "The Onion":

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/obamas_declaration_of_swine

Obama's Declaration Of Swine Flu Emergency Prompts Pro-Swine-Flu Republican Response
OCTOBER 28, 2009 | ISSUE 45•44

WASHINGTON—Claiming that the president was preying on the public's fear of contracting a fatal disease last week when he declared the H1N1 virus a national emergency, Republican leaders announced Wednesday that they were officially endorsing the swine flu. "Thousands of Americans—hardworking ordinary Americans like you and me—already have H1N1," Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said during a press conference. "Now Obama wants to take that away from us. Ask yourself: Do you want the federal government making these kinds of health care decisions for you and your family?" Other prominent Republicans opposing Obama's declaration of emergency include Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, who urged residents of his state to continue not washing their hands, and radio host Rush Limbaugh, who made a point of dying of the virus during his show on Wednesday.

oh wait, yours is a "real" news story. :crazy:

[zbdent]

28. and of course, they believe that Henry Kissinger deserved his Nobel Peace Prize ...

[emulatorloo]

29. This crowd gives "Sore Losers" a bad name. n/t

[Obamanaut]

30. Sometimes I think the ridicule heaped upon Florida is justified - and

I was born here. Maybe it is the water. Or something in the oysters from the Gulf.

What WERE these people thinking, if they were at all.

From the OP "In a letter penned to President Obama on Monday, Florida Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite claims..."

also "In a letter to Obama delivered on Monday, Brown-Waite, R-Fla., along with Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas..."

edited to add another snippet with another Fla name

[bridgit]

34. republicans are making mockery of the constitution

[rucky]

37. Then let's bring it to a vote.

Get these bitches on record.

[spanone]

39. brought to you by faux news...bwahahahahaa