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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe House’s Un-American Activities
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/19-4The Houses Un-American Activities
by Richard Eskow
The Constitution does an admirable job of describing the way our government is supposed to operate, and nowhere does it say the House of Representatives has the power to shut it down in order to revoke a law that displeases it. In fact, it makes it clear that this is not how our system works
And yet thats exactly what House Republicans under John Boehner and Eric Cantor are attempting to do, through a series of arcane procedural maneuvers that involve a continuing resolution this Friday and an upcoming fight over the governments debt ceiling. The Republicans are attempting to use these administrative processes to revoke or neutralize duly enacted legislation, and perhaps to hijack the governance process in other ways as well.
The Constitution doesnt give the House that kind of unilateral power. It does, however, include these words: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned and all executive and judicial Officers shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution.
What the Republicans are attempting to do is, therefore, both unconstitutional and a violation of their own sworn promise an oath sworn on the Bible they claim to revere. Their consciences must decide whether their behavior is un-Godly, but the Constitution they swore to uphold makes it pretty plain that its un-American.
snip//
The Republicans lost. They lost the health care debate, which is why the law was passed. They lost two out of three branches of government in the 2012 election. (They lost the House too, by 1.4 million votes, but gerrymandering kept them in power.) Theyve lost politically, and theyve lost constitutionally. They must not be allowed to trample on our system of government, to win by cheating what they lost under our system of government.
The cynical extremists running the GOP may very well think that elected officials who respect our countrys democratic processes are suckers, Marquis of Queensbury fighters who dont know how to win. Theyre wrong. They wont win this way. They wont win morally, and in the end they wont win politically. Theres another, better word for the kind of people who prefer to play by the Constitutions rules:
Americans.
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The House’s Un-American Activities (Original Post)
babylonsister
Sep 2013
OP
BeyondGeography
(39,276 posts)1. They go crazy when they lose
We have the Clinton presidency to remind us of that. They go crazy when they win, too. They are America's perpetual nightmare.
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)2. I get scared when they lose, their America looks like ancient Rome .
All our maladies are their resentment of the Pre-Shrub, Clinton years .
Scuba
(53,475 posts)3. But IOKIYAR.