crazytalk triptych

[solarbird]

Oh look, it's another installment of HAS EVERYONE GONE COMPLETELY INSANE?! It's mostly a set of quotes, all tied together into a neat. little. package. I hope you like it.

Part I:

The Constitution of the United States:

Section 8 - Powers of Congress

[...]

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 Insurrections 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 the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Part II:

Congress Eric Cantor (R-Virginia), on MSNBC last weekend, transcription excerpted from here:

Christ MATTHEWS (MSNBC): Right now, February 8, 2007, do you believe we should go to war with Iran?

Congressman Eric CANTOR (R-Virginia): I'll leave that decision up to the commanders on the ground and those in our military ...

MATTHEWS: Commanders on the ground ... whether we go to war with another country?

CANTOR: I will leave the decisions in the military arena to -- this is exactly the point.

[...]

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you Congressman Cantor, very clearly, to clear up our discussion, if the U.S. Congress were to discuss tomorrow morning whether to declare war on Iran, would you vote yay?

CANTOR: This congress is not going to do that because it's the commander in chief's role, Chris, and Steve knows that as well. It's not Congress that will ask for that. It is the commander in chief that will make that decision. Every president whether republican or Republican or Democrat since the War Powers Act was in place has interpreted it as being the commander in chief's role to do that.

[...]

MATTHEWS: Congressman Israel, what's the role of Congress in war and peace?

Congressman Steve ISRAEL (D-NY): Congress under the Constitution of the United States authorizes war. The War Powers Act requires Congress to vote on whether we should insert troops into hostile situations. The law is clear.

CANTOR: Absolutely not.

[...]

MATTHEWS: Congressman Cantor, why did the president ask for approval of Congress before he went to Iraq?

CANTOR: I certainly think his counsel gave him guidance why he need to do that but the Constitution gives the commander in chief the right to send our troops into battle.

Part III:

And in case anybody out there hasn't read Section 2 lately:

Section 2 - Civilian Power over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States...

...which is not to say, "whenever the hell he feels like it."

---

The is an anti-Federalist nightmare come to life. This is one of the things they warned about. This is one of the things that the actual writers of the actual Constitution in their own actual words specifically said was not true, and you can read it in the Federalist papers if you want. Clearly, this jackass hasn't, and even if he did, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care, because as far as I can tell, it is the position of the current chief executive's administration.

Virginia, I'm callin' you out. You gonna recall this jackass or what?

Comments

[avram]

Re-read the "Part II" section above. This has nothing to do with Bush, it has to do with Cantor's gross misunderstanding of the Constitution. He's not deferring to the president's judgment, he's claiming that the president has a power that he does not have under the Constitution, and that Congress lacks a power that it has. Check out the bit where Congressman Israel correctly describes the legal situation, and Cantor replies "Absolutely not."

[banner.livejournal.com]

Actually he's making the argument that since the passage of the 'War Powers Act' that the Congress has surrendered it's role of declaring war to the President. That the President can do whatever they please as long as they honor that act.

I personally believe that the War Powers act is unconstitutional, because the Congress can make no law regarding the powers of the President, and neither can the Congress surrender its obligations to other branches of the Government.

[avram]

Except that has argument is still ridiculous. The War Powers Act requires the President to consult with Congress when US armed forces are involved in hostilities even when there isn't a declared war. That's why Nixon vetoed it back in '73, and that's why Cheney says the Act is an unconstitutional infringement on Presidential powers. In other words, the Act restricts Presidential powers, it doesn't expand them.

[banner.livejournal.com]

Actually it's extremely logical for an argument. Go read the act. If Congress thinks it can pass a law to do something it doesn't have the authority to do, I see no reason why you can't interpret it in other ways. If the President has 60 days to go to Congress, that means he can do whatever the heck he wants for those 60 days, right? Even an all out war?

Clinton BTW, violated the war powers act twice while in office. One thing about Clinton, when he knew he was right, he didn't mess around with BS.

[avram]

Again, re-read Cantor's words:

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you Congressman Cantor, very clearly, to clear up our discussion, if the U.S. Congress were to discuss tomorrow morning whether to declare war on Iran, would you vote yay?

CANTOR: This congress is not going to do that because it's the commander in chief's role, Chris, and Steve knows that as well.