Field Trip to the Capital

    My Constitutional Law class had an "end of year" field trip to the state capital. 

The lower half of the walking stick being held by the statue George Washington was broken off during the civil war when Union Soldiers beat the statue until it broke

We sat in on three appellate cases at the Supreme Court and were able to tour the capital building, seeing both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The Supreme Court lobby

The Supreme Court Bench 

(Nil Ultra on the wall is Latin and means "none higher")

My sister, Dad and I behind the Court Bench

Me and a monument near the Capital

The House of Representatives is made up of 124 members

The Senate consists of 46 members

The class on the steps of the Supreme Court

President Obama Has Committed Impeachable Offenses

    In the United States’ Constitution it is written: “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”(Article II, Section 4) President Obama has not only committed innumerable “misdemeanors”, but has also defied the Constitution on countless occasions. Whether by not fulfilling his positional mandate or by ignoring the limitations placed on his office, President Obama has qualified for impeachment.

      President Obama has not “faithfully executed” the laws of Congress. In Article II, it is stated “...he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed…” (Section 3) Critics have observed a commonality in President Obama’s decisions: ignoring, changing, or refusing to enforce key provisions in laws dealing with domestic policy. He has refused to send back the majority of illegal immigrants crossing our borders, in spite of Congress’s efforts to do so. When he does send anyone back, he sends the “criminal” ones, when in fact, they are all criminals. 

     As he attempts to enact a new executive action on immigration, he seems primed to expand presidential power once again. In doing so, he’ll set new precedents that future Presidents can use as reasoning for even more expansive action. "It's both perplexing and alarming that the president has decided to move forward with executive actions on immigration that he has said on numerous occasions that he didn't have the Constitutional power to take."(United States Representative Bob Goodlatte) On March 28, 2011, Obama said, "With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive orders, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed…Congress passes the law, the executive branch’s job is to enforce and implement those laws…There are enough laws on the books that are very clear in terms of how we enforce our immigration system that for me to, simply through executive order, ignore these Constitutional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as president.” On February 14, 2013, Obama said, "I'm not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed by Congress..."His views are vastly different now, in announcing his executive actions, Obama said he was well within his legal authority to take them.

     President Obama has ignored the limitations placed on his office by the Constitution. In his most recent State of the Union address, President Obama clearly said that he would respond to Congressional blockage by finding measures that could be used in the absence of congressional action. "America does not stand still – and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do." In March 2008, Senator Barack Obama stated: “I taught Constitutional Law for ten years; I take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that we’re facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that’s what I intend to reverse when I’m President of the United States of America.” Academic, legal, and policy experts however, have made it clear that Obama has done little to return Bush’s expansion of executive power and instead, has made a few additions himself. “The consensus is that he’s not the disrupter in terms of Presidential power that he purported to be,” says Mitchel Sollenberger, a political scientist at the University of Michigan. “Instead, he’s largely continued consolidating and strengthening it."In May of 2013, a Washington Post article revealed that Fox News reporter James Rosen was investigated by the Department of Justice, which confiscated his phone records and emails, which not only violated the fourth clause of the first amendment, but also the fourth amendment.

     Another example of an overreaching of power is when after seeing a rise in the number of applications for tax-exempt status; the IRS in 2010 compiled a "be on the lookout" list to identify organizations engaged in political activities. The list contained words such as "Tea Party," "Patriots," and "Israel"; subjects such as government spending, debt, or taxes; and activities such as criticizing the government, educating about the Constitution, or challenging Obamacare. The targeting continued through May of last year. The Government Reform Committee released a report that finds President Barack Obama and other leading Democrats had encouraged the IRS to investigate conservative groups seeking tax exempt status. Obama called conservative groups with tax-exempt status "shadowy" entities with "innocuous" and "benign-sounding" names. Obama also urged a "fix" to a decision which allowed these groups to "pose" as non-profit groups. 

     Members of the Democratic Party have rejected the idea that Obama has expanded presidential power. They point out that the President is issuing executive orders at the lowest rate of any president in the past century. This is faulty reasoning as a single executive order can be extremely destructive, or meaningless. “The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility to write the laws and the executive to enforce them." (United States Representative Trey Gowdy) "We don’t pass suggestions. We don’t pass ideas. We pass laws. The President's dangerous search for expanded powers appears to be endless." (Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor) "These are not lawful actions," Representative Doug Lamborn said. "These are the power-hungry actions of a president who refuses to work with Congress."Without Congressional intervention, this problem of overreach will continue to grow through future presidencies. 

     There is no Constitutional provision that permits executive orders. The term "executive power" found in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, refers to the title of President as the executive. He is instructed by the declaration, "take care that the Laws be faithfully executed" found in Article II, Section 3. The White House has used theses reasonings to justify the many executive orders our President has enacted. Democrats have defended the President, saying that Republicans want a "lazy President," and a "lazy Congress." That simply isn't the case, Republicans don’t want a "lazy president," they want a Constitutional one.

     President Obama has not adhered to the Constitution. He has exceeded his power and his position. Our President has committed countless misdemeanors and abused his power as President. We not only have the right to impeach him, we have a duty to impeach him. As citizens of the United States, we have a responsibility to hold our leaders accountable to the law. President Obama has not fulfilled his responsibilities as President and qualifies for impeachment.