IÂ’m sorry, but that is the only conclusion I can draw from this declaration by the distinguished plagiarist from Delaware.

Presidential hopeful Delaware Sen. Joe Biden stated unequivocally that he will move to impeach President Bush if he bombs Iran without Congressional approval.

Biden spoke in front of a crowd of approximately 100 at a Seacoast Media Group forum Thursday, which focused on the Iraq War and foreign policy. When an audience member expressed fear of another war with Iran, he said he does not typically engage in threats, but had no qualms about issuing a direct warning to the oval office.

“The President has no authority to unilaterally attack Iran and if he does, as foreign relations committee chairman, I will move to impeach,” said Biden, which was followed by a raucous applause.

Biden said he is in the process of meeting with constitutional law experts to prepare a legal memorandum saying as much, and intends to send it to the President.

When resident Joel Carp asked Biden why not impeach now given what has already been done, Biden said it was a valid point but might not be constitutionally valid and potentially counterproductive. A case for impeachment must have clear evidence, he said, and blame should be directed at the right parties.

“If you’re going to impeach George Bush, you better impeach Cheney first,” said Biden, which also received applause.

Now letÂ’s look at a couple of points here.

1) “The President has no authority to unilaterally attack Iran

I believe that Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, which states that “[t]he President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States…”, gants operational control of the military to the President. As such, he does, in fact, have the authority to order an attack if it is in the national security interests of the United States.

2. and if he does, as foreign relations committee chairman, I will move to impeach

There are some minor provisions of the Constitution related to impeachment that would make this problematic. After all, Article I Section 2 makes it clear where the power to impeach lies – with the House of Represenatives.

The House of Representatives . . . shall have the sole power of impeachment.

Therefore, Joe Biden has absolutely no authority to impeach anyone from his high and exalted status as foreign relations committee chairman.

Of course, in the event articles of impeachment are passed through the House of Representatives, Biden will be but one vote out of 100 when the Senate exercises this power, as per Article I, Section 3.

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation.

Now even there, we have an interesting issue. Removal of an impeached individual requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate. Even in cases in which there is manifest evidence of actual criminal conduct, as in the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, the partisan divide in the Senate is likely to prevent the removal of an impeached president. Biden knows quite well that there are at least 34 Republicans – and at least one Democrat – who will vote against impeachment based upon what amounts to a policy difference, something which cannot legitimately be seen as constituting “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” under Article II, Section 4.

So in the end, all this statement by Joe Biden tells us is that he doesn’t know sh!t about the Constitution – or that he is willing to sh!t on the Constitution for partisan purposes. In either event, he is clearly unfit to hold any office under the Constitution.

Interestingly enough, Joe Biden also made a point which explains why none of the other Democrat candidates is fit to be President, either.

"I ask you a rhetorical question: Are you prepared to vote for anyone - at this moment in our history - as president who is not capable of being secretary of state? Who among my opponents would you consider appointing secretary of state? Seriously. Think about it."

I did – and wept for my country at the prospect of having any of this crop of Democrats serve as president at this moment in our history.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:27 AM | Comments (31) | Add Comment
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