After walking out of Obama’s State of the Union speech upon hearing the president threaten to violate the Constitution and to rule by decree, Republican U.S. Congressman Steve Stockman (shown on right) of Texas says he is now seeking public support for introducing articles of impeachment. Recent surveys suggest that about 50 percent of Americans want to impeach Obama for a wide range of major scandals, and articles of impeachment have already been filed in the House against disgraced Attorney General Eric Holder, who is currently in criminal contempt of Congress.
The grassroots effort to impeach Obama, which has surged in recent years amid seemingly never-ending scandals surrounding the administration, argues that the president has committed numerous high crimes and misdemeanors worthy of removal from office. Among other crimes, experts and lawmakers point to unlawful NSA espionage against Americans, “Fast and Furious” gun running to cartels and the ongoing coverup, unconstitutional wars, support for jihadists in the Middle East, IRS targeting of conservatives, Benghazigate, “green” energy corruption, spying on journalists, refusing to enforce laws, ruling by decree, and more.
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“I’m considering filing Articles of Impeachment against Barack Obama,” Rep. Stockman declared on a website for his Senate bid against Texas Senator and Republican Minority Whip John Cornyn. “You see, I walked out of Obama’s State of the Union address last night. Obama defiantly vowed not only to radically expand the reach of government from cradle to grave, but to smash the Constitution’s restrictions on government power while doing it.”
“His goal is to eliminate our constitutional republic,” the conservative stalwart continued in his January 29 message soliciting public support for the impeachment effort. “Last year I said I would consider impeachment as a last resort to stop Obama’s abuse of power. And, quite frankly, we’re running out of options.… He openly declared war on the Constitution.” To be successful, however, Stockman said he needs hundreds of thousands of patriotic Americans to stand with him.
While multiple lawmakers have mentioned the prospect of impeaching Obama, Rep. Stockman is the first to publicly suggest that he would actually try to get it done. In fact, according to news reports, the conservative Texas lawmaker has even distributed copies of the book Impeachable Offenses: The Case for Removing Barack Obama From Office to every member of Congress. “I hope this book helps convince my colleagues to hold Barack Obama legally responsible for his disregard for the law,” he said.
According to Stockman, when the president has been informed of offenses, Obama “sought to cover them up rather than accept responsibility and correct the mistakes.” Among other concerns, Stockman has cited the Benghazigate scandal, the administration’s gun-running program for Mexican cartels known as “Fast and Furious,” crony deals on “green” energy, and ObamaCare. “The lawless Obama administration must be reined in,” the congressman said.
“We’ve seen how the Obama administration smears and defames their critics,” Stockman said in October of last year. Impeachment should be rare and only considered as a last resort, he continued, but the administration’s offenses continue piling up. “Congress should investigate these scandals and turn the matters over to special prosecutors,” he added.
It appears that Obama’s January 28 State of the Union speech might have been the last straw for Stockman — and potentially many other lawmakers, too. During his address, the president outlined a radical agenda for economic fascism, numerous anti-constitutional schemes, and unconstitutional usurpation of legislative powers using “executive action” on everything from gun control and “global warming” to education, seizing land, and more.
“America does not stand still, and neither will I,” Obama threatened during the speech after having recently vowed to unilaterally rule America using a “pen” and a “phone” through executive actions. “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.” By “opportunity,” Obama meant lawless government, of course, as explained throughout the rest of his speech.
The public was horrified after the speech, with surveys showing that more than two-thirds of Americans reject the president’s extremist plan to bypass Congress and rule the nation by fiat. About the same percentage say the federal government is “out of control” and a threat to basic liberties, with recent polls also showing that just 21 percent of Americans believe Washington, D.C., still has the consent of the governed.
Lawmakers, too, were outraged after Obama’s speech. Top GOP congressmen and senators said the “lawless” and “imperial presidency” must be restrained. Other liberty-minded legislators who support the Constitution warned that the president was behaving like a “king” or even a “socialistic dictator” — and that the pledge to violate his oath of office and rule by decree needed to be urgently addressed to preserve America.
Several efforts to restrain the Obama administration are already underway, lawmakers said. Among them: a lawsuit seeking to have the courts put an end to the lawlessness, and the “Stop This Overreaching Presidency” (STOP) resolution, which has already been introduced with some 74 cosponsors. “Sorry Mr. President, but the Constitution trumps both your pen and phone,” said Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), adding that Obama does not respect the balance of power envisioned by America’s Founding Fathers.
Stockman added that Obama still refuses to admit that his policies have failed. Indeed, the president’s agenda of higher taxes and spending represent a “blueprint for perpetual poverty,” the Texas Republican noted.
“Even worse, Obama has openly vowed to break his oath of office and begin enacting his own brand of law through executive decree,” continued Stockman, who has publicly suggested that there was already enough support in the House of Representatives to impeach Obama for numerous crimes. “This is a wholesale violation of his oath of office and a disqualifying offense.”
Responding to a popular 2012 petition seeking Obama’s impeachment, the White House rejected the idea and defended the president’s record. “The President has deep respect and appreciation for the Constitution — he studied it in law school, he taught students about its principles as a professor, and as a lawmaker and now as President, he’s carried out its precepts,” claimed the official response, purporting to justify multiple unconstitutional actions including the war on Libya, which was waged without congressional approval, the appointment of “czars,” and ObamaCare.
Across America, there has been furious outcry among lawmakers and wide swaths of the public over Obama’s machinations. Even a U.S. judge recently accused the administration of participating in criminal conspiracies. However, analysts say impeaching the president would be an uphill battle — especially with the Senate, which must convict, currently under Democrat control. Republican leadership in the House, meanwhile, has also been accused of enabling the administration’s lawlessness by continuing to approve funding for it.
Still, Stockman, who has also stood up to the establishment wing of the GOP, is receiving widespread support and praise for his effort among increasingly frustrated Americans, especially Tea Party activists. Top conservative commentators have proposed impeachment as well, and multiple lawmakers have broached the subject. Even some prominent liberals have joined calls to impeach Obama. Whether impeachment will succeed or not, however, depends largely on the level of grassroots support that Americans can muster for the effort, Stockman said.
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected].
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