|
OK, today I wrote to my representative and senators saying *'s using the NSA for domestic surveillance without a court order bothers me, and I asked them to support an investigation of the practice. I said that if it's found to be illegal (I couched for legal reasons), that * should be brought up for impeachment. I did not use the word terrorism, or Iraq, or troops. Yet I got this response back from the GOP representative for my district. It's obviously a form letter, but couldn't they at least use a form that mentioned my original issue?? I think I'd rather have gotten a "thanks for writing, we'll look into your issue" bit of fluff than this.
Moni
----- Original Message -----
Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me to express your opinions regarding George Bush's Presidency. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts on this matter.
The matter of the impeachment of a president or any other officer should never be taken lightly or casually. The Constitution of the United States sets forth the general principles which control the procedural aspects of impeachment. As you may be aware, the House of Representatives was delegated the power to impeach an official, while the United States Senate was designated as the only body with the power to try an article of impeachment. Both the Senate and the House have designed procedures to implement these general principles in dealing with a wide range of impeachment issues.
The focus of the impeachment inquiry is to determine whether the person involved has engaged in treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. If the House Committee on the Judiciary determines that grounds for impeachment exist, a resolution impeaching the individual in question and setting forth specific allegations of misconduct will be reported to the full House. As you may be aware, only three Presidents faced impeachment proceedings since the ratification of our Constitution; however, only two were actually impeached by the House of Representatives.
In 1867, President Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House on the ground that he had violated the "Tenure of Office" Act ; however, he was acquitted by the Senate. Over one hundred years later, Congress moved to impeach President Richard Nixon, a move forestalled only by the resignation of the President on August 9, 1974. Three articles of impeachment were approved by the House Judiciary Committee, charging obstruction of the investigation of the "Watergate" burglary inquiry, misuse of law enforcement and intelligence agencies for political purposes, and refusal to comply with the Judiciary Committee's subpoenas.
Finally, in 1998, P resident Clinton was impeached by the House, but acquitted by vote of the Senate. The House approved two articles of impeachment against the President that charged the President with committing perjury in testifying before the grand jury and charged the President with obstruction of justice relating both to the civil lawsuit and to the grand jury proceedings. Two additional articles of impeachment had been approved by the House Judiciary Committee but were rejected by the full House. The Senate trial resulted in acquittal on both articles.
While I certainly understand and support your right to disagree with the actions of your government, Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution states that 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.." When I took office, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States . President Bush exercised his authority as president to use troops abroad to protect national interests abroad.
War is never a first option, and it was not the case in Iraq . Only after years of failed efforts on behalf of the international community did the United States take action in Iraq . Although the original reasons for going to war never materialized, a heinous and dangerous dictator was brought to justice and a people who strive for freedom are now in the midst of forming an historic government founded in democracy and freedom for all people. Time will judge the true impact of the sacrifices that we have made and I believe that in the end, our efforts today will bring peace and stability to this region.
While we may disagree on the Bush Presidency, I believe that President Bush correctly exercised his authority as Commander-in-Chief and upheld his Constitutional responsibility to protect the interests of America . As I stated earlier, the use of the constitutional tool of impeachment should never be exercised lightly or for political reasons. As long as I am a Member of the United States House of Representatives, I will faithfully execute my constitutional responsibilities and only use tools such as the impeachment power when warranted - not because of political gain or motivation.
Any implication that we are currently overcommitted abroad and therefore are unable to handle emergencies domestically is also erroneous. Our national security posture is structured to support multiple overseas contingencies or homeland security emergencies at one time. As of mid September, over 50,000 service personnel were on the ground or aboard ships supporting Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Of this amount, over 35,000 are from the state National Guard units, and more troops are available if needed.
Our military forces can support our current international contingencies and domestic security responsibilities. I support the men and women of our armed forces for neutralizing the threats posed to us. These brave men and women, home and abroad, have left their families to protect our country so their fellow Americans will be safer here at home.
While we may not agree on every issue, I am sure we can find common ground and continue to protect the freedom and democracy of all Americans worldwide. I truly appreciate your taking the time to contact me. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any further assistance on this matter or other issues facing Congress.
Sincerely,
ANDER CRENSHAW
Member of Congress
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(83 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
