Reading the Constitution...

Posted by Wonky 11 years, 2 months ago to Politics
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Article 2, section 1, last paragraph: "Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'"


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  • Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 2 months ago
    Article 2, section 1, clause 5:
    "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; ..."

    The only definition of "natural born citizen" that makes sense of this clause's phrasing comes from someone the Founding Fathers were known to have referenced; Vattel.

    Vattel's definition of natural born citizen is "a citizen born of citizen parents".

    That is, to be President, at the time of your birth your parents must have been citizens of one form or another.

    Obama's father was a British subject at the time of his birth. Making him ineligible to hold the office.

    The reason Vattel's definition is the correct one is very simple to understand when you know the circumstances of the War of Independence...

    King George III was the first British monarch of that name... who spoke English as his first language. He was the head of the Hapsburg dynasty. Y'know... Germans. aka, Not-English.

    A century and a quarter later, Queen Victoria's grandson was Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.

    The situation had existed for centuries that the aristocracy of Europe was more loyal to their fellow aristocrats than to the individual countries over which they ruled.

    The whole point of clause 5 only makes sense if that point is to ensure there are no mixed loyalties in the White House.

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  • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 11 years, 2 months ago
    I'm big brother. I don't need no stinkin' constitution...
    Our president might be a constitutional scholar, but it is in the opposite way we think. It is the opposite of of ourselves having studied the Communist Manifesto and finding fault. He finds fault in our constitution and seems to embrace its antithesis... I believe it should be treasonous to take such an oath and then undermine it. We have many also in congress that deserve such an assessment...
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    • Posted by Rocky_Road 11 years, 2 months ago
      "Our president might be a constitutional scholar...."

      'Know thine enemy'...and for Obama, that is our Constitution.
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      • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 11 years, 2 months ago
        Our Constitution needs a new defense mechanism. Obama and his progressives are making great inroads. Congress has all but abdicated its responsibility. The supreme court is a kangaroo court and the POTUS has not yet upset the military to the point of rebellion. The people are largely lethargic and complacent. I'm not sure what is worse... the threat of civil disobedience, a terrifying military takeover, or the slow demise of our freedom, liberty, our republic... Something must change or our posterity will have no chance to live the life we were afforded. Someone must stand up to this. Right now the government shutdown looks like the best that can be mustered... I guess that is the extent of congress's resolve... I shudder to think of how difficult it will be to right the ship of state if the next election does not bring about a new paradigm, a return of respect for founding principles of personal freedom and responsibility. Ultimately if the people do not emerge from their gov't sugar daddy daydream then Lincoln's fears will come true and government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall perish from the earth...
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        • Posted by Rocky_Road 11 years, 2 months ago
          The Democrats have 'gone to the mattresses' in a defined effort to demolish the Tea Party movement, once and for all.

          I sincerely hope that the GOP stands their ground, and gives no quarter....

          This could be the decisive battle for The Republic.
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  • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 2 months ago
    And when you stack the Supreme Court anything you want to be "Constitutional"...will be bent and twisted and ruled to be so. Tyranny...the very thing the Founders warned us about and took every step to protect us against...but ultimately the action of upholding it falls on us.
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    • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 2 months ago
      Here are some great quotes on tyranny from people who would know:

      "The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant."
      Maximilien Robespierre

      "There is no week nor day nor hour when tyranny may not enter upon this country, if the people lose their roughness and spirit of defiance."
      Walt Whitman

      "If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
      James Madison

      "Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day."
      Thomas Jefferson

      "Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."
      Thomas Jefferson

      "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."
      Edmund Burke
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