itution? We Don't Need No Steenking Constitution!! Article I, Section 6. Paragraph 2. "No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shell have been encreased during such time, and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
I don't know how many times this clause has been violated by Presidential appointments of Senators to Cabinet posts and other high-level positions in government, but I suspect it's many.
But, neither Sen Clinton (the smartest woman in the world) nor President-elect Obama (the one true leader) appear to have noticed this clause. Which means neither of them has read the US Constitution, or that neither of them take it seriously. Not that they're alone in this--according to the text of the majority of legislation that's passed in each legislative session, it's clear that nearly all Congressmen and Senators are largely ignorant of the actual text and historical meaning of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and in many cases, the law itself.
The thing that allows these failings to endure unpunished is that all elected officials are either guilty of gross violations of their Oaths of Office, or blindly going along to get along, and are afraid that if a spade is called a spade, any and all of them could be found guilty of these violations.
So, they all ignore the Constitution and pretend that they are acting lawfully, and that none of the unwashed masses are intelligent enough to point out the obvious.
Consider it pointed out.
Tip of the battered grey fedora to James Babb for his alertness.
People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people.
Warm regards,
Col. Hogan
Stalag California
4 comments:
How do you expect politicians to abide by the laws when the words are so big?
Steve,
Lawyers were so stupid in the first years of the Republic that they didn't even know legalese, nor did they include the normal opt-out and escape clauses, nor did they understand the value of the fine print.
Colonel, as I read that clause I understand it to mean that no member of Congress may be appointed to an office or position that was either created or whose pay was increased during his present term. If you have Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State in mind, how has that clause been violated? Did the SecState get a raise during Hillary's present term as Senator?
On the whole I have to agree with you - neither Clinton nor Obama (nor most government officials) seem to care much about the Constitution. In fact, most of them do their damnedest to get around it or ignore it. Obama in particular finds it "too limiting." But you know what? Probably at least half the population of this country finds it too limiting also. They don't care about the Constitution or limited government - they just want candy. And Uncle Sugar will give it to them (at the expense of those who have anything.)
sasob
SASOB,
You might be right. I took it two ways: First, the good Senator (or Congressman) was elected by his constituents. He should have the good grace to stick out his term. Second, since Senators and Congressmen are often claiming their salaries aren't enough, perhaps they'd tend to move into a cabinet post for a raise in pay.
Of course, I'm implying scruples here, and with the elected, that's never a good idea.
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