Spring Break
I support the impeachment of Barack Obama
Ted Hamilton
Issue date: 1/22/09 Section: Opinion
Please hold the threats and hear me out before you jump to any conclusions.
I know many people are still in a euphoric state after witnessing their candidate get elected to America's highest office. I know many of you think that words such as "hope" and "change" are not simply rhetoric, but ideals in some way.
I also know it seems way too early to talk about throwing someone out of the White House before he or she is comfortably settled in behind the big desk.
I realize, however, that as soon as someone is elected president, the chance is he or she is going to break the oath he or she swore while accepting the presidency. The oath President Obama was sworn in on was to do his best to preserve and uphold the Constitution of the United States.
How can a politician who has voted for renewing the Patriot Act and enacting laws that authorize electronic surveillance of his nation's citizens uphold the Constitution?
While privacy is not mentioned in the constitution, it is repeated again and again in the Bill of Rights. Everything from the privacy of our beliefs to the privacy of our homes can be found in what is, perhaps, our most important historical document.
How could a man who ran a campaign painting his rival as George Bush III support the same right-revoking laws? Just by letting these laws exist defaces the Constitution that Obama had sworn to protect and uphold.
I am not a nutcase, nor am I alone in thinking our new president should be impeached just as quickly as if he were a tumor on a cancer patient. I am also not the first person to think these thoughts. One "Impeach Barack Obama" group on Facebook has more than 8,000 members already. Others supporting his impeachment also have more than several thousand members.
It's not just Obama. In theory, it takes less than a minute for a president to violate his oath after he had been sworn in. Just by allowing the federal income tax to exist, our leaders violate the constitution (I previously wrote about this in December 2007, in "The Federal income tax is unconstitutional and illegal.")
This is not a rant just against our new president, who many Americans view as their savior, but against George W. Bush as well. In a matter of fact, it is a rant against Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and every president since 1913 - the year the amendment creating the federal income tax came into being.
Nothing is going to come of people's cries for impeachment. Obama will not be impeached tomorrow, next week or next month. In all likelihood, no president will ever be impeached for raping the Constitution - no matter how savagely he or she does it. Our leaders have gotten away with their crimes for decades; what is a few more?
Issues like this are a concern for many people like myself. It scares me that a lot of laws that take our freedoms away are passed so easily. I would like to see Americans screaming their heads off about the Patriot Act and the revised FISA laws. Instead, no one will hear more than an irritated mumble from the majority of voters as oppressive bills become law.
Because people are so eager to roll onto their backs whenever something happens inside our government, I know Obama will never be impeached for violating Americans' rights. I can only hope that a few people listen and a few more begin to pay attention to what goes on around them.
Ted Hamilton is a senior magazine journalism major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at thamilt2@kent.edu.
I know many people are still in a euphoric state after witnessing their candidate get elected to America's highest office. I know many of you think that words such as "hope" and "change" are not simply rhetoric, but ideals in some way.
I also know it seems way too early to talk about throwing someone out of the White House before he or she is comfortably settled in behind the big desk.
I realize, however, that as soon as someone is elected president, the chance is he or she is going to break the oath he or she swore while accepting the presidency. The oath President Obama was sworn in on was to do his best to preserve and uphold the Constitution of the United States.
How can a politician who has voted for renewing the Patriot Act and enacting laws that authorize electronic surveillance of his nation's citizens uphold the Constitution?
While privacy is not mentioned in the constitution, it is repeated again and again in the Bill of Rights. Everything from the privacy of our beliefs to the privacy of our homes can be found in what is, perhaps, our most important historical document.
How could a man who ran a campaign painting his rival as George Bush III support the same right-revoking laws? Just by letting these laws exist defaces the Constitution that Obama had sworn to protect and uphold.
I am not a nutcase, nor am I alone in thinking our new president should be impeached just as quickly as if he were a tumor on a cancer patient. I am also not the first person to think these thoughts. One "Impeach Barack Obama" group on Facebook has more than 8,000 members already. Others supporting his impeachment also have more than several thousand members.
It's not just Obama. In theory, it takes less than a minute for a president to violate his oath after he had been sworn in. Just by allowing the federal income tax to exist, our leaders violate the constitution (I previously wrote about this in December 2007, in "The Federal income tax is unconstitutional and illegal.")
This is not a rant just against our new president, who many Americans view as their savior, but against George W. Bush as well. In a matter of fact, it is a rant against Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and every president since 1913 - the year the amendment creating the federal income tax came into being.
Nothing is going to come of people's cries for impeachment. Obama will not be impeached tomorrow, next week or next month. In all likelihood, no president will ever be impeached for raping the Constitution - no matter how savagely he or she does it. Our leaders have gotten away with their crimes for decades; what is a few more?
Issues like this are a concern for many people like myself. It scares me that a lot of laws that take our freedoms away are passed so easily. I would like to see Americans screaming their heads off about the Patriot Act and the revised FISA laws. Instead, no one will hear more than an irritated mumble from the majority of voters as oppressive bills become law.
Because people are so eager to roll onto their backs whenever something happens inside our government, I know Obama will never be impeached for violating Americans' rights. I can only hope that a few people listen and a few more begin to pay attention to what goes on around them.
Ted Hamilton is a senior magazine journalism major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at thamilt2@kent.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 42
John Kerry
posted 1/22/09 @ 11:49 AM EST
Your an idiot.
.
posted 1/22/09 @ 12:07 PM EST
You are an idiot. The very fact that income tax is an AMMENDMENT to the Constitution MAKES it a part of the Constitution, therefore it cannot BE unconstitutional. (Continued…)
Val
posted 1/22/09 @ 1:05 PM EST
If you wanted to impeach someone for violating the Constitution and the rights of citizens, sorry, but you're about one President too late.
Campaign For Liberty!
posted 1/22/09 @ 3:51 PM EST
....I thought college was a place to express ones ideas freely and to debate the issues without animosity?
The 13th Amendment makes it very clear that we cannot legally or Constitutionally be forced into involuntary servitude. (Continued…)
Greg
posted 1/22/09 @ 3:53 PM EST
The income tax amendment says that the government can do an income tax, but there is nothing in the tax law that says you have to pay an income tax. Although every President in recent memory has broken the Constitution we must stop it here. (Continued…)
MK
posted 1/22/09 @ 5:41 PM EST
LOL Libertarians are so funny. Yes, lets stop collecting taxes and let our schools, police, federal loans, Social Security, and roads die. We don't need them. (Continued…)
Germaine
posted 1/22/09 @ 11:56 PM EST
Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.. Many of us are not quite into the Obama fanfare and it is good to see some thoughtfulness and more honest coverage from the press. (Continued…)
Germaine
posted 1/23/09 @ 12:31 AM EST
I should add.. not only do I wish to be free from oppressive taxes but I want (and want our writers) to have free speech/publshing rights. Who wants to live in a society where only popular speech is protected? Folks living in communists cultures hate it and die for this liberty. (Continued…)
Mr. Jesse Merino
posted 1/23/09 @ 10:19 AM EST
I have to laugh at 'promises' that any Politician makes...
Each one of them 'knows' that they will be forgiven for not being able to keep thier promises, as the Public has a very short memory span of three seconds or less, after a very boring speach is made. (Continued…)
Your Mom
posted 1/23/09 @ 8:36 PM EST
There truly is no point to this article. It sounds as if, if you had it your way, every President would be impeached at some point. OK, well that's never going to happen and you even admit that in your article! So why support something you know will never happen and is completely stupid in the first place?
Oh, and by the way, other people want to impeach Barack Obama because he's black. (Continued…)
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