[Rhodes22-list] POLITICAL: FLASH-Ted Stevens Convicted-

Mon Oct 27 20:57:14 EDT 2008

Ben,

Contrary to popular opinion, the GOP is pretty diverse. Reynolds is
more like me, primarily a Libertarian.  But since the Libertarian
Party is mostly a bunch of kooks, we tend to gravitate to the GOP for
refuge (emphasis on the tend).

Brad

On Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 7:38 PM, Benjamin Cittadino
<bigben65 at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> If by "actually asking questions" you mean sitting still for insulting
> suggestions that his running mate is a marxist, I don't think anybody
> expects anybody to sit still for that nonsense. I have this wierd deja vu
> feeling. Have I been here before?
>
> As for your friend from UT, great football tradition; law school? not so
> much. Seriously, Reynolds is a well educated respected academic. On this
> issue though I think almost everybody disagrees with him.  Better not let
> your comrades in arms on this list hear you citing Reynolds. Last time I
> looked your Prof was pro-choice, pro gay marriage, and anti "war on drugs".
>
> Ben C.
>
> Nobody agrees with him
>
> Brad Haslett-2 wrote:
>>
>> Ben,
>>
>> "Then Joe Biden would take over. No worries."
>>
>> That's pretty damn funny!  It was meant to be a joke, right?  Joe's
>> running mate may not know how many states there are but at least Joe
>> knows who was President in 1929 and when the TV was invented. Of
>> course, if he blows off any more TV stations for actually asking
>> questions he'll be hard pressed to hold a press conference.
>>
>> Below is an opinion from my favorite blogger and law professor.  Seems
>> Ole Joe v Caribou Barbie isn't so smart after all.
>>
>> Brad
>>
>> ---------------------
>>
>> October 27, 2008
>> Op-Ed Contributor
>> Where Does the Vice President Belong?
>> By GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS
>>
>> THE presidential campaign has taken a detour into a dispute over the
>> constitutional status of the vice presidency. It all started when
>> Sarah Palin asserted in her debate with Joe Biden that the vice
>> president should play an important role in the legislative branch.
>>
>> Ms. Palin has been roundly mocked for her claim. But she was probably
>> right.
>>
>> Article I of the Constitution, which describes the authority of the
>> legislative branch, says that "the vice president of the United States
>> shall be president of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they
>> be equally divided." Aside from the job of replacing a president who
>> dies or is unable to serve, the only vice presidential duties that are
>> spelled out in the Constitution are legislative in character.
>>
>> But if the vice president is a legislative official, then the exercise
>> of executive power by the vice president raises important
>> constitutional questions related to the separation of powers. The
>> Supreme Court has held on more than one occasion that legislative
>> officials cannot exercise executive power. The Court would likely dub
>> this a "political question" that is beyond its purview, but Congress
>> is empowered to remedy this sort of thing by legislation.
>>
>> And Congress should do just that: pass a law to prohibit the vice
>> president from exercising executive power. Extensive vice presidential
>> involvement in the executive branch — the role enjoyed by Dick Cheney
>> and Al Gore — is not only unconstitutional, but also a bad idea.
>>
>> The most important function of a vice president is to serve as a spare
>> president. Using the spare president in the ordinary course of
>> business is as unwise as driving on one's spare tire. Spares should be
>> kept pristine, for when they are really needed.
>>
>> If the president resigns or is removed from office, a vice president
>> who has been involved in the activities of the executive branch is
>> also likely to be at risk for impeachment. Just as important, a vice
>> president who is enmeshed in the affairs of the president cannot offer
>> a fresh start for the executive branch.
>>
>> The joke may turn out to be on Mr. Biden, who upbraided Ms. Palin for
>> her reading of the Constitution. Presumably Mr. Biden thinks Barack
>> Obama chose him for the same reason that George W. Bush chose Mr.
>> Cheney, as a way of making up for a lack of experience in foreign
>> affairs. Mr. Bush's choice led him to rely on Mr. Cheney in ways that
>> were unprecedented — and unconstitutional.
>>
>> Let's hope Mr. Obama disappoints Mr. Biden. The Constitution and the
>> best interests of the country suggest that the best place for the vice
>> president is in the Senate.
>>
>> Glenn Harlan Reynolds is a professor of law at the University of
>> Tennessee.
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 6:03 PM, Ben Cittadino <bcittadino at dcs-law.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Bill;
>>>
>>> Remember, Stevens was not convicted of bribery.  The prosecutors were
>>> smart
>>> enough not to over-reach or over-charge. He was convicted of violating a
>>> disclosure law which is much easier to prove.  Everybody and their
>>> brother
>>> seems to know about Obama's dealings with Rezko so I really don't know if
>>> he
>>> has the same non-disclosure problem as Stevens.
>>>
>>> If Obama were convicted of a crime, we would run into the same issues we
>>> ran
>>> into with Clinton (and Nixon for that matter). Impeachment (which is only
>>> the charge, like an "indictment") is permitted only for "high crimes and
>>> misdemeanors" and they are whatever the House of Reps says they are.
>>> Conviction in the Senate would mean removal from office. Then Joe Biden
>>> would take over. No worries.
>>>
>>> Best;
>>>
>>> Ben C.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Bill Effros wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Ben,
>>>>
>>>> Stevens was convicted of doing exactly the same thing Obama did.
>>>>
>>>> Obama's house was not purchased by Obama, it was purchased by convicted
>>>> political briber Antoin "My Political Godfather" Rezko and deposited
>>>> into an "Illinois Land Trust" that named Obama as the beneficiary.
>>>>
>>>> Obama then took the house and grounds out of the trust, and claimed to
>>>> have purchased them for 1/2 the asking price (in a rising market)
>>>> leaving Rezko (who was simultaneously filing for bankruptcy) as the
>>>> owner of record of a plot of land with no street access that was not
>>>> buildable.
>>>>
>>>> Rezko is talking to the feds, the same way Steven's fixer, Allen, talked
>>>> to the feds to get a reduced sentence.
>>>>
>>>> Seems to me political bribery is automatic Presidential impeachment
>>>> according to the constitution.  Do I have that right?
>>>>
>>>> Bill Effros
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Ben Cittadino wrote:
>>>>> This is important.  He will almost certainly not be re-elected this Nov
>>>>> 4,
>>>>> which will provide an opportunity another pro-Obama vote in the Senate
>>>>> next
>>>>> year. Talk about a bridge to nowhere.....
>>>>>
>>>>> Ben C.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>
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