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Posted on 03/27/2005 6:45:08 PM PST by tutstar
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1373211/posts
Jeb Bush is courting dereliction of duty
Worldnetdaily ^ | 3-29-2005 | Dr. Alan Keyes
Posted: March 29, 2005 11:44 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
The Florida state constitution declares unequivocally that in the state of Florida "the supreme executive power shall be vested in a governor … ." The word supreme means highest in authority. There can be no executive authority in the state of Florida higher than the governor. No state law can create an executive authority higher than highest in the Florida constitution. Therefore no court order based upon such a law can constitutionally create such an authority.
If the governor tells the local police in Pinellas County to step aside, they must do so, or else be arrested and tried for an assault on the government of the state, which is to say insurrection.
(If Gov. Jeb Bush fears that for some reason they would question the authority of his representatives, then he should take the necessary law enforcement officials to Tampa in person, thus making the situation crystal clear.)
Since Florida's highest law grants him supreme executive power, the governor's action would be lawful. No one in the Florida judiciary can say otherwise, since the whole basis for the doctrine of judicial review (which they invoked when they refused to apply "Terri's law") is that any law at variance with the constitution is no law at all.
Gov. Bush has said that he recognizes the injustice being done to Terri Schiavo but is powerless to stop it. He is obviously not powerless, and his view of injustice is fully warranted.
The Florida state constitution declares: "All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty … ."
The word "inalienable" means that the rights in question cannot be given away or transferred to another by law. Now, by allowing Michael Schiavo to starve his wife to death, Judge George W. Greer transfers to Schiavo the exercise of her right to life, doing on her behalf what the Florida state constitution declares she herself could not do (since an inalienable right cannot be given away).
Schiavo's decision, and any element of the law it is based on that has the same effect, are therefore unconstitutional on the face of it.
The governor of Florida cannot be obliged to enforce unconstitutional edicts, nor can he be faulted for acting to stop an evident violation of the constitution. In his oath as governor he swore to "support, protect and defend the Constitution and government of the United States and of the state of Florida."
As supreme executive, he is obliged to act in their defense, and no court order can relieve him of this responsibility.
Any order by Judge Greer that seeks to prevent him from doing his sworn duty, as he sees fit, is invalid, and any attempt by the judge to incite armed forces to enforce his order would be an act of judicial insurrection against the constitution and government of Florida.
The judge may have whatever opinion he pleases, but when he attempts to use force to back it up, he breaks the law, going against the constitution of the state, which is to say against the supreme law in Florida.
In Federalist 81, when Alexander Hamilton lists the safeguards against "judiciary encroachments on the legislative authority," he cites in particular "its total incapacity to support its usurpations by force."
Accepting the notion that judicial orders at any level may constitute an executive power superior to the chief executive would give the judiciary just such a forceful capacity.
When every judicial decision carries the implied threat of armed insurrection, a key safeguard of liberty and self-government is removed. If any state governor, or the president of the United States acts so as to encourage the judiciary to assume such executive power, or the people to believe that it may constitutionally do so, he undermines the integrity of all our constitutions, and of American self-government as a whole.
This constitutes a grave dereliction of duty and would in saner times clearly be grounds for his impeachment by a legislature intent on defending the Florida constitution against "judiciary encroachments."
By God's grace, however, Terri Schiavo still lives, and Gov. Bush may yet act to redeem himself and his constitutional authority. Courageous action would be an act of statesmanship, defending the integrity of our constitutional system and the ultimate sovereignty of the people.
We have long been awaiting the statesman who could turn a crisis into such healing. Like Ronald Reagan before him, Jeb Bush could prove himself such a man. For Terri's sake and for the sake of constitutional self-government in America, he should act now. For failure to do so, he has no excuse.
No, he hasn't been on yet, you haven't missed him.
That's true.
None of us know what it's like until we meet the trial.
Each one of us has had a situation that others would say, "I don't think I could handle that".
And you know...they are probably right.
Do you have a link for Savage?
www.ksky.com
Levin on Felos a/k/a Fidel reading excerpts from book:
"Such a deep dark silent blue, I stared at her eyes as long I could....blue became a black of a bottomless lake..."
Re "Estelle Browning's right to die"
"He uses this case [Browning] as a framework to interweave his law practice and spiritual unfolding...."
Levin: "This is pretty sick stuff."
The Loon seems to be on an upswing tonight - giving props to the Catholic church. Hentoff on after the hard break.
ping to 2701
ping to 2138
The party was already fractured - big tent vs. abortion.
Do I hold my leaders responsible for Terri? Yes. Will I leave the party because of it? No.
I wouldn't argue over whether or not anyone should leave the Republican Party. That's an individual decision.
After so many heady victories what would that say for me that after my party had one setback I would choose to leave them and belittle them.
What heady victories are you talking about? The fact that the Republican Party holds the majority of the Congress, along with the White House, and can't push through the President's judicial nomenees? That despite a great outpouring of reaction from the public, Arlen Specter was STILL made Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee?
I will continue to do what is right. I will write letters saying this had better never happen again, I will send emails saying you blew it and correct it legally...."
"Blew it" is a term reserved for failure to use the nuclear option, not life and death matters! Terri is an irreplaceable human being! There is no next time for Terri! "Blew it" just does not apply here. And I think that if Terri dies, it's a lot more than a Republican setback.
...and most of all I will use as much persuasive power that I have to say "enough is enough" now is the time for the nuclear option, now is the time for reform, now is the time....
Enough WAS enough, long before Terri's feeding tube was pulled. All I can say here is "Good Luck."
...not time to leave or belittle or be caustic. That's what the enemy does - and we are not the enemy.
You're right, we're not the enemy. WE insist that our leaders keep their Oaths of Office.
Here's a live link:
http://www.ksky.com/
(Joanna, the radio links don't seem to come up live, unless you put that http:// in front of them, I've found.)
Thank you!
Yes, Hentoff next.
Other than the continued appeal to basic human decency, Article One, Section Two of the Florida constitution as well as the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution are our strongest arguments.
Any act by any court that contravenes those provisions' unalienable rights is an unlawful and cruelly criminal act, and needs to be viewed as such by the Legislature and the Executive of both Florida and the United States.
And they must act to do their sworn duty NOW! Inaction while a crime is being perpetrated is itself a crime.
Since Florida's highest law grants him supreme executive power, the governor's action would be lawful. No one in the Florida judiciary can say otherwise, since the whole basis for the doctrine of judicial review (which they invoked when they refused to apply "Terri's law") is that any law at variance with the constitution is no law at all. Any order by Judge Greer that seeks to prevent him from doing his sworn duty, as he sees fit, is invalid, and any attempt by the judge to incite armed forces to enforce his order would be an act of judicial insurrection against the constitution and government of Florida.* * *
The judge may have whatever opinion he pleases, but when he attempts to use force to back it up, he breaks the law, going against the constitution of the state, which is to say against the supreme law in Florida.
In Federalist 81, when Alexander Hamilton lists the safeguards against "judiciary encroachments on the legislative authority," he cites in particular "its total incapacity to support its usurpations by force."
ping to 2716
He requires nothing more of the president or the governor.
He is unstinting in his repeated reference to Felos as "creepy".
He has little to say of Michael, nor of Greer.
His main target is the left which is eager to kill Terri and sees a Republican loss due to perceived congressional "overreaching".
He defended Delay against charges of hypocrisy, and deconstructed attacks from the Los Angeles Times and New York Times on the Schindlers, Delay et al.
He indicates Democrats are divided on this and points up Bill Nelson and Kent Conrad support reinsertion of the feeding tube--in Terri and in themselves for another six years in the Senate.
He cites them as prime examples of Democrats perceiving the true national sentiment is not as their skewed polls suggest.
Savage, babbling. May let Nat have a word.
Nat, just laid the blame - systemic - Greer and the MSM.<p<
Not a right to die case.
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