Commentary: U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman on War and the Constitution
By Brent Johnson
In what can only be described as his latest attempt to display his outright ignorance about American law and the Constitution, Senator Joe Lieberman recently expounded on the constitutional crisis we are currently facing in the United States.
Not wishing to be accused of looking for trouble where none exists, I will confine myself to Senator Lieberman’s own comments, to wit:
“Congress has been given constitutional responsibilities. But the micro-management of war is not one of them. The appropriation of funds for war is.”
Well, Senator, you are correct in everything you said. So tell me, Senator, precisely when did Congress declare war, and on whom?
“…the Constitution, which has served us now for more than two great centuries of our history, creates not 535 commanders-in-chief, but one - the President of the United States, who is authorized to lead the day to day conduct of war.”
Again, Senator, you have correctly and eloquently cited the Constitution as the foundation and backbone of our government. Speaking of the Constitution, it specifies that “The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, when called into service by the Congress (emphasis mine). Senator Lieberman, just when did Congress call the President into service as Commander-in-Chief? This would ordinarily be done in conjunction with a congressional declaration of war, which itself would be done after an initial declaration of belligerency. When did these constitutionally required acts take place, Senator?
“We need to step back from the brink and reason together, as Scripture urges us to do, about how we will proceed to express our disagreements about this war.”
From the brink of what, Senator Lieberman? Your citing of Scripture implies that you follow Scripture in your life or at least hold Scripture in high regard. What about the Ninth Commandment, Senator? “Thou shall not bear false witness…” How do you reconcile this Commandment with the politician’s credo, which encourages you to lie all the time?
“We are engaged, as all my colleagues know, in a larger war against a totalitarian enemy - Islamist extremism and terrorism - that seeks to vanquish all of the democratic values that it is our national purpose to protect and defend.”
According to the Declaration of Independence, the purpose of government is to secure and protect the unalienable, God-given rights of each individual American. What about that, Senator?
“Whatever our differences here in this chamber about this war, let us never forget the values of freedom and democracy that unite us and for which our troops have given and today give the last full measure of their devotion.”
Huh? You mean the troops are in Iraq fighting for freedom and democracy? For whom? For the American People, whose lives are micromanaged by their government; who are never free from government regulations and control? Precisely what does Iraq have to do with our freedom, anyway? And by the way, Senator Lieberman, the united States of America is not a Democracy! It is a constitutional Republic! Do you know the difference, Senator?
“…at this difficult juncture, at this moment when a real battle, a critical battle is being waged in Baghdad, as we face a brutal enemy who attacked us on 9/11 and wants to do it again, let us not just shout at one another, but let us reach out to one another… and secure the nation’s future and the future of all who will follow us as Americans.”
Excuse me, Senator!?! The Iraqi insurgents (and they are not really insurgents by definition, since the existing government is not legitimate) attacked the World Trade Center in 2001?! I didn’t know that!! That’s because it is not true. It is a lie! Remember the Ninth Commandment, Senator Lieberman?!
To think that this man wanted to be President. He has sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, of which he proceeded to show his extensive ignorance by this recent speech. He cites Scripture, which admonishes people for lying, yet he lies about the parties responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001, in order to foment aggression against a people not responsible for it. He defends the President’s actions in prosecuting the invasion and subsequent aggression on the sovereign nation of Iraq, all the while citing the constitutional provisions about war as his reason, though he refuses to address the simple fact that the same Constitution requires Congress and only Congress to declare war and call the President into service as Commander-in-Chief (neither of which has ever been done).
Senator Joe Lieberman - a shining example of what is wrong with Congress!
In what can only be described as his latest attempt to display his outright ignorance about American law and the Constitution, Senator Joe Lieberman recently expounded on the constitutional crisis we are currently facing in the United States.
Not wishing to be accused of looking for trouble where none exists, I will confine myself to Senator Lieberman’s own comments, to wit:
“Congress has been given constitutional responsibilities. But the micro-management of war is not one of them. The appropriation of funds for war is.”
Well, Senator, you are correct in everything you said. So tell me, Senator, precisely when did Congress declare war, and on whom?
“…the Constitution, which has served us now for more than two great centuries of our history, creates not 535 commanders-in-chief, but one - the President of the United States, who is authorized to lead the day to day conduct of war.”
Again, Senator, you have correctly and eloquently cited the Constitution as the foundation and backbone of our government. Speaking of the Constitution, it specifies that “The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, when called into service by the Congress (emphasis mine). Senator Lieberman, just when did Congress call the President into service as Commander-in-Chief? This would ordinarily be done in conjunction with a congressional declaration of war, which itself would be done after an initial declaration of belligerency. When did these constitutionally required acts take place, Senator?
“We need to step back from the brink and reason together, as Scripture urges us to do, about how we will proceed to express our disagreements about this war.”
From the brink of what, Senator Lieberman? Your citing of Scripture implies that you follow Scripture in your life or at least hold Scripture in high regard. What about the Ninth Commandment, Senator? “Thou shall not bear false witness…” How do you reconcile this Commandment with the politician’s credo, which encourages you to lie all the time?
“We are engaged, as all my colleagues know, in a larger war against a totalitarian enemy - Islamist extremism and terrorism - that seeks to vanquish all of the democratic values that it is our national purpose to protect and defend.”
According to the Declaration of Independence, the purpose of government is to secure and protect the unalienable, God-given rights of each individual American. What about that, Senator?
“Whatever our differences here in this chamber about this war, let us never forget the values of freedom and democracy that unite us and for which our troops have given and today give the last full measure of their devotion.”
Huh? You mean the troops are in Iraq fighting for freedom and democracy? For whom? For the American People, whose lives are micromanaged by their government; who are never free from government regulations and control? Precisely what does Iraq have to do with our freedom, anyway? And by the way, Senator Lieberman, the united States of America is not a Democracy! It is a constitutional Republic! Do you know the difference, Senator?
“…at this difficult juncture, at this moment when a real battle, a critical battle is being waged in Baghdad, as we face a brutal enemy who attacked us on 9/11 and wants to do it again, let us not just shout at one another, but let us reach out to one another… and secure the nation’s future and the future of all who will follow us as Americans.”
Excuse me, Senator!?! The Iraqi insurgents (and they are not really insurgents by definition, since the existing government is not legitimate) attacked the World Trade Center in 2001?! I didn’t know that!! That’s because it is not true. It is a lie! Remember the Ninth Commandment, Senator Lieberman?!
To think that this man wanted to be President. He has sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, of which he proceeded to show his extensive ignorance by this recent speech. He cites Scripture, which admonishes people for lying, yet he lies about the parties responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001, in order to foment aggression against a people not responsible for it. He defends the President’s actions in prosecuting the invasion and subsequent aggression on the sovereign nation of Iraq, all the while citing the constitutional provisions about war as his reason, though he refuses to address the simple fact that the same Constitution requires Congress and only Congress to declare war and call the President into service as Commander-in-Chief (neither of which has ever been done).
Senator Joe Lieberman - a shining example of what is wrong with Congress!
