Health care debate leads to talk of impeachment

The health care debate has been a spectacle to watch. Democrat members of Congress that are opposed to the legislation are being threatened by the President and by leaders of the Senate and the House. Some of it is subtle, like President Obama telling members of his party that he has no plans to campaign for them unless they vote for the health care bill. These days, in light of the incredible low he is experiencing in the polls, that is probably good news for Democrats. Other threats are less subtle, including some being warned if they do not vote for the bill, they are going to face well funded primary challenges. The arm twisting that members are experiencing is unprecedented and the tactics being used by Democrat leaders is being described by some as unconstitutional.

"Unconstitutional" and "impeachment" are fighting words for members of Congress and are dangerous when you are talking about the Speaker of the House. That is the type of language Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is using in light of the actions going on in the Congress.

One of the primary responsibilities of the media, known as the "fourth estate," is to hold those in power accountable. Congresswoman Bachmann argues that the media has dropped the ball by ignoring the Constitutional violations that are taking place in DC today.

Bachmann had the media in its crosshairs recently when she was in on Sean Hannity's program, stating, "Where is the mainstream media in all of this not telling this story? This is a compelling story - that the Speaker of the House would even consider having us pass a bill that no one votes on?" When she says that, the thought is a little shocking. The Speaker of the House is using an illegal procedure to pass a bill that will move one-sixth of the economy to government control and the media is more interested about whether the bill will become law than in the tactics being used to make it happen.

The procedures being used by Speaker Pelosi are so horrible, Bachmann says, that they alone serve as grounds for impeachment. Of particular concern is the "Slaughter Rule" or "deem and pass." The Wall Street Journal describes the situation well: "We're not sure American schools teach civics any more, but once upon a time they taught that under the U.S. Constitution a bill had to pass both the House and Senate to become law. Until this week, that is, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi is moving to merely 'deem' that the House has passed the Senate health-care bill and then send it to President Obama to sign anyway... Under the 'reconciliation' process.. the House is supposed to approve the Senate's Christmas Eve bill and then use 'sidecar' amendments to fix the things it doesn't like. Those amendments would then go to the Senate under rules that would let Democrats pass them while avoiding the ordinary 60-vote threshold for passing major legislation. This alone is an abuse of traditional Senate process." So abusive are the tactics, in fact, that Bachmann is talking impeachment.

Bachmann goes on to say that members of Congress should "laugh her out of the House and there should be people that are calling for impeachment off of something like this," Bachmann continued. "That's how bad this is. I mean, trust me - (former Speaker of the House) Dennis Hastert could have never gotten away with this. President Bush never could have gotten away with it."

At the very least, Bachmann hopes that voters will receive an important civics lesson. She argues that this is the type of thing that happens when one party dominates the entire political process. In the case of the Democrats, it became a temptation to abuse Constitutional power at a level we have never seen in the history of our country.

How serious is the impeachment threat? Right now it is only one member of Congress that is part of a legislative body dominated with members with a rather casual view of the idea of rule of law. But elections are in November and the political landscape could change rather quickly. It seems very obvious that voters will be watching what unfolds closely.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is also host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650). Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Is Michele Bachmann Considering a White House Run?

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Michele Bachmann (R-MN), a woman often described as a rising star of the Republican Party. In a political world plagued with Democrats on the fast track of socializing our economy and Republicans who provide the weakest of criticisms, Bachman certainly stands out. She is very vocal about her convictions and is willing to take Democrats and Republicans to task.

Bachmann has not been on the political scene long, first getting elected to Congress in 2006, but there is significant buzz that surrounds her among the rank and file of the GOP. She took Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner to task for what appears to be his complete lack of understanding of the United State Constitution. It was actually very riveting television. In spite of her short sprint in the House, her overall political experience is as long or longer than President Obama, having served in the Minnesota Senate since 2000.

What makes Bachmann interesting is her honesty about the obligations she made to defend the US Constitution. Frankly, most members of Congress in the GOP act simply too sophisticated to take the Constitution seriously and the Democrats simply don't seem to care. Bachman is quick to remind people that they have sworn to defend that document and that commitment requires more than lip service.

Drew Zahn of WorldNetDaily is reporting that Bachmann is now hinting on a possible Presidential run. No, she has not put together an exploratory committee, but she has already stuck her neck out by modern political standards. Zahn discussed the possibility of a run for the White House with Bachmann. The Congresswoman stated that "If I felt that's what the Lord was calling me to do, I would do it." Furthermore she noted that "When I have sensed that the Lord is calling me to do something, I've said yes to it. But I will not seek a higher office if God is not calling me to do it. That's really my standard. If I am called to serve in that realm I would serve," she concluded, 'but if I am not called, I wouldn't do it." Meanwhile most of the other candidates who are ran in 2008 and consider likely contenders in 2012 seem to dismiss this possibility without hesitation.

Bachmann would have a serious challenge running for the nation's highest office. She is a female facing a media that doesn't seem that interested in having a woman for President. Just remember the ridiculous "stay at home mom" questions Hillary Clinton faced. Furthermore, she is a conservative woman. This is almost a crime by media standards since the press seems to believe women and minorities should all be liberal. Finally, she comes from the politically impotent US House of Representatives, which has not been able to produce a President in over 120 years. In the end she will be interesting to watch. She has already caught the imagination of many in the conservative movement at at time when it is looking for serious leadership.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

What the Government Can and Cannot Do

For the first time in decades there seems to be a serious discussion about the role of government in a free society and the question of what it "can" and "cannot" do is becoming ever so common. Rep. Michele Bachman (R-MN) had an excellent exchange with the Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner on this subject.

The issue being discussed was the Constitutionality of the bailout. Geithner was being questioned by the House Banking Committee. The exchange went something like this:

BACHMAN: By what authority did the Treasury Department bailout major financial institutions?

GEITHNER (clearly looking puzzled by the question): What do you mean?

BACHMAN: What legal authority did you have to do this?

GEITHNER (almost looking guilty and certainly more confused): Congress said we could.

BACHMAN: What authority did Congress have to do this?

From there the conversation digressed to one very similar that a child with his hand stuck in a cookie jar would say to a parent. "Bobby said I could do it." Of course, Bobby didn't have the authority, but we will blame him anyway. That is the dilemma today. We have years of Constitutional authority that has deteriorated away and a government that largely runs on autopilot. This is beyond government based on "precedent," which means new laws are tested against others that passed court muster. This is filled with enough peril, but the new model is to rapidly pass laws and see if they hold up or not. With so many years of complacency, many things become law that would not have had a prayer a few generations ago.

So the question of what government can and cannot do remains. The answer to me seems simple. You have to read the source, which is the US Constitution. It is a very short read, measured in dozens of pages. The document is also very straight forward:

• What the Government can do is found in a short section of the Constitution often referred to as the enumerated powers (Article I, Section 8). There you will find seventeen things the government can do. Really interesting things like post offices, post roads, and standard weights and measures. Very little of what government does today can be found as a listed power of government.


• Many through out the states that were needed in ratifying this Constitution noted a "necessary and proper clause" in Article I, Section 8 that was designed to make sure these 17 things would be allowed to be fulfilled (noting the problems the government had under the Articles of Confederation before). Because of their concerns about the fact that some could interpret that clause as anything those in government deemed "necessary and proper," they forced the government to add Ten Amendments to the Constitution, also referred to as the Bill of Rights.


• "Amendments", as the name implies is about changing. So these amendments changed any assumptions or potential loopholes in the Constitution in the areas they addressed. When it comes to the issue of government power, the Tenth is the most important of these amendments, stating that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Simply put, if not an enumerated power, it is for the states or the people. Period. If people want socialized health care, move to states like Oregon or Massachusetts that have such programs or even try to pursue such in their own states. The Founding Fathers were brilliant in understanding that a "one sized fits all" form of government would eliminate competition in policy and have people with no freedom of choice. That, more than anything else, made them believe in state rights.

In spite of the clarity, government has been moving towards the elimination of our freedoms for generations. To move back in that direction will be challenging, but is necessary. What our government is allowed to do according to the law, however, is obvious. To think differently is disingenuous.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Supporting the Constitution just Is Not that Cool

When Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner was taken aback by Michele Bachman's aggressive questioning about the role of the Constitution in governing today, he was clearly uncomfortable. The Minnesota Congresswoman was clearly "not cool" in his view. It seems that we are now lead to believe that "smart," "sophisticated," and "relevant" individuals might appreciate how wonderful the Constitution was, but it is not really that useful today.

I recently did a radio interview where I went to great lengths to cite specifics of the Constitution. According to the host, the audience loved it and you could see that by the number of questions we were receiving. One comment stayed with me though. One person said, "I agree with everything you are saying, but how do you convey your message without sounding nuts." "Gee, thanks," I thought, but at the same time I understood his point. He was simply trying to tell me that, if you stick too close to the Constitution, you are often going to be dismissed by the people you talk to on the subject.

I'm afraid he is correct. To believe in the Constitution in a manner that the Founding Fathers intended, is to be willing to have the same attitude they had as they wrote the Declaration of Independence and together they stated that: "for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

People like:

• Carter Braxton of Virginia, who was a wealthy planter and trader. He saw his ships wiped out by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in poverty.
  
• Thomas McKeam was under such constant pursuit by the British that he was forced to continually move his family. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him and he too died in poverty.
  
• Francis Lewis had his properties destroyed. The British jailed his wife and she died within a few months.

I could go on, but the theme is similar... sacrifice, poverty and often death for what they believed in. Today, most people in politics have a rather smug view of the Constitution. Years of political correctness have led people to dismiss the law of this land as something of value in years past, but totally "out of date" today. Recently I interviewed a member of the Tea Party and mentioned that the dramatic moves of the government in so many different areas was clearly against the idea of state rights as seen in the Tenth Amendment. Her response was, "well, I don't really like to talk about the Tenth Amendment because that was used as an excuse for institutional racism." Well I hate to tell you, but state rights is the centerpiece of the US Constitution. That document is about the dispersion of power and they saw strong states and local governments as an primary means of achieving that.

To dismiss the Constitution because it has been used to protect racist policies in the past (and has since been corrected) is to advocate a government without law. That is exactly what we have today. A huge population that has come to the belief that the Constitution is irrelevant and instead of a government that is ruled by law, we have a government on autopilot. This is dishonest government.

I challenge people to study the Constitution and value its relevance today. I encourage people to challenge those who question the currency of the Constitution and ask them what they believe should govern our nation today. More than likely, their answer will be far more flimsy than the document that helped to make the US, the most free and prosperous country in the history of the world.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am), AOL Radio, and CBS Radio. Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.