CONSTITUTIONAL CONVERSATIONS
Right is Supposed to Matter, or We are Lost
by
M.E. Boyd, Esq., “Miss Constitution”
The title to this column is part of Adam Schiff’s closing argument as a House of Representatives manager handling Articles of Impeachment against President Trump. Miss Constitution likes the idea of “rightness” versus “wrongness” except the concept belongs to another bundle of our law, Moral law, not Constitutional law. Relevant to Constitutional law Representative Schiff should have said, “Process is supposed to matter, or we are lost.”
This latter concept excites Miss Constitution. Representative Schiff also said, “the Constitution can’t save us,” but, yes it can! All we need to do is follow it. Relative to Impeachment of a President of the United States, the Constitution outlines rules, parameters, and processes to be followed faithfully by those elected representatives who vow to preserve, defend, and protect, the Constitution of the United States. Some of these rules are in the document itself; some represent Supreme Court decisions; and some represent commentary regarding the Impeachment process of a President made at the time the Constitution was written. Let’s review some of these rules.
- The “House” is plural for purposes of Impeachment of a President and all 435 members must vote to begin an inquiry if the vote is bipartisan. If the vote is not bipartisan an inquiry may not be started
- The President in question must have committed a HIGH (very serious) crime or misdemeanor (behavior not a crime but HIGHLY damaging to the nation) or treason while in office (not before the drapes are even selected)
- If the election of the President is not contested, then the President is considered “duly elected”
Our present situation is a “hot mess” because the rules outlined in the Constitution and in commentary regarding the Impeachment process were not followed initially. So, everything after a corrupted start is corrupted. The rules of evidence tell us that if the tree is poisoned any fruit from that tree will be poisoned; therefore, everything that has followed a wrong start is wrong. Regular citizens trying to conscientiously follow what is going on and commentators trying to follow what is going on are either pulling their hair out or trying to put lipstick on a pig and calling it a date.
Added to an improper start is confusion over OPINION – the President is an imminent threat to national security; the President is running a criminal enterprise in the White House; the President cheated with the Russians to win the first time and will cheat again; the President will put some Republican Senate heads on pikes if they do not vote with the Democrats (would these be displayed in front of the capitol building?) – versus FACT – the contents of a Presidential phone call to a foreign leader and the propriety of Executive Privilege under the circumstances (to be decided by the Supreme Court), along with the NATURE OF THE PROCESS that the Constitution outlines:
- This is not a traditional trial
- This is not an appropriate subject for national polls (remember, this is an emergency)
- This is a legal hybrid animal anticipated by the Founders to rarely be let out of its cage.
Part of the process, if done correctly does go to MORAL LAW in that the punishment for having committed a very high crime, misdemeanor, or treason, is removal from a position of public trust or a type of shame. Shame is very effective if one knows the difference between right and wrong, chooses the latter, and gives a damn.
So, Miss Constitution agrees with Representative Schiff that there is an element of “rightness” following a proper process for Impeachment of a President of the United States, but thinks the monster created by House Democrats, on their own, should be put out of its misery by a unanimous and quick dagger to the heart, before it blurts out any more insults to the Senate about their corruptness and moral depravity. Trust Miss Constitution; the Founders did not create the high bar for Impeachment of a President that includes somber and meticulous rituals including the equivalent of false imprisonment, inability to call one’s girlfriend or boyfriend, and libations of water and milk, for the sole reason that one simply does not care for this President and hopes he is defeated in the next election. If the Founders are privy to what is going on now, they have already raided George Washington’s extensive distillery and wish to apologize to the People for putting them through this.
Copyright©2020 M. E. Boyd, Esq., “Miss Constitution”
APPLES OF GOLD –Voices from the Past Speaking to Us Now by M.E. Boyd is available at www.amazon.com
