Smith: Constitutional Crisis Defined

Our Founding Fathers understood that people did not come from the same character mold. While some were honest and dependable, others were unscrupulous; therefore, they created checks and balances. A constitutional crisis can result when the chief executive, like our current one, is both unscrupulous and sidesteps the checks and balances inherent in our Constitution.

It is an understatement to say Obama is unscrupulous.

Let's consider two recent incidents. In September, Obama said, "I want to be clear: The American forces that will be deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission." Yet, we learn Apache helicopters will be flying combat missions from the Tehran airport, drones are flying assassination missions, and fighter aircraft are delivering all sorts of munitions. Also, Defense Secretary Hagel said the 1,500 military advisers on the ground would receive combat pay.

Why would our military forces be deployed to a dangerous part of the world where Islamic fanatics want to kill Americans and deny freedom to a country of vital national interest to the United States? Any lieutenant could answer: to kill people and break things. That is what they are trained and equipped to do. Call it what you want, but it is combat.

Obama is between a rock and hard place in Iraq. Against the advice of senior military leaders, he pulled our military forces from Iraq to appease his far left political base. As predicted, the resulting vacuum allowed radical Islamic fascist groups like ISIS to move in. Now he needs the military to minimize the damage, but he can't call the mission what it is. So, he chooses the coward's path and lies, assuming that an obliging mainsteam news media will provide cover as it has the last six years.

The second lie involves his comments at a news conference when he was asked about the damaging comments of one of the leading architects of Obamacare, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Jonathan Gruber, who said the entire program was based on deceit and the "stupidity of the American voter." The President's response: "The fact that some advisor who never worked on our staff expressed an opinion that I completely disagree with in terms of voters is no reflection on the process that was run."

But "facts" are stubborn inconveniences to unethical people.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Gruber visited the Obama White House at least 19 times. In 2009 he sat in a face-to-face meeting with Obama for four hours. Previously, the president, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi all publicly acknowledged Gruber's substantial impact in developing Obamacare. Additionally, he was awarded a contract for more than $400,000 by Obama's Department of Health and Human Services for work on Obamacare. Hmmm, "some adviser who never worked on our staff"?

We've become a cynical society after leaders from both parties were deceitful during Watergate, Iran-Contra, "Read my lips: no new taxes," Lewinsky, and Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. However, as painful as the incidents were, truth was revealed through established checks and balances and a professional watchdog media. Now, we have a president who ignores the Constitution as evidenced by rewriting immigration law and blatantly disregarding existing laws; who desires to "fundamentally transform" American government; and, who unabashedly lies time and again. Worse, his every transgression receives a pass from a fawning mainstream media.

Hitler must be smiling as he looks up from hell. He and the Nazis destroyed the German Constitution, lied repeatedly about their intentions, and found ready support in the liberal German and international media, who believed German propaganda until it was too late.

It was a constitutional crisis, and the Nazis used it to their advantage. Similarly, Obama's first Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once remarked, "You never let a serious crisis go to waste." The comparison is instructive.

Roger Smith lives in Soddy-Daisy and is a frequent contributor to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He is author of "American Spirit."

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