House As Upper Chamber of Congress
Revisiting The Legacy of Majority Control
ConyersBlog: Consider the Unitary Legislature and Legislative Orders: The tool to institutionalize the clash of factions, and lawfully destroy the President's illegal usurpation of power. [ Recommended ]
Please visit the Speaker's blog and share with your friends at this link: The House is the real upper chamber of Congress, and willing to remain closest to We the People, not tyrants.
I would have hoped the DNC Majority leader in the Senate would have required the GOP to filibuster, go on the record, as he is permitted to require. The House set the example for the lower chamber, the Senate, in going on the record and speaking truth to power.
The solution is to appreciate how power has shifted to the House. You will be amused when you realize the problem the GOP and President face. Share with your friends.
Thin Majorities Are Majorities
The DNC is the new majority, but seems as if it is apologizing for not having absolute, 100% support. A slim margin is sufficient to assert the agenda.
The RNC, when it had a slim majority with the 2004 election, termed this a "mandate". It can hardly be said that a DNC, with a similar majority margin can be called anything less.
The DNC has the majority and controls Congress. That's all the DNC needs to worry about: How it will use the power. There is no reason to apologize for not having 100% support.
The Constitution, As A Mandate, Was Not 100% Supported
The RNC, with marginal support, assented to war crimes. The rule of law is not a popularity context.
I would like to see the DNC leadership remember -- it was a slim majority that created this nation, passed the Constitution, and started this nation. It was not overwhelming, but it was sufficient to start what we have.
Lacking 100% Support Does Not Mean Power Cannot Be Asserted
The same slim majority can also stop what is not permissible: The destruction of our Constitution; and the mythology the President is above the law.
A thin margin is all that is legally required to assert power. The majority of Americans support the House leadership and majority; that the margin is thin is meaningless. The margin is not in the President's favor, but tilting the opposite way, toward the Rule of Law, Constitution, and We the People -- as it always should have been.
Case Study: Evidence Senators Fail To Comprehend Reality
Let's consider an example of the Senate failing to understand the power shift away from the White House and Senate into the House of Representatives:
One Senator in the Majority, Senator Clinton: "We have to end this war and we can't do it without Republican votes." RefNo, this is backwards. Allow me to walk through the budgeting and power issues as they relate to appropriations and the House.
Contrary to myth, if the Congress does not place funds in a budget, the President can't spend the money. It is incorrect to start with the opposite premise: That until the President agrees to end something, the Congress cannot do anything. This is incorrect. The budgets start with the Congress; if the GOP blocks action in the Senate -- as it has already done -- there is no budget. That's not a problem. The responsibility for the failure of the Senate to provide any funds or support for the President rests with the GOP. The House doesn't have to do anything until the Senate GOP begins to assert power, and oppose the President.
Let me say that again: The House leadership can do nothing -- sitting on the budget -- and point to the Senate GOP as the problem. Until the Senate GOP assents to the House, the House leadership need not do anything: No money, no debate, no discussion, and no cooperating with the President, and no funds for what the House has said it does not support.
In other words, the House becomes a filibuster of the Senate: Until the GOP in the Senate wake up, the House will filibuster anything, everything, and all things, or nothing. It is up to the House. Nothing the GOP can do, say, suggest, or pretend is relevant to the House's decision to filibuster the Senate.
House May Filibuster The Senate
The Senate has no power to compel the House to do anything. The message for the House leadership is simple: Where the GOP Senators refuse to assert their oath and end illegal warfare, the House leadership can remove funds from GOP States, and impose financial consequences on the States which refuse to end support for the President.
Key lesson for the GOP Senate: They can't make the House do something the House just voted to oppose, not support, and deny allegiance -- the President.
Let's revisit the incorrect premise which fails to comprehend the power shift in Washington from the Senate, GOP, and President to the House:
One Senator in the Majority, Senator Clinton: "We have to end this war and we can't do it without Republican votes." Ref
It is possible to end the war. No Republican votes are needed. If the GOP blocks a debate or a resolution, the President will not get anything: No money, no bills, no funds for the Department of Defense.
Ending the war is easy. The GOP does not have to agree with the House. The House has the control on the appropriations. If the House chooses not to include funds for this war, the President and Senate cannot make the House put the money in; nor can the Senate and President at a conference Committee make the House provide funds.
In short order, it is not up to the Senate or the GOP whether the war does or does not continue; and the GOP vote for or against the war has no bearing on whether the House does or does not end the war.
Until the President and Senate understand how the power has shifted, they will continue to act as if the GOP resistance is something to be concerned with. Nothing can make the DNC cooperate with a minority in the House or the Senate; and the President cannot make the House do something We the People have, with this resolution, clearly stated: We do not support this war; or this President; and we cannot be compelled to support this President.
The House and Congress may, because of lack of votes, not have the support of the GOP to remove the President from office with a Senate Trial. But that does not mean the opposite: That we are forced to continue with what is folly; or that the GOP must agree before the war is ended.
The House leadership does not agree with the President. That is all that is required to deny the President the funds he might need to do what the House has said it does not approve. The GOP is powerless to compel the House leadership to do something it has, on the record, said it opposes.
Notice the White House Legal Actions
Recall the President fired Harriet Miers, and he has a new White House counsel preparing for impeachment, criminal charges, and prosecution against the White House staff.
If the momentum of the Congress -- away from the President -- were not a concern, the President would not have hired legal counsel to prepare for impeachment legal action, and serious legal challenges.
A slim majority is nothing to be ashamed of, apologize for, or not use forcefully. The American leadership when it faced setbacks in the Revolutionary War may have retreated and lost a few battles, but the end result: Our Constitution, as much as this President detests it, remains the Supreme Law of the land in 2007.
If, as the GOP would have us believe, this week's events were irrelevant, they would not have voted, nor spoken. Perhaps the GOP might explain, if the weather is favorable, why they spend so much time on issues they would has us believe are irrelevant.
Blustering statements that this House resolution is "meaningless" is absurd, but noteworthy and warrants comment. A real conclusion of "meaningless" would not require the President or anyone in the GOP to have done what they felt compelled to do: Attempt to block something that they viewed as a problem for them, not America.
The GOP Priority: Ongoing, Illegal Rebellion Against The Supreme Law
Republican positions are hollow. Their calls for principles and respect are meaningless when tested by the actions of their ongoing, illegal rebellion against the Supreme Law.
The results -- which We the People have rebuked -- is the Republican agenda: Tyranny, abuse of power, and contempt for the nation's principles.
The GOP is not able to lead on important matters of protecting the Constitution. The best the Republicans can do is condone the President's war crimes, illegal activity, and reckless defiance of the Rule of Law.
Upper Chambers Are Superior In Results
Contrary to myth, the Senate does not have a place to claim it is the "upper" chamber. In truth, the Senate this week demonstrated that it can be tied in knots; and it can embarrass itself.
The new leading chamber is the House, where leaders do take a stand, and the leadership in the House does take a firm stand on where they put their money, and what they're willing to do.
This week Americans saw the so-called "elite club" of the Senate show its true colors: A body that will not assert power; one that will shut down debate; and one that will not compel people to go on the record to explain itself.
Hardly an example for the Iraqi civilians, much less insurgents, who question the benefits of democracy. Indeed, the legacy of the WWII victory in Europe and end to fascism was the return of fascism to the Senate: Propaganda, absurd accusations, and celebrating reckless governance. Hitler would be proud of the GOP Senators.
Fortunately, the American public is not asked to assent to the non-sense of the Senate; we have the other chamber -- the one closer to We the People: The House. The House did listen, it did act, and it did outshine the Senate.
The Senate is an inferior body to the House. It may have a reputation for being superior or an upper chamber, but reputation is meaningless, especially when the results are inferior.
Key Lesson
The Superior Chamber, the House, may filibuster the lesser chamber, refusing to do anything until the Senate cooperates.
Conversely, the Senate, through inaction, as we saw this week, cannot make the House do something. Influence and power of the Senate is only through affirmative actions and proclamations; where this is no result from the Senate -- as is the case with the reckless Senate -- the House is in no position to respond, nor need it assent to the Senate. Rather, the reverse is true: The House, by outshining the Senate, may withhold its consent, agreement, and refuse to work.
This is how the House may exercise the power of Veto against the President, GOP, and Senate. Just as there is no delegation of the "veto" power to the President, but he claims it; so too may the House assert the new House Power of Veto against the Senate.
The President will only get a budget if the House agrees. The House has two powers which We the People have expressly an implicitly delegated: The power to filibuster the Senate; and the power to Veto the Senate. Until the GOP Senators agree with the House proclamation against the President, the House may veto all GOP actions in the Senate, denying the President of funds; and the House may legally filibuster the Senate, wandering into any number of interesting areas.
Let me say this again: The GOP in the Senate has no power to compel the House to do or not do anything.
The national policy of We the People should be to:
To date, the GOP has refused in the Senate to please the House. the House as a body may filibuster the Senate GOP; the House may go on the record to discuss all the things that the Senate GOP refuses to permit the Senate to do.
Conversely, anytime the GOP wants to do anything, until the House leadership is happy, the GOP in both chambers shall not be assured of anything:
Translation We the People - by taking control of the House -- have the leverage needed to discipline the GOP Senators, compel them to cooperate with Our Will and the Supreme Law; and if the GOP Senators refuse, the will get nothing: No support, no agreement, and no cooperation.
The House may do everything which the GOP Senators say the Senate cannot do. The more the GOP Senators block, obstruct, and delay, the more the House leadership may impose its will, and further grind the Senators' noses into the new reality: The Senate is the lesser chamber, and has no power to compel the House to do anything.
The House is an independent body, which the GOP does not control. Control does not require action; rather, real power is the ability of the DNC in the House to refuse to do anything until the Senate assents to the House position on the funding and direction for the President and US government.
What You Can Do
Share with your friends the reality of the power shift.
1. The House has the power to filibuster the Senate;
2. The House has the power to veto the Senate;
3. The House has the power to compel the GOP Senators to cooperate;
4. If the GOP Senators refuses to awaken to what the House wants, the House does not have to give the GOP or President anything.
5. The burden is on the GOP Senate and the President to whether the House will or will not provide one dime, start anything, or do what the President wants.
6. All things which the GOP Senators have been doing this week -- inaction, delays, non-sense, recklessness -- are things that the House, as a body -- may do to the Senate: Refuse to cooperate, not give the GOP Senators what they want, and block the Senate from doing things.
7. The House -- as a body -- may decide to go on the record and discuss all things which the GOP Senators want to hide.
8. Until the GOP Senators assent to the House, the House has no reason to focus on any GOP-interest area.
9. The House may legally go on extended vacations, block the Senate, go on lengthy discussions into the netherworld, and refuse to cooperate with the GOP agenda.
10. It doesn't matter that the President may refuse to sign a bill. The reverse is true. The problem is for the GOP Senators is that the House may refuse to draft, vote on, much less pass any bill this President requires to sustain illegal combat operations.
11. The House has the Veto Power: It may Veto the GOP Senators for their refusal to go n the record. The House Members may not publicly say what they are doing, but We the People should move with dispatch, speed and resolve, to meet with our Representatives -- not necessarily Senators -- and inspire them to repeat what the GOP Senators did this week: Refuse to cooperate, but throw that "lack of cooperation" not at the GOP, but at the Senate.
Summary
A thin majority is meaningless: It is power. The House, by it leadership, has well demonstrated the buffoonery of the Senators, and pricked the myth that the Senate is competent.
November 2006 did one thing: it shifted the power from the White House and Senate, to the House.
The House has the power to Veto the Senate, shut down the GOP, and it may filibuster, discuss and go into all sorts of interesting areas which the GOP Senators do not want touched.
if the GOP Senators refuse to cooperate with the House, the House is not required to cooperate with the President, the Senator, or the GOP. Ever.
Power has shifted. The key is to remind the senators that they are the inferior body, shall be treated as such, and the President and GOP shall grovel before the House. If they refuse, the House need not do anything and the Resident and GOP shall be the ones to blame: The GOP and the President refused to cooperate with We the People.
We the People control the House. The GOP has been cast aside. We the People set the agenda. we the People may veto the Senate. We the People may filibuster the Senate and GOP.
Time for the President and GO to wake up: November 2006 We the People too control and We the People have the power.
Get on your knees and assent to the Power of We the People. If you want this to end, cooperate with We the People, the rule of law, and the Geneva Conventions. The longer the GOP refuses to cooperate, the longer we the People shall filibuster the senate; and shall veto the Senate actions.
We the People have all the power to block, delay, not support, and point to the real problem: The Oval Office, and the GOP Senators complicity with this President's war crimes, recklessness, and illegal activity. If the President and GOP want anything, they need to wake up to the new reality of We the People: We have created a new superior body to which the Executive and Senate shall assent: The House, the People's House -- that most closets to the source of all power.
If the GOP Senators want anything, they need to remind their friends in the Republican Party We the People have taken control.
If they want any respect, they need to cooperate with subpoenas; where this is not RNC cooperation, We the People may inspire the House to veto more of the GOP Senators buffoonery; and filibuster more of what the GOP Senators desire.
Wake up America: This President and GOP Senate have been dealt a fatal reminder of what We the People can do. More is on the way. Tell your friends. The GOP Senators will get more reminders that they are wasting their time in the inferior body, and shall be compelled to grovel before We the People.
I encourage you to share this link and the content with your friends: Let them know power has shifted, and the GOP and President have been dealt a fatal blow November 2006; and this weeks rebuke of the President sends chock waves into the White House counsel's office: They have a major problem, no credible defense, and they've run out of options to impose leverage. They have no real power to compel the superior chamber in the Congress, the House, to do anything. The House leadership can twiddle their thumbs with an extended filibuster against the Senate until the GOP surrenders, admits it’s complicity with war crimes, and voluntarily runs to The Hague for a war crimes tribunal. If this President and GOP want anything, they need to surrender. Until they surrender, the House doesn’t have to do anything: A Veto by We the People, and an extended Filibuster on the Record.
The GOP is on the defensive; the Senate is the inferior chamber; and the Republicans face the reality that there is no statute of limitations for war crimes.
If the President and GOP want anything, they need to grovel before the House. Without assent to the rule of law and the House, the GOP and President shall be treated like dogs, criminals, and unfit for respect. Every day is a reminder for the GOP and President that it's only going to get worse, they have no hope, and they were dealt a fatal blow November 2006. More is on the way.
They wished this.
posted by Constant @ 2:01 PM
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