Posted on 03/29/2005 11:00:33 AM PST by EternalVigilance
Posted: March 29, 2005 11:44 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
The Florida state constitution declares unequivocally that in the state of Florida "the supreme executive power shall be vested in a governor … ." The word supreme means highest in authority. There can be no executive authority in the state of Florida higher than the governor. No state law can create an executive authority higher than highest in the Florida constitution. Therefore no court order based upon such a law can constitutionally create such an authority.
If the governor tells the local police in Pinellas County to step aside, they must do so, or else be arrested and tried for an assault on the government of the state, which is to say insurrection.
(If Gov. Jeb Bush fears that for some reason they would question the authority of his representatives, then he should take the necessary law enforcement officials to Tampa in person, thus making the situation crystal clear.)
Since Florida's highest law grants him supreme executive power, the governor's action would be lawful. No one in the Florida judiciary can say otherwise, since the whole basis for the doctrine of judicial review (which they invoked when they refused to apply "Terri's law") is that any law at variance with the constitution is no law at all.
Gov. Bush has said that he recognizes the injustice being done to Terri Schiavo but is powerless to stop it. He is obviously not powerless, and his view of injustice is fully warranted.
The Florida state constitution declares: "All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty … ."
The word "inalienable" means that the rights in question cannot be given away or transferred to another by law. Now, by allowing Michael Schiavo to starve his wife to death, Judge George W. Greer transfers to Schiavo the exercise of her right to life, doing on her behalf what the Florida state constitution declares she herself could not do (since an inalienable right cannot be given away).
Schiavo's decision, and any element of the law it is based on that has the same effect, are therefore unconstitutional on the face of it.
The governor of Florida cannot be obliged to enforce unconstitutional edicts, nor can he be faulted for acting to stop an evident violation of the constitution. In his oath as governor he swore to "support, protect and defend the Constitution and government of the United States and of the state of Florida."
As supreme executive, he is obliged to act in their defense, and no court order can relieve him of this responsibility.
Any order by Judge Greer that seeks to prevent him from doing his sworn duty, as he sees fit, is invalid, and any attempt by the judge to incite armed forces to enforce his order would be an act of judicial insurrection against the constitution and government of Florida.
The judge may have whatever opinion he pleases, but when he attempts to use force to back it up, he breaks the law, going against the constitution of the state, which is to say against the supreme law in Florida.
In Federalist 81, when Alexander Hamilton lists the safeguards against "judiciary encroachments on the legislative authority," he cites in particular "its total incapacity to support its usurpations by force."
Accepting the notion that judicial orders at any level may constitute an executive power superior to the chief executive would give the judiciary just such a forceful capacity.
When every judicial decision carries the implied threat of armed insurrection, a key safeguard of liberty and self-government is removed. If any state governor, or the president of the United States acts so as to encourage the judiciary to assume such executive power, or the people to believe that it may constitutionally do so, he undermines the integrity of all our constitutions, and of American self-government as a whole.
This constitutes a grave dereliction of duty and would in saner times clearly be grounds for his impeachment by a legislature intent on defending the Florida constitution against "judiciary encroachments."
By God's grace, however, Terri Schiavo still lives, and Gov. Bush may yet act to redeem himself and his constitutional authority. Courageous action would be an act of statesmanship, defending the integrity of our constitutional system and the ultimate sovereignty of the people.
We have long been awaiting the statesman who could turn a crisis into such healing. Like Ronald Reagan before him, Jeb Bush could prove himself such a man. For Terri's sake and for the sake of constitutional self-government in America, he should act now. For failure to do so, he has no excuse.
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Be sure to visit Alan Keyes' communications center for founding principles, The Declaration Foundation.
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Former Reagan administration official Alan Keyes, was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Social and Economic Council and 2000 Republican presidential candidate.
Please have someone use the pinglist on this, if you would.
Herein lies the clearcut case for impeaching Greer, at the very least.
and WORLDNUTDAILY lives up to it's name yet again....
Glad to see SOME things haven't changed....
Answer the specific points in the article.
Answer the specific points in the article.
Since you folks responded so quickly with your attacks, I'm positive you couldn't have read the piece with any thought.
Y'all argue like Democrats.
It's the legislature that failed Terri, by not changing the law. But, "we the people" elect the legislature and get the laws that we deserve.
What would stop Jeb from abusing his EXECUTIVE power for other purposes? To seize land, to incarcerate anyone he wants, to usurp the rights of ordinary citizens....
Jeb did what he could, WITHIN the law.
I just hope he didn't donate any to the Schindlers, else he's going to be on Randall Terry's spam list shortly, as they are selling the list of their contributors. I think the whole lot of them are cracked
LOL
why read anything on WORLDNUTDAILY about Terri? The same talking points have been repeated over and over and over again on FR over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over....
At least the fact that WORLDNUTDAILY is one of the more irresponsible, allegedly conservative news sites out there hasn't changed. It isnt like they could post a responsible article eventually could it?
and no, it isnt jeb's fault, but the earthquake yesterday was!!
I am sure God will understand when we explain that legally we could not do a thing.
I would have read it but I thankfully I saw the source before I wasted my time.
So if he has the Supreme EXECUTIVE power, how does the trump the Supreme JUDICIARY power? Keyes argument is that there is no need for the Florida Supreme Court (I agree that there isn't. They are useless) and that Jeb is the King! It don't wash.
So it's official that it was Jeb's & not George's fault - I knew it all along!!
Yes, both the legislative and the executive branches utterly failed.
They, along with the judiciary, totally ignored Section Two of the Florida constitution, the basic law of the State.
SECTION 2. Basic rights.--All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, and to acquire, possess and protect property; except that the ownership, inheritance, disposition and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship may be regulated or prohibited by law. No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability.
LOL!!!
There are many reasons why Ambassador Keyes will never hold elective office, chief among which are that he speaks the truth and refuses to pander to the least common denominator.
"WITHIN the law."
We are talking about a carpetbagger writer who misused campaign funds that is pals with Klayman. 'Nuff said. See ya on the next thread.
The Executive has a co-equal duty to interpret and uphold the constitution.
By ignoring Section Two, Governor Bush failed in his sworn duty.
Well, and since God made Jeb and George and God is Sovereign after all...well...you know...
Address the points in the article, and knock off the ad hominems.
But, no one is blaming the legislature. They are blaming Greer, Felos, and Michael Schiavo. There is too much rhetoric being thrown about, and it doesn't CHANGE anything.
You got it.
"Address the points in the article, and knock off the ad hominems."
Are you attacking me? EV...!!!
In his next article, Keyes will argue that Jeb Bush ought to station national guardsmen outside of every abortion clinic in Florida to prevent the murders that take place there daily.
</sarcasm>
Yes, I think last Thursday it was decided that the Bush family was at fault and that their careers were finished and that they are sub-human cowards. Plus, we're all boycotting Florida.
Makes perfect sense to me!
The problem is that the Florida constitution is poorly drafted. Keyes is right--there is a portion of the Constitution that reads as he says it does--Art. I, Sec. 2, I think.
But read on: Art. I, Sec. 9 states the following: "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law..."
The two sections are clearly contradictory--Section 2 appears to state a blanket prohibition: all persons have a right to life--but then Sec. 9 clearly contemplates the state taking away life and liberty, which we know happens all the time--I'm sure Florida jails and prisons are packed with folks who have had their liberty rights taken away by the states, and the Florida cemetaries have a number of folks who were executed by the state, clearly taking away the "inalienable" right to life.
Unless Keyes wants to go around arguing that Florida should open its prisons and pardon all its death row inmates, I don't think he makes a very strong case, because Section 2 has to have the words "without due process" read into it, otherwise it ceases to make any sense.
This time last year I was in Florida. Wish I was there right now and not here in the cubicle. :(
It's beautiful in Ft Lauderdale today....about 78 and sunny.
Good point. One governor may use his executive power for good, but others might not be restrained and use it only in a difficult and terrible situation such as this. If there is no oversight on a governor (other than the threat of losing reelection years down the road) then the door opens for the abuse of power in ways that will be harmful.
I struggle to understand the reactions of certain people to the fact that Terri lingers. Although I can understand her parents' desire to hold on, if they and everyone who supports them truly believe Terri is suffering why wouldn't they want it to end quickly? I don't know whether Terri is fully aware of what is happening or not, but either way I hope she is not suffering and do not want any suffering she is experiencing to last long. Certainly I wish the tube had not been removed, but now I pray she isn't suffering or that any suffering will end sooner rather than later.
Attack the messenger, and hope you can then discredit the message...nice.
Feels like DU around here since I've been gone a few days.
Then YOU do something. THINK of something that will change this. I think there is no remedy left.
You are correct - and this is one of those reasons:
"If the governor tells the local police in Pinellas County to step aside, they must do so, or else be arrested and tried for an assault on the government of the state, which is to say insurrection."
That is so incorrect!! The only way the Gov could do that was with a COURT ORDER - which the Gov did not have.
I worked for a Sheriff's office - and I can tell you - NO STATE POLICE EVERY TOLD US WHAT TO DO - so NO governor would have that authority either.
He's trying to subscribe authority to Gov Bush which does not exist! The reason Keys is doing that is so he can blame Gov Bush for not acting.
This is just beyond the pale - and proves to me once more WHY I DID NOT AND NEVER WILL SUPPORT ALAN KEYS.
Ping to 10 so that you can respond to me....
It's 72 & sunny in Birmingham, but there are no beaches for 250+ miles.
She is still aware, and has responded to friends.
Don't wish her dead. It's unseemly at the least.
Wouldn't it be better for the Governor to send two state troopers, an order and a nurse with an IV to save this innocent young woman from death at the hands of these murderers?
It's not too late to do the right thing.
LOL give me a break....
Let the deifying of Terri begin.....
True.
Hugh Hewitt said Jeb Bush couldn't or wouldn't do it because the police would have fought back and it is the sort of thing that starts a civil war.
Jeb said he was going to move in with the DFC. Then he didn't. Then he did, but he didn't send enough force to get the job done. And then he said he'd done all he could. In so doing, Jeb has royally hosed the Republican party, the conservative cause, and himself. Once they got into it, the only way out of this for the GOP was to save Terri, and ultimately show the world that she was not "persistently" vegetative. Had she ever learned to talk again, even at the level of a child, it would have made all Americans stand back and review what the Hell went on there. Instead the media is having a field day explaining to the public that the GOP caved in to the "Christian Right" and fouled up her devoted husband's plan to "allow" the brain-dead Terri Schiavo her "right to die." Yeah, the court system failed miserably here, allowing horribly bad lawyering to result in an innocent woman's death through sheer devotion to "procedure." But doing the right thing was within Jeb's grasp, and he blew it. And he took a lot of us with him. |
ahh man you have made a rational and logical argument....how dare you? LOL< :)
More garbage from WorldNutDaily and Alan Keyes.
The truth is the truth, no matter which web address it is at.
But you could care less about the content of this very tightly reasoned article.
Y'all argue more like DUers every day around here.
Yep, he is too right and too direct. He leaves opponents with no room to shuck and jive. Their only retort is name calling. Is that what you are attempting?
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Well, Jeb Bush is courting dereliction of something. Right now he's looking an awful lot like Jimmy Carter did after Operation Desert Helicopter Crash.