Today I am an inquisitor.
Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan was selected to give the Opening Statement to the House Judiciary Committee on July 25, 1974, as it began its momentous proceedings on the impeachment of Richard Nixon. Her statement has often been called a needed constitutional lecture in a time of national crisis. Listen to Barbara Jordan: Statement on the Articles of Impeachment or watch video of statement choose ONE of the following options for your post.
Option #1 What did Mrs. Jordan mean when she claimed " I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution." Explain
Option #2 Cite specific references in the statement to checks and balances, separation of powers, or executive authority.
Option #3 Cite historical examples/quotations/convention remarks that establish the criteria for impeachment
Option #4 Cite specific impeachable offenses by President Richard Nixon as outlined by Mrs. Jordan
Option #5 After reading/listening to her statement do you agree with her assertion "If the impeachment provision in the Constitution of the United States will not reach the offenses charged here, then perhaps that 18th-century Constitution should be abandoned to a 20th-century paper shredder."
posted by Mr. H @ 8:32 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Option 3:
Alexander Hamilton:"The President of the United States would be liable to be impeached, tried, and upon conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors, removed from office; and would afterwards be liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law. The person of the King of Great Britain is sacred and inviolable: There is no constitutional tribunal to which he is amenable, no punishment to which he can be subjected without involving the crisis of a national revolution."(http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes_about/impeachment)
James Madison:"[I]t [is] indispensable that some provision should be made for defending the Community agst [against] the incapacity, negligence, or perfidy of the chief Magistrate. The limitation of the period of his service was not a sufficient security. He might lose his capacity after his appointment. He might pervert his administration into a scheme of peculation or oppression. He might betray his trust to foreign powers…In the case of the Executive Magistracy, which was to be administered by a single man, loss of capacity or corruption, was more within the compass of probable events, and either of them might be fatal to the Republic." (http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/quotes/great/constitution.htm)
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Option #1: Mrs. Jordan means that she refuses to sit back and watch Nixon be excused for his actions. She feels that if Nixon is getting away with a crime then the U.S. might as well get rid of the constitution. When she says "I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution", she means that she is going to make sure her voice will be heard and she was not going to stop until something was done for the actions of Nixon. She felt that if Nixon was not put up on charges then he got away with overthrowing the constitution.
Tani is this true? :)
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