PRESIDENT CANTOR? OR . . .

Susan North

It is too early to say, but Thursday, January 3, 2013 the United States’ House of Representatives will elect, or re-elect, the Speaker of the House.  The current Speaker, John Boehner, who seems incapable of standing up for the American people and against Barack Obama, is rapidly losing support in the House among fellow Republicans. 

The position of Speaker of the house is important because this person is second in line of succession to become president should anything happen to the President and the Vice President. This would be a rare event indeed, but should Barack Obama be impeached or otherwise removed from office, Vice President Biden would take his place. Should both the president and the vice president be removed from office at the same time, or before Obama could name a new vice president to replace Joe Biden, the next president would be the Speaker of the House.

The last time anything remotely similar happened was in 1973 when Vice President Agnew resigned and pleaded no contest to criminal charges of tax evasion and money laundering.  Gerald Ford was nominated and replaced him. Then Nixon resigned before being impeached, leaving Gerald Ford as President. At the time both the White House and the Senate were Republican, today both the White House and the Senate are in the hands of the Democrat Party and it is almost certain that the president would name a Vice President from his own party.

Don’t look for Biden or Obama to resign.  Only impeachment would remove either or both of them from office.  The possible reasons for impeachment charges aimed at the President and/or Vice President are numerous.  I leave the specific reasons to your fertile imaginations.

Impeachment takes place in the House of Representatives where a simple majority is needed.  That the Republican Party has a simple majority is obvious, and that 80 of the members elected in 2012 are supporters of/supported by the Tea Party is well known.  Once impeachment takes place in the House, the Senate tries the accused.  While both houses of the 105 United States Congress were Republican the Senate failed to impeach Democrat President Bill Clinton, but 17 Senate votes more would have made the Al Gore the President.

Why didn’t they impeach Clinton?  There are many reasons, but perhaps the real reason was that those were more innocent times, it happened pre-internet, and the country was doing well.  None of that is true today, and while many, many people fail to realize it, the President has done everything he can to destroy America and those that realize it vote.

But will impeachment be possible?  It is really too early to tell.  Tomorrow’s selection of a Speaker of the House may see the end of John Boehner in that role.  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor seems the most likely candidate.  But the Speaker does not have to be a member of the House, and one name which comes up frequently is that of Newt Gingrich who was Speaker of the House in the 1990s.  The mid-term elections will bring some changes in the House and a lot of changes in the Senate so it is possible that by 2014 there will be enough Republicans in the Senate, plus a few blue-dog Democrats to make it happen.

A lot can happen in two years, or even in two months.  When four Americans, including our Ambassador were murdered in Benghazi, Libya on 9/11 I thought it would be the end of Barack Obama’s presidency, but I was wrong.  It doesn’t change history however, and sometimes these things take time and in this case it is possible that Benghazi will still lead to his downfall. 

Remember Winston Churchill’s words “you can always rely on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have tried everything else.” And keep working to educate the low information voter, to demand that our elected leaders uphold the Constitution, and remind everyone you know that we were founded to be a nation of laws and that it is only by following the law of the land, the Constitution,  that all Americans benefit from its wisdom.

Is a President Cantor (or a President Gingrich) possible?  Stay tuned.

Comments

[Chavah]

VERY INTERESTING - I didn't know that the Speaker didn't have to be a member of the House. Don't worry-we high information voters are very aware of what is going on and are tuned in and ready to fight.

[StanlEY Zir]

Susannah your op-ed are always refreshing and educational