John Olver Believes Bush Will Cancel 2008 Election

[babylonsister]

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0707/S00085.htm

John Olver Believes Bush Will Cancel 2008 Election
Monday, 9 July 2007, 7:32 pm
Column: David Swanson
Congressman John Olver Believes Bush Will Cancel 2008 Elections, Still Refuses to Support Impeaching Him or Cheney

http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/24362
By Bob Feuer

At 9 am, some twenty of the successful presenters of impeachment resolutions at their W. Mass. annual town meetings met at the Jones Library in Amherst, MA. We ratified our agenda and prepared ourselves for our 10 am meeting with Cong. John Olver.

At about 10 am, the congressman came into the room with his aid, and Susie Patlove welcomed the congressman, laid out our agenda, and the congressman approved. We commenced with individual introductions and brief reports on the outcomes in each of our towns. Cong. Olver asked us to spare him a review of what he already knew and believed about the crimes of the Bush administration, and of the overwhelming majority of his district in favor of impeachment. When he aggrandized himself on his voting record, I took exception to 24 April 2007. When he asked what I was referring to, I challenged him to co-sponsor H. Res. 333; and he emphatically refused.

Nonetheless, we informed him of the good that would come out of an impeachment, and gave intelligent and caring answers to all of the objections he might harbor. We had present a young U.S. soldier, a veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations, who directly asked the congressman what could we do to move him towards co-signing H. Res. 333. The congressman did not answer that direct question.

He is deeply concerned whether we will actually have an election in Nov. '08, as he believes this administration will likely strike Iran from the air, declare a national emergency, and cancel the '08 elections. He sees ending the war as his primary goal, and he believes the brilliant Nancy Pelosi has a strategy more potent than impeachment. He thinks impeachment is a futile waste of legislative energy, will be harmful of democratic '08 victories, and further tighten the "gridlock" he has complained of for the past few decades.

We adjourned at 11:45 am.

Bottom line: It's the Beltway, stupid.

[liberal N proud]

1. If this congressman believes that but still refused Impeachment

Then he is not doing his responsibility to protect the Constitution and is in violation of the oath of office he swore to uphold.

[babylonsister]

2. Most of them are in violation, seems to me. nt

[Raven]

3. Very frightening that Oliver thinks * will cancel elections,

very scary. We need to figure out how to not let that happen!

[Emit]

4. What could be the strategy more potent than impeachment that the brilliant Nancy Pelosi has?

I'd like to know what plans she has.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. Well, obviously, she's waiting for * to cancel the '08 elections,

and THEN she will impeach.

Assuming she can file from her cell in Gitmo.

[trashcanistanista]

10. If she has a, uhm, "strategy"

why is she keeping us all in the dark? There is no strategy better than impeachment. I don't believe she has any strategy other than waiting it out.

[shadowknows69]

5. George if you try this stunt

You'll have a war at home too. I'll personally lead the "insurgency" if I have to. Fuck you Agent Mike.

[Beowulf]

7. There's something I'm not getting

If he's concerned * will cancel elections, then why is he worried that impeachment would be harmful of democratic '08 victories? If there's no election, how can there be any victories?

[shadowknows69]

8. He's looking to be part of the Vichy government maybe?

[LiberalFighter]

9. What will Olver do when Bush cancels the elections?

Someone should had asked him that question.

[calimary]

12. What will he do in that case? Wish he'd voted for IMPEACHMENT, that's what.

Hindsight is always 20/20 with these people. Just like they now wished they'd voted against the war when they had the chance. Never mind that those of us who begged them to do so at the time were ignored. And it's too fucking late now. All the "I wish I had's" and "I'm sorry's" and "I regret's" in the world won't change that now. The point was to change it THEN. When it was time.

[LiberalFighter]

17. But will he if Bush cancels the election?

Someone should ask him that question. Will he, along with others do anything to counteract Bush's order? What is he willing to do? Or will he sit on his ass like he is doing with the impeachment?

[MousePlayingDaffodil]

11. How, exactly, . . .

. . . would the Bush administration even go about "canceling" the 2008 election? While it is common to refer to the "Presidential election," there is not a single such election but, rather, 51 separate elections held in each state and the District of Columbia to select each state's (and the District's) slate of Electors to the Electoral College. Under Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, each state is responsible for determining how its Electors will be chosen.

As for the voting of the Electoral College itself, Amendment XII specifies that the Electors "shall meet in their respective states" in order to cast their ballots for President and Vice President.

More to the (ultimate) point, by operation of Amendment XX, Bush's status as President "shall end at noon on the 20th day of January" 2009. Period. After that time, election or no, Bush will exercise no authority that any American would be obliged to recognize. Put simply, it's not a case of Bush "refusing to leave office." Rather, the office will leave HIM as of that time.

So, the issue isn't what Bush will do. The issue is what we would do.

[shadowknows69]

13. Why would this administration follow that part of the Constitution

when they've wiped their ass with the rest of it. Still a couple brown spots to mop up.

[CTyankee]

14. The first time I heard the "Pres. will declare martial law and cancel the election"

was back during the Vietnam War. The antiwar people (of which i was one) really had that going as something they firmly believed, for the time it took til the next election (I believe this was at the time the war was winding down and Nixon had been elected in a landslide over McGovern). This is one of those rumors that gains traction when presidents commit egregious acts. Even so, you are quite precisely right in your analysis. For one thing, Bush couldn't back up his threat by calling out the National Guard because they're mostly in Iraq...

[The Magistrate]

15. The Gentleman Needs A Bit Of Rest And Recreation, Ma'am

"I believe he was not equal to the strain."

[Phredicles]

16. What strikes me is the disconnect between Olver's "deep concern" and his actions;

First, if he really is concerned at all, let alone deeply concerned, about whether we'll even have an election in '08, why isn't he agitating with his fellow members of congress and screaming to every microphone he can find about this catastrophic possibility?

Second, he may "see ending the war as his primary goal", but how does he expect to be in a position to do that if even the veneer of constitutionality is so far removed that elections aren't held?

Then, as a lot of people have already mentioned, there's the whole premise of concentrating on winning elections that he himself is "deeply" concerned are in jeopardy.

I hope there's more to this story than we're seeing. But if not, we have a good illustration of the hopelessness and helplessness of "our" party here.