Tom Harkin just said it is the responsibility

[sasha031]

for the POTUS the use the 14th amendment:applause:

[dkf]

1. Sigh.

[Tennessee Gal]

2. What legal case is he quoting?

Cannot see it on the board he has up.

[sasha031]

4. he's talking about Thomas Jefferson, now Lincoln

[Tennessee Gal]

5. But he has a board up from a Supreme Court case.

Wish I could see what it is. It is at the bottom of the board.

[tnlefty]

3. Good!

:bounce:

[Raksha]

6. A great speech and a very compelling argument.

[Tennessee Gal]

7. Perry versus the U.S.

Harkin says a Supreme Court case in 1935, Perry versus the U.S., addressed the issue. Harkin says the ruling said congress has the power to borrow and spend money, but it does not have the power to ignore or violate the terms of a lending instrument. “In other words, we don’t have the authority to not pay the bills,”Harkin said.

[WillyT]

8. Yes He Did !!!

:bounce:

Cited The Louisiana Purchase, The Emancipation Proclamation, and The Lend-Lease Act as precedents to this action. No clear constitutional authority, yet went ahead and pursued the policy for the betterment of the USA.

:shrug:

[ellenfl]

13. unfortunately, scotus tends to ignore precedent. hopefully

the scotus gang of five's corporate overlords will control them.

ellen fl

[cascadiance]

9. You know if Obama doesn't use the 14th amendment, he might ALSO be impeached as well!

by these Republicans that are wanting to get him in to a trap, just like Ken Starr sought to get Clinton into an ILLEGAL "perjury trap" that was designed ONLY to get him to lie on the stand, not to investigate a crime, and therefore try to claim he was perjuring himself when it was what has in the past been termed as put in to a "perjury trap".

http://www.perkel.com/politics/clinton/perjury.htm

So don't be surprised that if Obama, faced with NO options and NOT using the 14th amendment to rescue the economy will be impeached for NOT using it to save our country.

That sounds like it makes less sense, but if Obama's judgement is being questioned if he's being looked at to be impeached, I'd much rather him defending using the 14th amendment to do what he feels best for the economy than NOT using it and many arguing he was doing so only to avoid legal jeopardy and to keep from having a negative attached to him in the coming election. The former is far more defensible, and also has his party standing behind him that much more too.

[BR_Parkway]

14. I've wondered how he can NOT break a law when he either has to ignore the debt

ceiling OR not pay the bills in the budget Congress has already said to. Seems like the safer argument would be that Congress intent was to pay the bills that the authorized earlier in the session

[tavalon]

10. Yes, it is the only way to not negotiate with the terrorist and one should never negotiate with

terrorists.

[elocs]

11. But Obama cannot advertise he will use it before it is time, if he does use it.

It's not a bad idea for others to throw out that possibility just to let the Republicans mull it over.

[cascadiance]

12. And that would be Obama's style, much like he used with releasing his birth certificate...

Don't play his cards too soon. Wait until the right time, and not give too many hints on where he's going to go and then play them.

I really hope he does do the 14th amendment, especially if we see the Republicans all shooting each other up and exposing their inability to govern while they think what they are doing are the only options that are being looked at.

And I think it is good for people like Harkin and others to keep reminding Obama and others of this option, even if it is "from the outside", to make sure that people talk about it, and then completely understand how Obama comes to rescue us at the end when everything is a mess and he uses it.

It's tricky to get this level of understanding the way our corporate media works, but the way Harkin spoke just now, and others with their own smaller "bully pulpits", that's really important now. Good on you Tom. Always was proud of you as the Senator of my former state.