Incitements to violence... an FBI "loyalty pledge"... an "I love it" response to a Kremlin offer of "Hillary dirt"... the list keeps growing. We the People have seen enough: President Trump is both dangerous, and "not up to the job." This book is a fresh look at an old document: our Constitution. As you will see, the impeachment powers of Congress go far beyond the "Conventional Wisdom" account: Congress can "fire" the President.
More specifically, "Conventional Wisdom" tells us that the "heart" of impeachment is in Article II, Section 4, which says:
"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Notice: Article II does not say: "Conviction by the Senate" - it just says "Conviction". Unlike "Conventional Wisdom" the impeachment theory of this book presents Article II not as the "heart" of impeachment - but as a special case: Impeached "Civil Officers of the United States" who are guilty of crimes can be removed by either a Senate trial, or a criminal trial.
Let's consider what follows from this - with specific application to President Trump.
The actual impeachment and removal from office powers - both the House's power to impeach, and the Senate's power hold a decriminalized impeachment trial -- are in Article I. These are powers reserved exclusively for Congress. As we will see, these powers are far more extensive than we have been taught. When you simply read what Article I says - the actual words -- with the basic understanding of impeachment and history that was available to Americans of the Revolutionary War era - all known to the Convention of 1787 -- Congress has the Constitutional power to say to all Civil Officers - the President and the Cabinet: "you're fired."
Having a President who is "not up to the job" isn't just unwise - in today's world it's dangerous. Our Constitutional Convention of 1787 knew about human frailty and weakness - and provided far stronger safeguards against it than we have realized.
Equally important -- We the People are the ultimate check and balance on Congress. If Congress starts to become too political - trying to "grab power from the Executive" instead of safeguarding us from the misuse or abuse of Executive power - We the People can and should throw out of office any members of Congress that are doing that.
But... of course... then what!? This book also presents a bi-partisan plan for a "Caretaker President Pence" - restrained until We the People can speak again in 2018 - voting on control of the House. More generally, the middle three of the nine chapters are devoted to a thorough analysis of "the politics of impeachment."
We the People can and must unite: to defend our Constitution, and to send into retirement our first "Celebrity Apprentice President."
About the Author: Bob "Again" Carney Jr. had an early interest in politics - in 1972 (at age 18) his first paid job was managing a Republican Congressional campaign in lopsidedly Democratic Minneapolis - $200 a month part time for two months. That was followed by an internship in Congressman Bill Frenzel's Washington, D.C. office during the Spring of 1973, when the Watergate investigation was just getting started. His academic project was to study: "How Congress makes decisions." That project was naïve in its simplicity, but very educational. He has worked mostly in the private sector, typically as an independent contractor or consultant, and sometimes involving computer programming. He has a BA from Macalester College (mostly physics, computer science and math, a major was not required) and an MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. The Clinton impeachment proceeding prompted him to write The Nixon-Clinton Impeachment: a New Constitutional Theory in 2000, and a few years later, to commence an unusual political venture as a "Candidate-Journalist" -- simultaneously pursuing not just one but two of the most widely loathed career options currently available in America. His commentary and editorial counterpoint articles began to appear infrequently but somewhat regularly in the Star Tribune (Minnesota's "newspaper of record") beginning in 2009. He finished second in Minnesota's 2010 Republican primary for Governor (with only about 10,000 votes and about 8%.) In 2012, he finished third in Minnesota's GOP U.S. Senate primary (with about 17,000 votes and about 14%.) His campaign for Governor had followed an initial foray as a candidate for Mayor in 2009 - as the "mainstream media" started to "peg" him as a "perennial" candidate he has adopted a "publishing and ballot" moniker: "Bob 'Again' Carney Jr., saying by this action: "all good guerrillas shun defense - we only do offense." Although he only campaigned at one event - with a paper bag over his head - in 2016 he was the top Minneapolis Republican vote getter for the Minnesota Legislature.