By Mark David Blum, Esq.

“An elective despotism was not the government we fought for, but one which should not only be founded on true free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among general bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.” (Thomas Jefferson)

The call went out from the American People to stop the War in Iraq. There has been no congressional declaration of war and hence, this war is illegal. Via election, a loud and strong voice went out demanding an immediate end to the occupation. Four years ago, the war was declared over and since then, there has been nothing but death due to occupation.

The President was directed by the People’s Houses to end the occupation.

If the President vetoes the pending ‘End the War’ Bill, the question then comes to the feet of all Republicans in Congress: Are you with us or against us? Are Republicans loyal to their Party or to their Country?

Twenty four years ago, on January 17, 1973, then President Richard Nixon proclaimed to the world that an accord had been reached in Paris with the North Vietnamese government. The end result thereof would be a quick U.S. pull out and recognition of the new nation of Vietnam. We have since learned the war was based on a lie, moved forward to advance and protect against a political agenda. After that came Watergate and the Pardon and social chaos.

They had the Gulf of Tonkin. We have Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Here we are nearly a quarter century later; another Republican President is leading us down this same path toward destruction. Once again our president is leading a charge against privacy and the civil rights of American citizens in the name of attacking an unforeseen enemy. Again, the Pentagon, FBI, and CIA are infiltrating in the United States and investigating American citizens without warrant or Notice.

My President believes that under the caption of ‘commander in chief’ he has the constitutional authority to move ahead with his continuing occupation of Iraq even if told not to by legislation. In his worldview the president perceives his power trumps the will of Congress. "In this situation, I do, yeah. I fully understand they could try to stop me from doing it. But I've made my decision. And we're going forward." (George W. Bush).

The first priority of the Founders of this nation was to assure there would never again be power concentrated in any one pair of hands or small group. From our villages and towns to the largesse of the Federal Government, we see the ongoing imprimatur of the brilliance of their experiment.

There is a legislative branch. This body represents the People and whose primary function is the control of the purse and to enact the will of the people with regard to how collectively we want things done. Majority rules the day.

To balance the legislature and mediate disputes, the judicial branch was created to watch over the rights of the individual in context of the original concepts of this nation. Theirs is not the task to keep the hand of James Madison around our throats. Instead, as a child matures, so too must our laws and the Judiciary is charged with keeping the law off the back and out of the rights of the individual.

In the Executive branch, we have vested the command to execute the laws passed by the legislature. Be it the local Mayor or the President, theirs is the task of enforcement of the will of the People as manifested through legislation. The executive branch is specifically intended to be the weakest branch and has no power or authority specific to it. From its opening declaration of unity through its final signature, the Constitution is a tight harness reining back the inherent and naturally sought power of the Executive. Job One was to prevent our suffering at the hands of another King George.

The current George thinks that the phrase that anoints the President as ‘Commander in Chief’ puts him as Primary Military Commander. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our Founders installed the President as Commander in Chief because they insisted on civilian control over the military. They understood the realities of life and knew a standing army would be a vital necessity. To further assure the dispersion of power and to protect the People from their government, control over the military was given to the President. The specific intent was to put a set of brakes on the military so as to make sure the army itself knew it shall always remain subservient to civilian authority. General McArthur understood that relationship and quietly waddled off into oblivion. As Justice Jackson famously wrote in the Youngstown Sheet & Tube case back during the Korean War, "the purpose of lodging dual titles in one man was to insure that the civilian would control the military, not to enable the military to subordinate the presidential office. No penance would ever expiate the sin against free government of holding that a President can escape control of executive powers by law through assuming his military role."

Congress has told the President “No”. “No”, Mr. President means “No”. He does not have the legal authority to override a congressional mandate. The president does have the right to raise the issue before the Supreme Court. But, a vote of Congress expresses the will of the People. Ignoring that law would be and should be considered a high crime, a felony, and the last straw before the indictment. After all, how many times did George say “we are a nation of laws.” This is the specific lesson learned during the Reagan Administration and the Iran Contra felonies.

Now, the President has challenged the People. In sheer arrogant defiance, the President is rallying his Party to assure the Veto stands. The only reason for doing so is to help prevent a massive backlash against the Republicans in the next election. They hope and pray he can fix Iraq (or attack Iran) before the next nation election or their fat pensions and skinny Pages are gone.

To paraphrase my President in a speech given in prime time on September 11, 2006, “we are in the midst of the great ideological battle of the Second Millennium.” He called it the “battle for civilization.” I couldn’t agree more. Today, Congress votes on the Bush plan to expand the War in Iraq. The message Congress sends today will establish America’s ideological future.

I would carry the President’s 9/11 message one step further. I argue that we now stand at the precipice of change. However which way we leap forward, our next move will be drastic and our society will be changed forever. Are we living through what will be known to future generations as the early days of the American holocaust? As we choose our next path, the question becomes one of whether we will continue forward with the attitude and behavior last seen in the 1930’s with the rise of the German National Socialists.

We have become the Generation that abandoned the American constitution and her principles of liberty, honor, and integrity because we so fear a terrorist bomb. The American heart now beats with the pulse of a coward’s blood. Our President and his party gave us this social transfusion of ideology. How quickly they convinced the nation to surrender its collective soul for some small amount of safety. Considering that 2006 was a record setting year for terrorist acts worldwide, we got very little and paid a dear price.

Osama Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda destroyed buildings and murdered three thousand Americans in an unprovoked attack. Our nation responded. But then, the President and the Republicans turned the war against our own nation. They lied to us to expand the war. As of this writing, the Republican policies and our nation’s present leaders have killed more Americans and destroyed more buildings, and disrupted our own economy far worse than did our enemies.

It is time for the Republicans to find their souls and end this fiasco in Iraq. The nation wants it. There is no surrender since we won the war four years ago. All that is left is continuing to throw more money and good soldiers down the sewer.

I call upon the Senate Congressfolks to Override that Veto. Prove to the country your loyalties are to the Nation before Party. There is no more room for compromise on this issue.