US lawmakers file suit against President Obama over Libya

Netto Azure · Jun 15, 2011

US lawmakers file suit against Barack Obama over Libya

US lawmakers file suit against President Obama over Libya

Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich is helping to lead a group suing Barack Obama

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has filed a lawsuit against President Barack Obama in federal court for taking military action in Libya without authorisation from Congress.

Ten members of the House of Representatives signed the lawsuit, saying Mr Obama violated the constitution in bypassing Congress.
The War Powers Resolution, passed after US withdrew from the Vietnam War, rules that involvement in combat operations unauthorised by Congress must be terminated after 60 days.
The suit, which also targets Defence Secretary Robert Gates, challenges "policy that any president can take the US to war unilaterally", Democratic lawmaker Dennis Kucinich said.
"We have asked the courts to move to protect the American people from the results of these illegal policies," he added.
Some of the plaintiffs in the suit also include Democratic Representatives John Conyers and Michael Capuano and Republicans Walter Jones, Howard Coble and Ron Paul.
The politicians have said they want President Obama to explain whether he intends to follow the War Powers Act and ask for Congressional approval for continued action in Libya.
The War Powers Resolution rules that involvement in combat operations unauthorised by Congress must be terminated after 60 days and troops must be withdrawn after 90 days. Sunday marks the 90-day deadline.
Last month, White House lawyers were said to be looking at ways US action in Libya can continue without contravening the resolution.

Such a small group, but still quite an isolationist stance.

FreakyLocz14 · Jun 15, 2011

This is great! We need to take a stand against war-mongering Obama.
2012 can't come soon enough.

Livewire · Jun 15, 2011

FreakyLocz14 said:
This is great! We need to take a stand against war-mongering Obama.
2012 can't come soon enough.

Obama the war monger? You're so out there it's ridiculous. Your precious Republicans in the senate and the house, as well as the previous administration are the war mongers; two wars, several trillion spent and over 20,000 US casualties.

These people are idiots. Given the Patriot Act, The War Powers act, and Executive privilege, the office of the President can do as it pleases. Thank you George Bush for that horrible precedent.

FreakyLocz14 · Jun 15, 2011

Live_Wire466 said:
Obama the war monger? You're so out there it's ridiculous. Your precious Republicans in the senate and the house, as well as the previous administration are the war mongers; two wars, several trillion spent and over 20,000 US casualties.

These people are idiots. Given the Patriot Act, The War Powers act, and Executive privilege, the office of the President can do as it pleases. Thank you George Bush for that horrible precedent.

Obama has proven to be just as bad as Bush. He promised isolationism, and an end to Guantanamo Bay and the PATRIOT Act. Guantanamo is still functional, and the Democrat's Harry Reid fought hard to extend the PATRIOT Act over a brave, patriotic objection from Republican Rand Paul. His father has my vote in the Republican Presidential Primary.

Anti · Jun 16, 2011

Live_Wire466 said:
Obama the war monger? You're so out there it's ridiculous. Your precious Republicans in the senate and the house, as well as the previous administration are the war mongers; two wars, several trillion spent and over 20,000 US casualties.

These people are idiots. Given the Patriot Act, The War Powers act, and Executive privilege, the office of the President can do as it pleases. Thank you George Bush for that horrible precedent.

Bush was not the first president to do as he pleased in foreign affairs. He deserves criticism for Iraq but didn't really set the precedent, even if he was more arrogant in how he went about it than past presidents have been (and that's an understatement). Also, Afghanistan was not really a war of choice, to be fair.

FreakyLocz14 said:
Obama has proven to be just as bad as Bush. He promised isolationism, and an end to Guantanamo Bay and the PATRIOT Act. Guantanamo is still functional, and the Democrat's Harry Reid fought hard to extend the PATRIOT Act over a brave, patriotic objection from Republican Rand Paul. His father has my vote in the Republican Presidential Primary.

Spin it however you want, but with the House vote to extend the PATRIOT Act, over one hundred Democrats voted against the bill while something like 26 Republicans voted no. I know you're talking about the Senate, but this wasn't just a product of Obama or Reid. Yes, there WAS opposition from the GOP like you mentioned with Paul, but let's be fair with the blame game here.

I'm curious to see how this turns out. I think that the intervention in Libya is questionable so I'm glad that this is happening. I also don't like that the Syrian government is also targeting its own civilians and is being unbearably cruel, yet it doesn't get the same treatment. Just as someone who hasn't paid attention to politics for the past year or so, I am skeptical about this whole thing. Our interventions never seem to have positive results...

~~Posting in a thread about politics is never a good idea...~~

NurseBarbra · Jun 16, 2011

Emmm... (View of an outsider as I'm irish)...

You do realise the war in libya affects oil prices which drives the cost of everything up, as well as the fact that if it wasn't libya, the US would go straight for the next big source of oil for the taking, Iran. So yeah, War in libya to get it over with quickly or war in Iran which would be an even BIGGER drain and waste of money.

Your choice.

FreakyLocz14 · Jun 16, 2011

Anti said:
Spin it however you want, but with the House vote to extend the PATRIOT Act, over one hundred Democrats voted against the bill while something like 26 Republicans voted no. I know you're talking about the Senate, but this wasn't just a product of Obama or Reid. Yes, there WAS opposition from the GOP like you mentioned with Paul, but let's be fair with the blame game here.

I'm curious to see how this turns out. I think that the intervention in Libya is questionable so I'm glad that this is happening. I also don't like that the Syrian government is also targeting its own civilians and is being unbearably cruel, yet it doesn't get the same treatment. Just as someone who hasn't paid attention to politics for the past year or so, I am skeptical about this whole thing. Our interventions never seem to have positive results...

~~Posting in a thread about politics is never a good idea...~~

The PATRIOT Act extension originally failed in the Republican-controlled House. I commend those who voted against it, regardless of their party, for standing up for liberty.

The Democrats have always been war-mongers (Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam, anyone?). The Bush's were rare in that they were war-mongering Republican Presidents. Both World Wars, Vietnam, and Korea happened under Democratic administrations. Eisenhower ended Korea, while Nixon ended Vietnam.

donavannj · Jun 17, 2011

FreakyLocz14 said:
The Democrats have always been war-mongers (Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam, anyone?). The Bush's were rare in that they were war-mongering Republican Presidents. Both World Wars, Vietnam, and Korea happened under Democratic administrations. Eisenhower ended Korea, while Nixon ended Vietnam.

What this attacks is a party, not an ideology. Before LBJ, most Democrats were very conservative war-hawks. After LBJ, not so much. They're not any more extreme than their Republican counterparts. I think the only President not involved in any war since LBJ was Carter, a one-term Democrat. Reagan was involved in wars internationally, iirc. We've had 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats as president since LBJ.

And, frankly, this kind of thing should've been done years ago.

FreakyLocz14 · Jun 17, 2011

donavannj said:
What this attacks is a party, not an ideology. Before LBJ, most Democrats were very conservative war-hawks. After LBJ, not so much. They're not any more extreme than their Republican counterparts. I think the only President not involved in any war since LBJ was Carter, a one-term Democrat. Reagan was involved in wars internationally, iirc. We've had 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats as president since LBJ.

And, frankly, this kind of thing should've been done years ago.

War-hawks? Yes. Conservative? Not so much. Some of the most expansive social programs came from pre-LBJ Democrats and LBJ himself, but that's besides the point.

My point is, we need to stop intervening in other country's affairs.

HarrisonH · Jun 17, 2011

FreakyLocz14 said:
The PATRIOT Act extension originally failed in the Republican-controlled House. I commend those who voted against it, regardless of their party, for standing up for liberty.

Hahaha, I like how you're emphasizing that the House was Republican-controlled, making it seem as if it the majority of Republicans were against the act. Hint: They weren't.

Votes for: 210 R, 67 D
Votes against: 26 R, 122 D

89% of Republicans voted IN FAVOR when the Patriot Act extension failed. It's a shame that 35% of Democrats did as well, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a primarily Republican-supported Act.

FrostPheonix · Jun 17, 2011

Meh, was wondering when this will happen. Was bound to happen eventually.

FreakyLocz14 · Jun 17, 2011

HarrisonH said:
Hahaha, I like how you're emphasizing that the House was Republican-controlled, making it seem as if it the majority of Republicans were against the act. Hint: They weren't.

Votes for: 210 R, 67 D
Votes against: 26 R, 122 D

89% of Republicans voted IN FAVOR when the Patriot Act extension failed. It's a shame that 35% of Democrats did as well, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a primarily Republican-supported Act.

The New Republicans are against the act. The Tea Party and libertarian-leaning Congressmen on both sides of the aisle caused the original vote to fail.

HarrisonH · Jun 17, 2011

FreakyLocz14 said:
The New Republicans are against the act. The Tea Party and libertarian-leaning Congressmen on both sides of the aisle caused the original vote to fail.

Uh, nope? The vast majority of the Tea Party voted FOR the extension of the Patriot Act in BOTH votes. See here for the results of the May vote. See here for the Tea Party votes from February.

And in case you decide not to look at the February votes, here's the breakdown: Of the 26 Republicans who voted against the extension, only 8 were freshmen. All 8 were also Tea Party.

In comparison, 31 Tea Party members voted FOR the extension in February.

There's a discrepancy between the two lists (One is much longer than the other), so I've taken it upon myself to expand the February list of representatives to match that of May.

Spoiler:

So, the final breakdown of the Tea Party's votes on the February extension of the Patriot Act:
FOR: 121 - 89%
AGAINST: 15 - 11%

So, yeah. The VAST majority of the Tea Party voted IN SUPPORT of the Patriot Act both times. I'm so glad that we have the Tea Party supporting our constitutional liberties!

FreakyLocz14 · Jun 17, 2011

HarrisonH said:
Uh, nope? The vast majority of the Tea Party voted FOR the extension of the Patriot Act in BOTH votes. See here for the results of the May vote. See here for the Tea Party votes from February.

And in case you decide not to look at the February votes, here's the breakdown: Of the 26 Republicans who voted against the extension, only 8 were freshmen. All 8 were also Tea Party.

In comparison, 31 Tea Party members voted FOR the extension in February.

There's a discrepancy between the two lists (One is much longer than the other), so I've taken it upon myself to expand the February list of representatives to match that of May.

Spoiler:

Tea Party Supporters FOR:
Rep. Sandy Adams [R, FL-24]
Rep. Robert Aderholt [R, AL-4]
Rep. Rodney Alexander [R, LA-5]
Rep. Michele Bachmann [R, MN-6]
Rep. Lou Barletta [R, PA-11]
Rep. Joe Barton [R, TX-6]
Rep. Charles Bass [R, NH-2]
Rep. Dan Benishek [R, MI-1]
Rep. Rick Berg [R, ND-0]
Rep. Brian Bilbray [R, CA-50]
Rep. Gus Bilirakis [R, FL-9]
Rep. Diane Black [R, TN-6]
Rep. Mo Brooks [R, AL-5]
Rep. Larry Bucshon [R, IN-8]
Rep. Michael Burgess [R, TX-26]
Rep. Dan Burton [R, IN-5]
Rep. Ken Calvert [R, CA-44]
Rep. David Camp [R, MI-4]
Rep. Francisco Canseco [R, TX-23]
Rep. Shelley Capito [R, WV-2]
Rep. John Carter [R, TX-31]
Rep. Bill Cassidy [R, LA-6]
Rep. Steven Chabot [R, OH-1]
Rep. Jason Chaffetz [R, UT-3]
Rep. Howard Coble [R, NC-6]
Rep. Mike Coffman [R, CO-6]
Rep. Tom Cole [R, OK-4]
Rep. Chip Cravaack [R, MN-8]
Rep. Ander Crenshaw [R, FL-4]
Rep. John Culberson [R, TX-7]
Rep. Jeff Denham [R, CA-19]
Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]
Rep. Bob Dold [R, IL-10]
Rep. Jeff Duncan [R, SC-3]
Rep. Sean Duffy [R, WI-7]
Rep. Blake Farenthold [R, TX-27]
Rep. Stephen Fincher [R, TN-8]
Rep. John Fleming [R, LA-4]
Rep. Bill Flores [R, TX-17]
Rep. Jeffrey Fortenberry [R, NE-1]
Rep. Trent Franks [R, AZ-2]
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen [R, NJ-11]
Rep. Elton Gallegly [R, CA-24]
Rep. Cory Gardner [R, CO-4]
Rep. Jim Gerlach [R, PA-6]
Rep. Bob Gibbs [R, OH-18]
Rep. John Gingrey [R, GA-11]
Rep. Morgan Griffith [R, VA-9]
Rep. Louis Gohmert [R, TX-1]
Rep. Paul Gosar [R, AZ-1]
Rep. Tim Griffin [R, AR-2]
Rep. Michael Grimm [R, NY-13]
Rep. Frank Guinta [R, NH-1]
Rep. Vicky Hartzler [R, MO-4]
Rep. Joe Heck [R, NV-3]
Rep. Walter Herger [R, CA-2]
Rep. Bill Huizenga [R, MI-2]
Rep. Duncan Hunter [R, CA-52]
Rep. Lynn Jenkins [R, KS-2]
Rep. Bill Johnson [R, OH-6]
Rep. Mike Kelly [R, PA-3]
Rep. Steve King [R, IA-5]
Rep. Adam Kinzinger [R, IL-11]
Rep. John Kline [R, MN-2]
Rep. Leonard Lance [R, NJ-7]
Rep. Jeff Landry [R, LA-3]
Rep. James Lankford [R, OK-5]
Rep. Jerry Lewis [R, CA-41]
Rep. Frank LoBiondo [R, NJ-2]
Rep. Frank Lucas [R, OK-3]
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R, MO-9]
Rep. Cynthia Lummis [R, WY-0]
Rep. Daniel Lungren [R, CA-3]
Rep. Thomas Marino [R, PA-10]
Rep. Kevin McCarthy [R, CA-22]
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter [R, MI-11]
Rep. David McKinley [R, WV-1]
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers [R, WA-5]
Rep. Patrick Meehan [R, PA-7]
Rep. Candice Miller [R, MI-10]
Rep. Gary Miller [R, CA-42]
Rep. Mick Mulvaney [R, SC-5]
Rep. Randy Neugebauer [R, TX-19]
Rep. Richard Nugent [R, FL-5]
Rep. Devin Nunes [R, CA-21]
Rep. Alan Nunnelee [R, MS-1]
Rep. Erik Paulsen [R, MN-3]
Rep. Steven Pearce [R, NM-2]
Rep. Mike Pence [R, IN-6]
Rep. Ted Poe [R, TX-2]
Rep. Tom Price [R, GA-6]
Rep. Ben Quayle [R, AZ-3]
Rep. Jim Renacci [R, OH-16]
Rep. Reid Ribble [R, WI-8]
Rep. Martha Roby [R, AL-2]
Rep. Michael Rogers [R, MI-8]
Rep. Dennis Ross [R, FL-12]
Rep. Edward Royce [R, CA-40]
Rep. Jon Runyan [R, NJ-3]
Rep. Steve Scalise [R, LA-1]
Rep. Tim Scott [R, SC-1]
Rep. Peter Sessions [R, TX-32]
Rep. Michael Simpson [R, ID-2]
Rep. Adrian Smith [R, NE-3]
Rep. Christopher Smith [R, NJ-4]
Rep. Lamar Smith [R, TX-21]
Rep. Clifford Stearns [R, FL-6]
Rep. Steve Stivers [R, OH-15]
Rep. Lee Terry [R, NE-2]
Rep. Patrick Tiberi [R, OH-12]
Rep. Scott Tipton [R, CO-3]
Rep. Frederick Upton [R, MI-6]
Rep. Timothy Walberg [R, MI-7]
Rep. Greg Walden [R, OR-2]
Rep. Joe Walsh [R, IL-8]
Rep. Allen West [R, FL-22]
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R, GA-3]
Rep. Addison Wilson [R, SC-2]
Rep. Kevin Yoder [R, KS-3]
Rep. Todd Young [R, IN-9]

Tea Party Supporters AGAINST:
Rep. Justin Amash [R, MI-3]
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett [R, MD-6]
Rep. Rob Bishop [R, UT-1]
Rep. Paul Broun [R, GA-10]
Rep. John Campbell [R, CA-48]
Rep. John Duncan [R, TN-2]
Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R, PA-8]
Rep. Tom Graves [R, GA-9]
Rep. Raúl Labrador [R, ID-1]
Rep. Kenny Marchant [R, TX-24]
Rep. Tom McClintock [R, CA-4]
Rep. Dennis Rehberg [R, MT-0]
Rep. Phil Roe [R, TN-1]
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R, CA-46]
Rep. David Schweikert [R, AZ-5]

So, the final breakdown of the Tea Party's votes on the February extension of the Patriot Act:
FOR: 121 - 89%
AGAINST: 15 - 11%

So, yeah. The VAST majority of the Tea Party voted IN SUPPORT of the Patriot Act both times. I'm so glad that we have the Tea Party supporting our constitutional liberties!

Mike Pence? Lulz. Your list is artificially inflated. Wally Herger is one of my Congressmen, and he is no Tea Partier.

HarrisonH · Jun 17, 2011

FreakyLocz14 said:
Mike Pence? Lulz. Your list is artificially inflated. Wally Herger is one of my Congressmen, and he is no Tea Partier.

Sorry love, Mike Pence and Wally Herger are both in the Tea Party Caucus.

And in case you don't like wikipedia, here's the list on the Michele Bachmann's website. Though, it could be argued that she's not a valid source of anything.

FreakyLocz14 · Jun 18, 2011

HarrisonH said:
Sorry love, Mike Pence and Wally Herger are both in the Tea Party Caucus.

And in case you don't like wikipedia, here's the list on the Michele Bachmann's website. Though, it could be argued that she's not a valid source of anything.

https://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/house
Select "Electoral Explorer".

This is a visual map of all the Tea Party candidates that ran in the House. Mr. Herger and Mr. Pence are nowhere to be found.

HarrisonH · Jun 18, 2011

FreakyLocz14 said:
https://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/house
Select "Electoral Explorer".

This is a visual map of all the Tea Party candidates that ran in the House. Mr. Herger and Mr. Pence are nowhere to be found.

Are you dense or what? They both associate with the Tea Party now, regardless of if they ran as one or not. They are Tea Party. Accept it.

Herger has even spoken at multiple Tea Party meetings.

Pence has done the same.

So yeah, sorry love. They're still Tea Party.

Ivysaur · Jun 18, 2011

My views on Lybia:

- A crazy dictator was about to massacre thousands of civilians in Benghazi. The UN wrote a resolution against him. Several countries went to stop the civilian massacre and take that crazy dictator down. I don't see the problem.

- Isolationism is stupid from the moment when everything you do in your day is influenced by absolutely every other single country in the world. You can't pretend to live with just the resources in your country. It's anti-economical.

- The fact that some dictators are left alone doesn't mean we should leave all the crazy dictators alone killing their citizens. We should have attacked Syria and Yemen and probably some other countries as well, but saying that "since we don't attack all of them, we shouldn't attack any and let all of them massacre their citizens as they please" is even morally worse.

US lawmakers file suit against President Obama over Libya

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