OPINION:
When Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman sat down to draft the Declaration of Independence, they began with a “Bill of Particulars” against King George III. They accused the monarch of “repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” Now, 236 years later, “We the People” are about to decide whom we should hire as our chief executive and commander in chief. It’s an appropriate time to review the grievances of our Founding Fathers — and examine the offenses committed by our present head of state.
Jefferson and his colleagues determined that the king had “refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.” That’s certainly relevant to the incumbent administration, which repeatedly has rejected all efforts by Congress to pass a budget as required by our Constitution.
The drafters found that the British monarch had “forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he (had) utterly neglected to attend to them.” That sounds a lot like what happened when Gov. Jan Brewer and the Arizona Legislature passed a law to protect the citizens of said state from the depredations of illegal aliens crossing our borders.
Our nation’s founders were likewise offended by the imperious manner in which the king had “obstructed the Administration of Justice.” That charge is relevant to the Obama administration’s willful decision in ordering firearms shipped to violent Mexican drug cartels in Operation Fast and Furious and then claiming executive privilege to withhold information about the activity from Congress.
Then there is the indictment against the king that he had “erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their Substance.” But wait; isn’t that what the Obama White House has done, with its czars, scores of executive orders to avoid legislative constraints, hundreds of new regulations, refusal to authorize new oil leases, and refusal to build the Keystone XL pipeline and save us billions in the cost of fuel?
In writing of the royal ruler, Jefferson and his colleagues determined that he had “combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation.” How is that different from what the O-Team has done in surrendering our sovereignty and pandering to the unaccountable authority of the United Nations, which has pledged to “acknowledge” Shariah?
Those are just five of 27 offenses perpetrated by London more than two centuries ago, all deemed sufficient to demand the Declaration of Independence. Today there are even more charges that our founders could have levied in an updated “Bill of Particulars” against the governing authority in Washington:
By overspending and borrowing, HE has bankrupted our Treasury, created more national Debt than all his Predecessors combined and squandered our Children’s Future by making us beholden to foreign Powers.
HE has expended public Monies through executive Fiat to support Companies and Individuals that contribute to his political Campaigns. Can anyone say “Solyndra”?
HE has redefined Marriage and enacted Rules and Regulations abridging the religious Liberties and Freedom of Conscience protected by the First Amendment of our Constitution by requiring church-affiliated Institutions to provide Insurance Coverage for Contraception and Abortions under Obamacare.
HE has bowed to foreign Potentates, begged our Adversaries for Space and Time until after the Election, and apologized for the Blood and Treasure expended by brave Americans in offering Others the Hope of Freedom.
HIS Regulations and Policies have denied gainful Employment to more than 20 million able-bodied Citizens and made more than 46 million Americans dependent on government-provided Food Stamps.
HE publicly advocated an Arab Spring but abandoned Israel, our staunchest Ally in the Middle East; rejected Appeals to support the Aspirations of the Iranian People for free and fair Elections and refused to do Anything to deter the theocratic Regime in Tehran from acquiring nuclear Weapons.
HE declared an act of Terrorism at Fort Hood, Texas, to be workplace Violence, deceived the American People about how Osama bin Laden’s Demise would end radical Islamist terror Attacks, failed to dispatch military Force to save Americans in Harm’s way in Benghazi, Libya, and naively advocates a failed “lead from behind” foreign Policy.
For these and other Offenses, We the People find that it is time for us to hire a new president of the United States. Mr. Obama, you’re fired.
Oliver North is host of “War Stories” on the Fox News Channel and author of the new novel “Heroes Proved” (Threshold Editions, 2012). Join Oliver North in Israel by going to www.olivernorthisrael.com.
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