Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich suggested last week that President Obama overstepped his constitutional bounds when he announced he would no longer defend Defense of Marriage Act in court. Gingrich, a possible GOP presidential candidate, spoke about the issue in an interview with Newsmax.
Gingrich stated the move wasn’t grounds for immediate impeachment, he believed the policy reversal was “a dereliction of duty and a violation of his constitutional oath” that “cannot be allowed to stand.”
“He swore an oath on the Bible to become president that he would uphold the Constitution and enforce the laws of the United States,” Gingrich said. “He is not a one-person Supreme Court. The idea that we now have the rule of Obama instead of the rule of law should frighten everybody.” While Obama was sheltered by the left, which “likes the policy,” Gingrich claimed, he proposed another situation that he suggested would have caused much more clamor.
“Imagine that Governor Palin had become president,” Gingrich said. “Imagine that she had announced that Roe versus Wade in her view was unconstitutional and therefore the United States government would no longer protect anyone’s right to have an abortion because she personally had decided it should be changed. The news media would have gone crazy. The New York Times would have demanded her impeachment.”
Gingrich also suggested that Republicans challenge Obama by passing a resolution. “I believe the House Republicans next week should pass a resolution instructing the president to enforce the law and to obey his own constitutional oath, and they should say if he fails to do so that they will zero out [defund] the office of attorney general and take other steps as necessary until the president agrees to do his job,” Gingrich said.
On The Web
- Newt Gingrich Makes Ridiculous Charge: Obama Could Be Impeached Over DOMA Decision (outsidethebeltway.com)
- Newt Gingrich Wants Obama Impeached for DOMA Position (bilerico.com)
- Newt Gingrich Discusses Potential Obama Impeachment (huffingtonpost.com)
