Democrats say Obama could bypass debt ceiling by declaring it unconstitutional

[jct74]

Top story on HuffPo right now.


14th Amendment: Democratic Senators See Debt Ceiling As Unconstitutional

WASHINGTON -- Growing increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for a deal that would raise the debt ceiling, Democratic senators are revisiting a solution to the crisis that rests on a simple proposition: The debt ceiling itself is unconstitutional.

"The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law... shall not be questioned," reads the 14th Amendment.

"This is an issue that's been raised in some private debate between senators as to whether in fact we can default, or whether that provision of the Constitution can be held up as preventing default," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), an attorney, told The Huffington Post Tuesday. "I don't think, as of a couple weeks ago, when this was first raised, it was seen as a pressing option. But I'll tell you that it's going to get a pretty strong second look as a way of saying, 'Is there some way to save us from ourselves?'"

Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/28/14th-amendment-debt-ceiling-unconstitutional-democrats_n_886442.html

[cindy25]

so this is plan B

[nobody's_hero]

Well, the U.S. Constitution is never plan A, even in cases like this, when they intend to butcher its meaning.

[Watch]

Well Gosh, they got section 4 sort of right, but what about section 5 that explicitly says :
"The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
Edit
Whoa whoa using precedence to counter...1935 Perry V Unites States..interesting little coincidence no???

[Chester Copperpot]

these politicians are assholes... theyre still trying to use the constitution to increase the powers of the federal govt..


fuck them royally

[cindy25]

it shows how desperate they are; and that they expect no deal with the house

[cswake]

Actually, it is an unconstitutional creation during the Wilson era - Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917. Before that, Congress had to approve every single issuance of debt! (They'd be doing it on a daily basis in present days) Then again, the power to issue debt without authorization by Congress is also unconstitutional...

[qh4dotcom]

Well then an immigrant whose home country is Kenya has no constitutional authority to make such declarations. Only a natural born citizen could questionably do so.