MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

The 1995 film “Nixon” is an Oliver Stone political biography, with my would-be cousin - Sir Anthony Hopkins - in the title role. Like its predecessor “JFK,” and follow up “W," it was controversial, disputed factually and an interesting take on a member of the President's Club, the most exclusive club in history. It was nominated in two categories but won no Oscars in the spring of 1996. It is today’s SIDEBAR movie metaphor.

Barack Hussein Obama ascended to power with allusions of replicating the glory days of Presidents past - Kennedy, Reagan, or even FDR. Sadly, in now the sixth year of his occupation on Pennsylvania Avenue, his scandal-plagued reign is akin not to such robust figures of history, but instead the shame of the most corrupt administration in modern times. He is rightfully to be compared to none other than Richard Milhous Nixon.

President Nixon was a complex and deeply flawed individual. While his foreign policy triumphs were record setting, he was also the President that shamefully came the closest to being involuntarily removed from the Oval Office. His 11th hour resignation and subsequent pardon by Gerald Ford cheated the swift swing of the hammer of justice, saving him from impeachment and sure conviction.

Article II, Section Four of the U.S. Constitution creates the mechanism to remove the President for definable terms such as bribery and treason, but also the vague “High crimes and Misdemeanors.” In an all too typical fashion, the section fails to define such critical terms. Two times in our history, the Congress struggled with its application, both times resulting in acquittals, giving no guidance for future relevance. The most recent action vs. Bill Clinton was for “obstruction of justice” - the mother lode of ambiguity, and a crystal clear case of admitted perjury. A majority of the Democrats in the Senate felt at that time that the President could lie under oath, and it be neither a “high crime” nor misdemeanor. Go figure.

Almost daily, another assault on constitutional liberties by the Obama gang comes to light. Equally regular is the Obama “outrage,” over matters he seems to have only found out about yesterday. Whether ineptitude or corruption - or perhaps a bit of both, the scandal de jour is the defining atmosphere of BMO. Yet, he takes no blame. Takes no action. Instead seeking to explain the most massive use of the IRS to suppress an opponent in history, as the work of “two Dielberts in Cincinnati.” The plan, to delay or deny the 501c tax status to conservative groups. No status, no fundraising, no ability to effect the outcome of elections, or to effect outcome in critical swing states like Ohio; thus, Obama reelection in 2012. Brilliant. Even Nixon himself would blush.

Google - “Nixon Impeachment Articles.” Read them. Be shocked at the similarity to the current case, highlighted of course by lost e-mails and crashed computers vs. the 18 minute gap on tape recordings. Nixon was accused of “endeavoring to interfere with government agencies,” “making or endeavoring to make false statements to the American public,” among others. Obstruction of justice was the first and most documented charge, and its eerie similarity to the present is frightening, to say the least. “If the President does it, then it is not wrong.” This Nixon quote was of course made long after his pardon, but it speaks volumes to his political philosophy. By his repeated abuses of power - with the IRS, with the spying on Americans, with the failure to be remotely transparent, much less the “most in history,” Obama proves himself a truly devoted student.

With more than 75 percent of Americans in a recent poll believing that the IRS e-mails were deliberately destroyed, clearly the time has come for the appointment of a Special Prosecutor, answerable only to the Court. Any continued congressional investigations remain toothless, as how can one be really held in “contempt of congress,” an organization contemptible by itself. No, an officer with the power to seize documents, conduct forensic examinations using the latest FBI equipment, and have the ability to seek enforcement for delays and punishment for denials is the remedy. Someone with integrity, skill and courage, is truly the ticket. But that is only half the battle.

If... or perhaps when... the evidence of wide-spread corruption is unearthed, the final action must go forth. Impeachment, then conviction. Removal from office in shame. An accurate place in History. As it says in the Bible, “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.” It is time to take the steps to bring back righteousness. Be not afraid.