The Obama administration has released a statement supporting the actions of the Transportation Security Administration today regarding the detainment of Senator Rand Paul in Nashville, TN. Article I, Section 6 of the United States Constitution is clear on detaining any Senator or Representative “in going to and returning from” Congressional sessions.
Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution of the United States
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Vigilance is a word that is not generally used in our country too often but it was commonly used by our forefathers and statesmen to warn us of the consequences of a tyrannical government. Here is one quote that America needs to remember:
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Patrick Henry
Sen. Paul made a decision today that will be discussed in the media but will not change anything for us. The point that must not be overlooked is that We the People do not have this privilege. Benjamin Franklin explains the consequences of this action:
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
When will we start to be vigilant? Here is an example where our vigilance is needed now:
Mitt Romney’s declaration that the NDAA will not be abused by Obama or him if elected is a sad commentary on two levels:
- Mr. Romney agrees that the NDAA can be abusive concerning our rights but that he would have signed it and our Constitutional rights away.
- He states that Obama will not abuse our rights under this legislation.
Mr. Romney’s views on the Constitution and the goals of the Obama administration should have brought forth a national outcry. The Obama administration’s support of the TSA over the Constitution clearly shows us that this president will abuse our rights under the Constitution. With politicians like Obama and Romney, how will we keep our liberty and safety?
David DeGerolamo
White House sides with TSA in Rand Paul standoff
The White House is standing by the Transportation Security Administration in its standoff with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and his father, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas)
The elder Paul called the TSA a “police state” Monday after Sen. Paul was reportedly detained by TSA after he refused to take a pat-down from TSA officials at the Nashville International Airport.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that he didn’t have any reaction to Paul’s comment about “police state.”
But Carney sided with the TSA saying, “I think it is absolutely essential that we take necessary actions to ensure that air travel is safe.”
Rep. Paul, who is one of four remaining Republican candidates for president, disagreed Monday afternoon. Paul said after he confirmed the incident involving Sen. Paul on his Twitter page that it showed why the TSA should be eliminated.
“The police state in this country is growing out of control,” the elder Paul said in a statement released by his presidential campaign.
“One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our children, our seniors, and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities,” he continued. “The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe. “That is why my ‘Plan to Restore America,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in federal spending in one year, eliminates the TSA.”
