Obama Says Coup in Honduras Would Set a "Terrible Precedent"

Hi Alexy,

Perhaps you are right. But considering the seriousness of possible consequences, it is apparent the eligibility questions should have been vetted more thoroughly by a free and independent media.

===Posted by: Terry | Jun 30, 2009 3:21:47 PM===

I have no idea. I'm just guessing and throwing out ideas that have not been fully formed. I'm pretty sure the military would not follow the command of a SC justice. The federal marshalls would though. I really can't see a situation that our military would act to remove a president unless he was sitting there with his finger on the button threatening to kill us all. If the SC found he was not eligible to be president and congress refused to act, there would be a civil war. But anyway, since this is all hypothetical, I will stick by the federal marshalls would have to remove him from the WH, not our military.

Hi Alexy,

Good point. But what if the Supreme Court rules for ineligibility, how can the Congress impeach, since he would not really be the President? Even if impeachment is an option, what if the Congress refuses to act since it is so heavily weighted with the Presidents party? What recourse would there be for the American People? Doesn't the military swear an oath to protect and defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic?

===Posted by: Terry | Jun 30, 2009 2:41:35 PM===

It would probably be federal marshalls sent to remove a president that had been impeached but refused to leave. Don't you think? I really don't know, but the SC can't command our military. Or at least, not constitutionally anyway.

===will the military remove him?

Posted by: Terry | Jun 30, 2009 2:41:35 PM===

Wouldn't he still need to be impeached? I don't think the military would remove him. Too conditioned to the chain of command and Obama is the top link. Anyway, I can't really see someone in the US trying to remain in office after being impeached. Even with popular support.

Hypothetical--

What if the the Supreme Court decides to hear to the eligibility arguments surrounding the President, and subsequently decides he is not constitutionally eligible... and he refuses to quit the WH... will the military remove him?

"So it's not easy to identify any good guys in this squabble. But President Zelaya's actions were within the law, though only barely. The coup was not, and international condemnation has been swift and full-throated. The new government will have few friends, in Central America or elsewhere. It doesn't deserve any."

Boy oh Boy they sure listened to
Mr Blah, Blah, Blah didn't they! Not!
This guy makes Neville Chamberlain
look like a war-monger.

TCT..This is a "free" site open to all who cares to comment..Who really knows who danita...ryan c...jhw..or others really are...I take this site for what it is intended....entertainment period.. Posted by: Parallex View | Jun 30, 2009 12:52:40 PM

I'm with you all the way - except the entertainment part. I'll look elsewhere for that. Just voicing my opinion on what's going on. I'm used to blogs where the owner isn't afraid to intercede. This is my first "network" blog so I guess they evolve differently.

TCT..This is a "free" site open to all who cares to comment..Who really knows who danita...ryan c...jhw..or others really are...I take this site for what it is intended....entertainment period..

This thread was hijaaked several pages ago without any action from the ABC monitors. Dozens of posts that had nothing to do with Honduras were allowed.

I'm not surprised though. Some commenters on this site continually hijaak threads at will. The result is a tiresome and boring blog site.

What happened to "I am not going to meddle?" Does he only mean that when it doesn't help his agenda???

...the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, ...the Inter-American Dialogue policy institute

Who the heck are these? Often names like that hide one guy in his PJs with a fax machine. Or, alternatively, someone financing a group to represent his point of view. Occasionally, it is group with connections that receives public funding through ear-marks.

That is the problem with news reporting today. It is too often just repeating of press releases from some group with a high-sounding name.

Where are the reporters?

"Why are you more concerned about Obama, than you are of your own country? I'm extremely curious." Clint

That is a very good question. One I've been wondering too... Why do some, like Chris "Danita" Matthews, think it is their job to make this president successful.

To me, it looks like the soft bigotry of low expectations. As if this president is not strong enough on his own to do the job without his minions and followers attacking his critics at every turn.

I wonder if a military "coup" could happen here and Mr. Obama could be hustled off to Costa Rica in his PJs?

If Obama keeps doing what he is doing in this country, Obama will undo every good thing this country has done and destroy the workforce America has. Honduras got rid of an hugo chavez, so I am proud they stood up for their constitution and removed the cancer. Long live Freedom and the pursuit of happiness which is what obama wants to destroy.

"There are no heroes in this story," said Larry Birns, director of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs. "These people are caricatures of rectitude rather than examples of it."

The Honduran Supreme Court, he said, is "one of the most corrupt institutions in Latin America."

And Zelaya overplayed his hand, Birns and others said.

"Zelaya was part of the problem," said Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue policy institute. "He's partly responsible for what happened. He was pushing too hard on a very fragile political institution. He was just plowing ahead against the wishes of every political institution, including his own political party."

"President Manuel Zelaya, rousted out of bed in his pyjamas Sunday and briskly bundled over the border to Costa Rica, was himself not exactly burdened by respect for the constitution, as his recent actions show. Although his public support was shown in polling to be down near 30 per cent, Zelaya had decided he needed to change the constitution to allow himself to seek a second term in office, in elections this November. So he proposed a "constituent assembly" to rewrite the constitution.

When Congress and the country's highest court rejected that, Zelaya decided he would hold a non-binding referendum to show support for the idea. He ordered the army to distribute ballot papers; when forces chief Romeo Vásquez Velázquez refused, Zelaya led a mob of supporters to an air force base and confiscated the ballots. He also fired the army chiefs - who decided to oust him, instead. A leading congressman from Zelaya's party, Roberto Micheletti, was sworn in as acting president.

So it's not easy to identify any good guys in this squabble. But Zelaya's actions were within the law, though only barely. The coup was not, and international condemnation has been swift and full-throated. The new government will have few friends, in Central America or elsewhere. It doesn't deserve any."

Interesting take on the entire scene. Could it possibly be 'truthful and objective'?

Thomas . ..

You said "Of course Obama completely ignores the part about Zelaya trying to run for an extra term" and I replied that I didn't think the State Department or anyone else involved would 'ignore' whatever is the truth about that information.

They would SURELY have taken it into account in coming up with their response. You may not like their response, but then again the State Department may know more about the Honduran constitution than you do - and more about what is taking place their than you do. Heaven forbid.

of course, that bill has not even been passed by the Senate yet . .