Huckabee points the way: impeach tyrannical judges

By Bryan Fischer

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"The Governor should call a special session of the legislature and impeach the judge and affirm the people's will. If the people wish to allow same sex marriage, they can put that matter on the ballot and vote for it. Or the legislature can put that matter on the ballot and ask the people to change the Constitution to allow it. But they should not stand by and allow one man to think his robe has more power than it does." (Emphasis mine.)

This was Gov. Mike Huckabee's reaction to an Arkansas state judge who arrogantly, defiantly and unconstitutionally overturned the marriage amendment passed by Arkansans with an overwhelming 75% of the vote in 2004.

Denzel Washington starred in a movie a couple of years ago, "Unstoppable," based on a true story about a runaway train with no engineer on board. Our hero caught up to this train and heroically stopped it just in time to avert an unthinkable catastrophe.

The federal judiciary right now is a runaway train that will shatter and pulverize what is left of American culture and values unless some genuine American heroes climb aboard and stand on the emergency brake.

Renegade, rogue federal judges have developed a cannibalistic taste for the flesh of the electorate and are devouring it at an unprecedented rate. With yesterday's ruling in Philadelphia, the dizzying number of lone tyrants substituting their will for the will of the electorate has now reached 13 and is climbing virtually by the day.

In the name of God, this runaway train must be stopped.

Who can do it?

There's no point in telling the people to fix it by going to the polls. We've already done that. In 31 states, we voted to elevate protection for natural marriage to our state constitutions. These federal judges simply disenfranchised us with one sweeping edict, crumpled up our state and federal constitutions like waste paper and tossed them in the trash.

So judges have no respect for the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box. If they did, this problem would be solved. It's obviously not.

I've written before and continue to maintain that the best solution is for a governor to plant his feet squarely on his state constitution and the Constitution of the United States and flatly refuse to acquiesce to these out of control rulings. A governor who will refuse to grant permission in his state for the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses if his people have spoken on the issue. A governor who will defy any judge or cluster of judges, right up to and including the justices who sit on the Supreme Court.

The only other option I see, short of total anarchy or spineless and supine submission, is the power of Congress to impeach, try, convict and remove renegade federal judges from the bench.

Judges, even ones who sit on the Supreme Court, can be impeached. Federal judges are not, contrary to public myth, appointed for life. Don't let Republicans lie to you about this. Republicans want you to believe they are powerless. They want you to feel sympathy for them and vote for them while they sadly wring their hands in abject resignation.

Don't let them get away with this. Republicans control the House of Representatives. If they impeach a judge, he will be impeached and be forced to stand trial in the United States Senate. The Republicans in the House can file articles of impeachment by the close of business today against all 13 rogue federal judges, and against the judges on the Supreme Court who overturned DOMA. Don't let them lie to you. They can do it. They do not lack the means, they lack only the courage.

According to the Constitution – you could look it up – federal judges serve only "during good behavior." Since they are appointed and not elected, the remedy for judges who engage in bad behavior is impeachment, followed by a trial in the Senate, conviction and removal from office. Typically, violations of the "good behavior" clause have been corruption, such as accepting bribes. But bad behavior also can include shredding the Constitution.

Umpires in baseball can certainly get banned for taking money to throw a game. But they can also get fired for refusing to apply the rules of baseball as written. If an umpire started changing the rules in the middle of a game, or selectively deciding which ones to enforce, he'd be out of baseball altogether by the end of that game.

I submit to you that disregarding the Constitution – which gives no authority to any part of the federal government to dictate marriage policy to the states – and showing utter contempt for the will of the people is in fact bad behavior.

"Bad," in fact, doesn't even come close. It is reprehensible, unconscionable, and abominable.

So we have a problem: renegade, out-of-control, tyrannical federal judges. And we have a solution: the power of impeachment, which right now as we speak is under the control of the party that says in its platform that it will defend and promote natural marriage.

Don't let any Republican congressman or candidate wring his hands and moan about judicial tyranny unless he is willing to vote for articles of impeachment. If he's not willing to do that, he's just bloviating and hoping you won't notice that he doesn't have the courage to take the one tool out of the toolbox that could begin the process of constitutional correction.

Bottom line: the Republican party has the authority to protect natural marriage. They lack only the will.

(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)

© Bryan Fischer