Cain: Obama’s Decision to Stop Defending DOMA Is “Impeachable Offense”
Today, LifeSiteNews.com’s Jeremy Kryn reported that GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain told a group of bloggers on a conference call held Aug. 16 that President Obama’s decision to stop defending Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is “an impeachable offense.”
He also, according to the report, said that any impeachment effort based upon Obama’s DOMA decision will not “get off the ground” because Republicans do not control the U.S. Senate — despite the fact that the House, which is controlled by Republicans, would have to act first before the Senate could consider impeachment.
The report quotes Cain as saying, “The president is supposed to uphold the laws of this nation … and to tell the Department of Justice not to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act is a breach of his oath.”
Human Rights Campaign spokesman Michael Cole-Schwartz, whose group endorsed Obama’s re-election earlier this year, told Metro Weekly, “Herman Cain is veering way out of the mainstream in an obvious attempt to curry favor with conservative primary voters. Presidents of both parties — including Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush — determined that certain statutes were so blatantly unconstitutional that a defense was not possible.
“Mr. Cain should brush up on his history before making such sweeping generalizations.”
Log Cabin Republicans executive director R. Clarke Cooper was less direct, but nonetheless said that DOMA is unconstitutional and that Cain’s focus on the issue was misplaced.
“In November 2012, Americans will have the opportunity to vote Obama out of office for a host of reasons, primarly jobs, the economy and his failed leadership. On DOMA, the legal process is moving forward and this unconstitutional policy will be struck down,” Cooper wrote to Metro Weekly. “For the Republican party to unseat Obama next year, Cain and the other candidates must remain battle focused on bread and butter issues.”
Cain’s campaign did not respond to a Metro Weekly request for further explanation of the comments.
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