James K. Polk Had Terrorists To Deal With But ASKED Congress For Permission

Mandeville, LA – Exclusive Transcript –“If I were to ask most of you war hawks, most of the Congress, the president and all the president’s men, well, if new bad guys popped up during the time you were dealing with the old bad guys, then all you do is just expand the mission.  They’re bad guys.  The bad guy act of 1842 covers the new bad guys.  Kill them.  Kill, kill, kill!  War, war, war! [Polk] explained: Look, we went down there to do this and this is what happened.  I need some advice and I need an extension of the authority.  We’re going to have to expand the mission to do this.  As a matter of fact, as I was reading this morning, I was shocked at the detail that Polk was plying into his report to Congress….”

Check out today’s transcript for the rest….

Begin Mike Church Show Transcript

Mike:  May 11, 1846, James K. Polk, President of the United States, subject: Calling for a declaration of war against Mexico.  Now why would President Polk have to call for a declaration of war against Mexico?  Why didn’t he just act like Obama?  Why didn’t he just call up then Senator Rubio and ask him whether or not he minded if he sent the U.S. Cavalry led by Generals Lee and Grant into Mexico to go chase Santa Anna?  Wait, this gets really fun.  [mocking] “I sent General Lee and General Grant to chase Santa Anna to the gates of hell.”  Or maybe he could get his vice president to make that ridiculous pronouncement.  Why would Polk have to go to Congress and ask permission?  He’s the president, for heaven’s sake.  Not only did he go to Congress and ask permission, this letter is 10,000 words long, 10,000 words.  Why such a lengthy explanation?  You don’t have to explain yourself to Congress.  I’m sorry, 3,083 words to explain why Mexico must be attacked.  Would you like to hear some parts of it?

Why don’t we just skip all the way to the end?  I can do the narrative next hour.  Let’s just skip all the way to the end, after he set the entire thing up.  2,500 of the 3,000 words is President Polk informing the congress on what they have already authorized.  He’s reporting to them on the progress of what they have already authorized.  Are we all clear?  Congress has already authorized specifically, but during the execution of the specifics of this authorization, new bad guys popped up.  New bad guys were created.  Wait a minute.  If I were to ask most of you war hawks, most of the Congress, the president and all the president’s men, well, if new bad guys popped up during the time you were dealing with the old bad guys, then all you do is just expand the mission.  They’re bad guys.  The bad guy act of 1842 covers the new bad guys.  Kill them.  Kill, kill, kill!  War, war, war!

He explained: Look, we went down there to do this and this is what happened.  I need some advice and I need an extension of the authority.  We’re going to have to expand the mission to do this.  As a matter of fact, as I was reading this morning, I was shocked at the detail that Polk was plying into his report to Congress.  If you are a Prep Better member, a member of the Founders Pass on MikeChurch.com, this will be in the Prep Better section today.  As a matter of fact, I have it already pasted into a nice, crisp little document that I will render at the end of the program.  I want to make sure that all the text is nice and organized so that it’s easy to read and easy for you to use as you wish.

Using Obama’s logic, there is no place on earth, including, by the way, your backyard, where these activities cannot then be presidentially initiated.  He’s the president after all, right?

Let’s just skip to the end of James K. Polk in 1846, asking the Congress of the United States to expand the mission in Mexico.  I picked this one because there is an expansion of a mission here.  You people are sitting out there telling me, and other people like me and Larison and Professor Gutzman and Professor Woods and other noninterventionists, other people who have their heads screwed on right, you’re sitting out there telling me if a terrorist exists, even if it’s a penguin in Antarctica, that Obama or whoever the president is has the authority to bomb that continent into submission because there’s a terrorist there.  Using your logic, there is no place on earth, including, by the way, your backyard, where these activities cannot then be presidentially initiated.  He’s the president after all, right?  Here’s what Polk said, in part:

[reading]

As war exists, and, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it . . .

[end reading]

Mike:  Gee, they actually pretended like they wanted to avoid war back in the 19^th century.  We’ve got guys out there right now sitting in lounge chairs with little flags in their hands and bags of popcorn and six-packs of beer tucked into little coolers next to their chair chanting, “USA! USA! USA!”  Of course, they all have little television sets they can keep track of the body count on the television set and enjoy the action back at home.  Imagine this, a president writing about trying to avoid a war.  No wonder so many people were so angry when we did our last survey of the presidents and ranked them and Polk ranked in the top five.  Some people even made fun of the professors — including Professor Gutzman, Professor McClanahan, and our friend, the Ph.D. in American history, Stephen Klugewicz, who put the list together — for even allowing James K. Polk to be in the top five.  How dare you.  We all know the top five presidents.  Number one was Lincoln.  How could a loser like Polk make it in there?  Maybe because he read the Constitution.  Maybe because he actually deferred to it.  Let’s see what President Polk had to say about this mission here.

[reading]

As war exists, and, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by the act of Mexico herself, we are called upon by every consideration of duty and patriotism to vindicate with decision the honor, the rights, and the interests of our country.

Anticipating the possibility of a crisis like that which has arrived, instructions were given in August last, “as a precautionary measure” against invasion or threatened invasion, authorizing General Taylor, if the emergency required it, to accept volunteers, not from Texas only, but from the States of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and corresponding letters were addressed to the respective governors of those States.

[end reading]

Mike:  Back then when we weren’t chanting, “USA! USA! USA! Kill! Kill! Kill! War! War! War!” all the time, you would actually have to requisition soldiers from the several states.  This was another way that you would try to temper the war, war, war, kill, kill, kill attitude.  Even though it didn’t work that well, it did temper it a bit.  Each of the legislatures of the states would have somewhat of a say in it, and they would certainly have a say in the United States Senate.  Their senators may be told: Don’t you dare send us into another war.  That’s why you’re hearing these things.

[reading]

These instructions were repeated, and in January last, soon after the incorporation of “Texas into our Union of States,” General Taylor was further “authorized by the President to make a requisition upon the executive of that State for such of its militia force as may be needed to repel invasion or to secure the country against apprehended invasion.”

[end reading]

Mike:  Note that invasion is covered by the Constitution.  When it may not admit of delay.  A state must act to protect itself; therefore, General Taylor, being in Texas, was told: If an invasion is about to occur, you need to consult with the Texans and ask them for assistance.  What happened after Texans were asked for assistance?  Let’s read on, shall we?

[reading]

On the 2d day of March he was again reminded, “in the event of the approach of any considerable Mexican force, promptly and efficiently to use the authority with which he was clothed [Mike: In other words, he had already been authorized by Congress.] to call to him such auxiliary force as he might need.” War actually existing and our territory having been invaded, General Taylor, pursuant to authority vested in him by my direction, [Mike: Now, remember, Polk is only invested with this authority because Congress was consulted prior, previously.] has called on the governor of Texas for four regiments of State troops, two to be mounted and two to serve on foot, and on the governor of Louisiana for four regiments of infantry to be sent to him as soon as practicable. [Mike: I’m not editing anything out of this because I want you to hear this as James K. Polk delivered it to the House of Representin’.]

In further vindication of our rights and defense of our territory, I invoke the prompt action of Congress to recognize the existence of the war, and to place at the disposition of the Executive the means of prosecuting the war with vigor, and thus hastening the restoration of peace.

[end reading]

Mike:  He didn’t say that he was going to do it.  He didn’t say that he had already done it.  He said, he’s asking: Look, you guys need to authorize this, you, Congress.  We’re being attacked.  There’s no prospective attack happening against the United States by ISIL or ISIS.  Get this through your heads.  Yet you’re ready to consign and confer powers on Obama that he should not have.  And we know that he shouldn’t have it because we have it right here in our hands.  This is just one instance.  There are dozens of these, dozens of instances where presidents had to seek congressional authority before they became almighty, unelected kings.  I know some of you will say, [mocking] “Well, that was then and this is now. They wasn’t dealing with terrorists.”  I bet you they thought those Mexicans and the hordes under Santa Anna were pretty terrorizing.  You wanna bet?

[reading]

To this end I recommend that authority should be given to call into the public service a large body of volunteers to serve for not less than six or twelve months unless sooner discharged. [Mike: He even gave a time on how long they would serve.] A volunteer force is beyond question more efficient than any other description of citizen soldiers, and it is not to be doubted that a number far beyond that required would readily rush to the field upon the call of their country. I further recommend that a liberal provision be made for sustaining our entire military force and furnishing it with supplies and munitions of war.

The most energetic and prompt measures and the immediate appearance in arms or a large and overpowering force are recommended to Congress as the most certain and efficient means of bringing the existing collision with Mexico to a speedy and successful termination.

[end reading]

End Mike Church Show Transcript