Constitutional Crisis

Constitutional Crisis by Joel C. Rosenberg

With just one week to go to Election Day in the U.S., here are three new and significant developments worth noting.

First, it is becoming increasingly clear that the FBI's decision to re-open the criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton and her most senior advisors, including Huma Abedin, has grave implications for the country.

The Bureau has reportedly found some 650,000 emails on the computer of Abedin's estranged husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner.

All of those emails have to be carefully reviewed to see what they contain, including classified information. Then the evidence must be assessed to determine if criminal charges should be brought against anyone.

It could take several weeks, or even months, to complete the investigation. Even the mainstream media is beginning to see the significance of this. "FBI officials are unlikely to finish their review of new emails potentially related to the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private server before the November 8 election," reports CNN.

Second, a senior Democrat strategist has just publicly announced that he cannot support Hillary for President and warns a "constitutional crisis" will ensue if she wins.

Doug Schoen is a highly respected pollster and political strategist for the Democrat Party. He has known the Clintons for more than two decades. He worked for President Bill Clinton. And until this week, he has supported Hillary for President.

But on Monday he warned of a "constitutional crisis" that will ensue if America elects a candidate who is actively under criminal investigation by the FBI.

"I am now convinced that we will be facing the very real possibility of a constitutional crisis with many dimensions and deleterious consequences should Secretary Clinton win the election," Schoen wrote in a column for The Hill and for Foxnews.com.

"Donald Trump likes to say that the Clinton email scandal is worse than Watergate. I remember Watergate very well. What troubled me most, was that the United States was paralyzed and unable to act. President Nixon and the government were rendered impotent, unable to govern and meet its responsibilities to the American public. I worry that the same thing could happen after a victory by Secretary Clinton and could carry on into her term of office."

So with only days to go until the election, Schoen said he will not vote for Clinton -- stunning -- you couldn't make this up if you tried.

To be clear, this is not a Republican operative, or a conservative strategist, or an Evangelical leader making the case of a grave threat to American democracy posed by someone of Clinton's reputation. This is a top Democrat who has been part of the Clinton-Obama team for decades, breaking with Hillary in the final week of the campaign. Unbelievable.

Third, another long-time strategist and pollster for the Democrat Party says he now believes the news about the FBI's criminal investigation will cause undecided voters to turn against Hillary in significant numbers and that "the dam is about to break."

Patrick Caddell was President Jimmy Carter's pollster.

He helped design the Carter re-election campaign in 1980. He helped Carter drive the narrative that Ronald Reagan was too conservative, too dangerous and unqualified to be president. He was certain Carter was going to win -- his own polls had Carter up big -- until the final weekend of that campaign.

At the last moment, "undecideds" broke decisively against Carter and for Reagan.

Caddell now says this campaign feels like 1980 -- in large part because of the FBI investigation, he believes it's possible that a significant percentage of the remaining 12-15% of undecided voters could break against Hillary in these final days.

We'll see. There could be many more twists and turns in this final week -- indeed, you'd almost have to expect them given the pattern of this race.

That said, it is noteworthy that long-time senior Democrats like Schoen and Caddell are warning that events could shift rapidly because of the deep distrust Americans have towards Mrs. Clinton and their exhaustion with the culture of corruption and seemingly never-ending seasons of scandal.

Exchange on Fox News:

DOUG SCHOEN: As you know, I have been a supporter of Secretary Clinton... But given that this investigation is going to go on for many months after the election...if the Secretary of State wins, we will have a president under criminal investigation, with Huma Abedin under criminal investigation, with the Secretary of State, the president-elect, should Clinton win will be under investigation.

Under these circumstances, I am actively reassessing my support. I'm not a Trump....

HARRIS FAULKNER, FOX NEWS: Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You are not going to vote for Hillary Clinton?

SCHOEN: Harris, I'm deeply concerned that we'll have a constitutional crisis if she's elected.

FAULKNER: Wow....

SCHOEN: I want to learn more this week. See what we see. But as of today, I am not a supporter of the Secretary of State for the nation's highest office.

FAULKNER: How long have you known the Clintons.

SCHOEN: I've known the Clintons since '94.

I share these with you not as a political analyst trying to handicap the "horse race," per se. There are plenty of pundits out there offering their educated and not-so-educated guesses on who will win the American presidential race, how and why. I've certainly done my share of political analysis in my career, but that's not my purpose here.

Rather, I'm writing as one seeking to "analyze this present time," not simply through the lens of geopolitics and economics but through what I call "the third lens," the lens of the Scriptures.

In the Hebrew Scriptures -- notably in Ezekiel chapter 33 -- the Lord speaks of the importance of being a "watchman on the wall." If you see threats coming against a nation, you must be faithful to warn people of those threats and give them the opportunity and the time to take action.

In my fiction and non-fiction books, and in my columns and speeches, I have consistently sought to warn people of threats I see coming against the United States, against Israel, against our Arab allies in the Mideast and around the world, and against the Church.

As the author of Implosion: Can America Recover From Her Economic snf Spiritual Challenges In Time?, I'm deeply concerned about the direction America is headed, and never more so than right now. I believe America is not simply facing a season of decline but is in danger of outright collapse.

Thus, I have been praying earnestly that the Lord would give us a president who could help turn this ship of state around and get America heading in the right direction.

We need much more than that, of course. We need a sweeping spiritual revival in the Church and another Great Awakening across the land. But a president who truly understood the enormous threats America faces from within and without, and who was serious about helping lead the nation back to the right track, could be of critical help.

Hillary Clinton is clearly not that candidate. As I have warned throughout this year, a Hillary presidency would be a catastrophe for America. The news of the last few days simply underscores this.

To be sure, I've written in detail about Donald Trump's serious flaws and the risks a Trump presidency would pose. I haven't sugar-coated the truth about either candidate. Rather, I'm trying to be honest in my analysis, even though many of my readers don't want to hear it, so people understand the risks the nation faces from either candidate.

Today, I focused on Mrs. Clinton, because of these three significant new developments.

Last point: I will continue to pray faithfully for each of the candidates and their families and advisors. And I will continue to pray that the Lord will be merciful to America.

The nation has many hard days ahead no matter who wins next week. Rather than be anxious or discouraged or angry, however, the Lord calls us to be "joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." (Romans 12:12)

This column is based on my personal beliefs and opinions. I share them in my personal capacity as an American citizen and an author.