Is this going to pass because Grover Norquest finally gave his approval?

Seems to me that their allegiance is not to the constitution, but to Norquist's organization. Doesn't that constitute high crimes and misdemeanors?

Grover Norquist Backs The New Debt Deal
Thomas Lane | August 1, 2011, 6:00Am



House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has at least one powerful ally in his latest effort to sell the GOP on a debt deal: tax hater extraordinaire, Grover Norquist.

Shortly after President Obama took to the air and urged both houses of congress to pass the newly thrashed-out debt deal, Norquist tweeted: "Real spending cuts. No tax hike. Gang of Six said it could not be done. 1982, 1990 are now bad memories we learned from. Onward."

This should be helpful for the beleaguered Boehner. Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform are behind the no-tax pledge that has become a virtual entry requirement for any Republican congressman. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/grover-norquist-backs-the-new-debt-deal.php#more


Meaning of High Crimes and Misdemeanors

The question of impeachment turns on the meaning of the phrase in the Constitution at Art. II Sec. 4, "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors". I have carefully researched the origin of the phrase "high crimes and misdemeanors" and its meaning to the Framers, and found that the key to understanding it is the word "high". It does not mean "more serious". It refers to those punishable offenses that only apply to high persons, that is, to public officials, those who, because of their official status, are under special obligations that ordinary persons are not under, and which could not be meaningfully applied or justly punished if committed by ordinary persons.

Under the English common law tradition, crimes were defined through a legacy of court proceedings and decisions that punished offenses not because they were prohibited by statutes, but because they offended the sense of justice of the people and the court. Whether an offense could qualify as punishable depended largely on the obligations of the offender, and the obligations of a person holding a high position meant that some actions, or inactions, could be punishable if he did them, even though they would not be if done by an ordinary person.

Offenses of this kind survive today in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It recognizes as punishable offenses such things as refusal to obey orders, abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, moral turpitude, and conduct unbecoming. These would not be offenses if committed by a civilian with no official position, but they are offenses which bear on the subject's fitness for the duties he holds, which he is bound by oath or affirmation to perform.

Perjury is usually defined as "lying under oath". That is not quite right. The original meaning was "violation of one's oath (or affirmation)".

The word "perjury" is usually defined today as "lying under oath about a material matter", but that is not its original or complete meaning, which is "violation of an oath". We can see this by consulting the original Latin from which the term comes. From An Elementary Latin Dictionary, by Charlton T. Lewis (1895), Note that the letter "j" is the letter "i" in Latin.

periurium, i, n,, a false oath, perjury.
periurus, adj., oath-breaking, false to vows, perjured. iuro, avi, atus, are, to swear, take an oath.
iurator, oris, m., a swearer.
iuratus, adj., sworn under oath, bound by an oath.
ius, iuris, that which is binding, right, justice, duty.
per, ... IV. Of means or manner, through, by, by means of, ... under pretense of, by the pretext of, ....

http://www.constitution.org/cmt/high_crimes.htm

It's not really clear from your post.

It wouldn't necessarily be impeachment either. These people lied when they took their oath in congress. Aren't there criminal charges that can brought against them?

you used, "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" only appears with regard to the President. There is no impeachment for members of Congress. Only the Congress itself can remove a member, following their own peculiar rules. Federal judges can be impeached, but the "high crimes and misdemeanors" thing doesn't apply.

Plus, the Constitution makes it impossible to arrest or even question a Senator or House Member for anything done in Congressional proceedings. It's right in the Constitution. You can read it for yourself.

So, when you mention "High Crimes and Misdemeanors," you can only be talking about the President of The United States.

the go to guy for his advice on how to run things.