Another Leftist Loses It

Over at the Huffington Post, Martin Lewis writes a letter asking General Pace to arrest President Bush! Even more bizarre is that he defends this crackpot idea vigorously against other leftists who point out that, as much sympathy as they have for the idea, the Constitution does specify that the military is subordinate to civilian authority. See Article II of the U.S. Constitution:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States....

So what has Martin Lewis done? See 18 USC 2385:

Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States or the government of any State, Territory, District or Possession thereof, or the government of any political subdivision therein, by force or violence, or by the assassination of any officer of any such government; or
Whoever, with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any such government, prints, publishes, edits, issues, circulates,sells, distributes, or publicly displays any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity,desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence, or attempts to do so; or

Whoever organizes or helps or attempts to organize any society, group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the overthrow or destruction of any such government by force or violence; or becomes or is a member of, or affiliates with, any such society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the purposes thereof -

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.

Because Lewis' letter is addressed to General Pace, 18 USC 2388 could apply as well, depending on whether the courts can agree on whether the AUMF qualifies as a declaration of war:

(a) Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully makes or conveys false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies; or

Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or willfully obstructs the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, to the injury of the service or the United States, or attempts to do so -

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

I think asking General Pace to arrest the President of the United States qualifies as an attempt to "cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny".

One of the things that has always impressed me is how willing the Bush Administration is to tolerate statements that, during World War II, would have led to arrest, trial, and imprisonment. So much for "Bush=Hitler."

UPDATE: Amusingly enough, liberals have been swarming in the comments section over at Volokh Conspiracy to explain why a military coup overthrowing the elected civilian leadership is constitutional, lawful, and appropriate.