January 7, 2012 -  As many of you know, I have scaled back on my political commentary in recent months. So these days, I only write when witnessing some of the most egregious acts made by our sitting president. And just last week, it happened again. So here's some information that you should know about just in case you missed it. This past Wednesday, Pres. Obama completely bypassed the Senate to install three members to the National Labor Relations Board. He also appointed a director for the controversial new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
These actions are considered unconstitutional and illegal, not only by Republicans but also by members of his own Democrat party. Why? Because the appointments were made just one day after the gavel dropped ending a Senate session. Under even the most liberal of legal interpretations, the president broke the law and ignored the single most important document that defines our government, the United States Constitution.
Specifically, Article II, section 2, clause 2 of our Constitution states that the president has the power to fill vacancies that may happen during a Senate recess, which has been defined as a period of time when no sessions are held for at least ten days. More recently, some legal experts have loosened that definition to six days, but this interpretation is not widely held and remains the outlier.
Nevertheless, Barack Obama decided to ignore 100 years of American legal precedent and take it upon himself to make recess appointments just one day after a Senate session. Admittedly, that session was pro forma in which no actual work took place. Pro forma Senate sessions are a legal, political strategy used to block the president's attempt at bypassing Congress. This same strategy which has been used by both Democrats and Republicans increasingly over the years. But the exercise of political power by Congress can only work when the rule of law and legal precedent is observed. And we all know that time and time again, this president follows his own set of rules with little respect for the brilliance of our Founding Fathers who created a system of government under the framework of balanced power shared between the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. This shared power is essential to our nation if we are to avoid dictatorial tyranny. Unfortunately, this president does not believe in our system of government. Remember that he ran on a campaign pledge to fundamentally transform the United States of America. And to his credit, that's the one pledge he's fulfilling by trampling the Constitution while simultaneously ignoring Congressional authority using his vehicle of choice, executive fiat. No pun intended.
But at the end of the day, do we really care? After all, the president's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Federal Consumer Protection Agency may seem somewhat detached from our day-to-day reality. Well, if that's your viewpoint, please consider this. If the President of the United States believes that he is not accountable to Congress, then it is not a stretch to believe that someday he can also make appointments to the Supreme Court without the consent of Congress. If you think that sounds ridiculous, just consider the executive power grab that has transpired in the last three years. Make no mistake. If this president takes it upon himself to ignore Senate confirmation rules and then proceeds to stack the Supreme Court with radical, unqualified and inexperienced judges who become shills for the White House, then this nation is over. And there won't be anything you can do about it at that point.
Because they have the job for life. Sources:
http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/4/obama-unprecedented-recess-appointment/?page=1
http://www.americablog.com/2012/01/obama-administration-pushes-back-on.html Comments? 1/8/2012 18:46:25 Dave It is amazing how easy it is for people to find fault when they want to and miss it when convenient. After the executive tyranny of the Bush Regime one would think it would a while before anyone could call the most hamstrung and ineffective president in recent history a tyrant. |