Once again, Obama blurs the lines between Constitutional rule and something tantamount to dictatorial fiat.
The Washington Times reports, “Pushing the limits of his recess appointment powers, President Obama on Wednesday bypassed the Senate to install three members of the National Labor Relations Board and a director for the controversial new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - moves Republicans said amounted to unconstitutional power grabs.” You’re damn right they are, particularly that director position, as William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection lawfully points out:
Obama’s recess appointment of Richard Cordray to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau correctly is portrayed as a naked power grab.
First, the Senate is not in recess. Harry Reid and other Democrats in the past treated the current Senate pro forma business status as not being in recess.
Second, the Dodd-Frank legislation which created the position Cordray will fill specifically requires Senate confirmation. A recess appointment is not confirmation under any scenario.
Heritage also fills us in as to ‘why’ that particular position should remain unfilled, referencing Article I section 5 & Article II section 2 clause 2…not that this administration would bother to acknowledge Constitutional Law when it doesn't suit their twistings.
Mark Levin, from his opening monologue and throughout much of Wednesday's program, ripped into Obama over these appointments that he made without the appropriate confirmation through Congress, further adding to the cadre of administrative offenses that have continuously violated the role of the Executive under the Constitution. Mark says, “He is exercising powers that are not granted to him by the Constitution, and yet the media doesn’t report on it. The statist wants a utopia that can not happen under the Constitution.”
Our Presidente further exacerbated the issue with his Marxist-to-fascist transitional rhetoric in Ohio yesterday at Shaker Heights High School:
“I refuse to take ‘No’ for an answer. I’ve said before that I will continue to look for every opportunity to work with Congress to move this country forward. But when Congress refuses to act, and as a result, hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then I have an obligation as President to do what I can without them.”
Risk? Because Congress hasn’t confirmed your nominee for a position created under the Dodd-Frank legislative sham? Whether filled or otherwise, that position does NOT ‘hurt our economy’ nor does it put ‘our people at risk’. To this Levin explains, “He’s just told you that he’s re-written the responsibilities of the President of the United States.” And in doing so, he puts Liberty itself at risk with the actions of a soft tyranny. Levin ventured further to set the utopian tone:
“This could be coming out of the mouth of Hugo Chavez, of Fidel Castro, of any two-bit banana republic dictator on the face of the earth. ‘If the legislature won’t act and do what I need it to do, then I have an obligation to act without them.’ Really? Benito Mussolini, ladies and gentlemen… The road to dictatorship is paved with poisonous language like his.”
And let's not forget those all too willing to aid in such a plight under this administration, while blocking actual recess appointments of less magnitude under the previous administration, like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hypocritical actions have displayed.
As Jacobson also points out, Obama is once again creating another crisis for his own re-election’s sake, and steamrolling over the Constitution by making this ‘recess’ appointment, and planned others, while Congress is NOT IN RECESS!
Obama was elected by crisis, he seeks to create crisis at every turn, and he never lets a good crisis go to waste. I say give him the crisis, but do it carefully so that this time we are the ones who get to take advantage. We have a President who is arrogant, dismissive, and out of control, the nation knows it. It has to stop, and it sets the issue up nicely for November 2012.
Sounds like Mr. Jacobson is onto a workable strategy. In addition to that, as Levin later suggested to all those affected by the decisions of this new CFPB board and the NRLB, sue them and challenge their unconstitutional authority!
ADDENDUM: Rush also chimed in on this conversation today:
Obama said, "When Congress refuses to act -- and as a result, hurts our economy and puts our people at risk -- then I have an obligation as president to do what I can without them." He got applause. "I have an obligation to act on behalf of the American people. I'm not going to stand by while a minority in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people that we elected to serve. Not with so much at stake, not at this make-or-break moment for middle class Americans. We're not gonna let that happen."
Now, the Founding Fathers said this is exactly what's supposed to happen! It's called "the separation of powers," and it's to make sure that things like this do not happen, that an all-powerful executive does not run roughshod over the government. But President Obama has just said: Because the Congress won't do what I want them to do I'm gonna do it myself. That is extraconstitutional! That is not the way this government was set up. It was not the idea of the Founders. That's acting outside the Constitution, and there's no question about it -- and the Obama campaign is claiming he's doing all these recess appointments and things like this "to help the economy." Reuters again: "Hammering populist themes that show him to be a champion of the middle class, aides say the president will keep taking steps to show voters he'll make moves on his own to help the economy if Congress refuses to act."
If Congress "refuses to act," it is his job to sit down and talk to 'em and make 'em act and get them to vote the way he wants. He does not have -- unless they grant it to him (and they're doing it, by the way) -- the authority to run roughshod over them. But if they don't stop him, he can do it. We can't. Congress has to stand up for itself. Now, the Democrats run the Senate. I think they're happy for this to happen. Dingy Harry loves for this to happen because they're sitting there blaming it on the House Republicans who have no role in this. It's an election year, so blame the Republicans for it. Folks, it is clearly lawless. If you regard the Constitution as law, this is lawless behavior by an out-of-control, rogue executive. This is what happens in banana republics, tinhorn dictatorships. In places like Venezuela, this is what happens -- all under the guise of populism and helping the middle class.
Also, The Hill reports that Santorum is calling on the Senate to sue the Obama Administration over these illegal recess appointments (I'm sure Levin was infused in this decision via his interview of Santorum yesterday)...
Rick Santorum said the Senate should sue over President Obama's decision Wednesday to appoint Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and name three members to vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board.
"What the president did was wrong — pretty scary stuff," Santorum said. I hope that the United States Senate does what they're supposed to do, and they should go and even take the president to court. This is not something that the president should get away with," he added.
Agreed!
