“President Obama’s flagrant violation of the Constitution not only will damage relations with Congress for years to come but will ultimately weaken the office of the presidency.” ~ Edwin Meese ~
As chief executive, the President of the United States is required by the Constitution to “see that the laws of Congress are administered and enforced.”
But not our present Dictator-in-Chief. Obama doesn’t think that part of the job description applies to him, so he simply opts to ignore some legislation entirely (like immigration and DOMA). And with other laws he apparently believes that he has the divine right to pick and choose which portions he’ll enforce. Unbelievably, he’s arrogant enough to announce his intentions even as he’s signing a bill into law.
From Reuters, via the Jerusalem Post:
In a statement issued as he signed a defense bill into law on Saturday, Obama said several provisions including the sanctions that target Iran’s central bank “would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations.”
The president, a Democrat, said in his statement that if any application of these provisions conflicted with his constitutional authorities, “I will treat the provisions as non-binding.”
This, despite the fact that the Senate unanimously approved the new sanctions before appending them to the defense bill. Obama just gave Congress the finger.
And now, with his “non-recess” recess appointment, he’s flipping off the rest of us as well.
Former Attorney General, Ed Meese, bluntly assesses the president’s latest power grab; Obama’s recess appointments are unconstitutional –
President Obama’s attempt to unilaterally appoint three people to seats on the National Labor Relations Board and Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (after the Senate blocked action on his nomination) is more than an unconstitutional attempt to circumvent the Senate’s advise-and-consent role. It is a breathtaking violation of the separation of powers and the duty of comity that the executive owes to Congress.
Meese concedes;
…some prior recess appointments have been politically unpopular, and a few have even raised legal questions.
However;
…never before has a president purported to make a “recess” appointment when the Senate is demonstrably not in recess. That is a constitutional abuse of a high order.
If Congress does not resist, the injury is not just to its branch but ultimately to the people. James Madison made clear that the separation of powers was not to protect government officials’ power for their sake but as a vital check on behalf of individual liberty. To prevent future tyrannical usurpations of power, Congress must act to redress this serious threat to our liberty.
Not surprisingly, the media has spun their usual web of deceit around this story. What should be a national outrage is being portrayed as D.C. business-as-usual. While they’re deviously brainwashing the peasants, will any of the poltroons on Capitol Hill have the backbone for this fight?
They damn well better. After taking oaths to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, any member of congress who doesn’t stand up to this blatant abuse of power should be booted from office.
Related:
What Is the Separation of Powers? ~ At Heritage’s Foundry
Obama’s super-czar is on the loose ~ Michell Malkin
Obama tears up the Constitution – The scope of his lawless disregard expands by the day ~ The Washington Times, keeping track of the administration’s extra-constitutional actions, and this was back in September!
