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Constitutional Opinions
Recessing the Constitution
Obama’s recess appointments are symptoms of a larger constitutional problem.
Last week President Obama filled some vacancies in the government by making several recess appointments. There was just one problem: Congress technically wasn’t in recess. The president bypassed a Senate that was in session, circumventing its constitutional advice and consent powers.
Nonsense, the president’s defenders respond. The senators weren’t really there doing anything. And the Senate Republican minority is obstructionist! Traditionally, however, adjournments lasting less than ten days have not been viewed as opportunities for recess appointments. More importantly, the Senate gets to decide when it is in recess, not the president.
Under Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, the Senate has the power to write its own rules. Those rules allow a minority of senators to filibuster. Democrats did not take kindly to suggestions that the rules be rewritten when George W. Bush was in office. Democrats also kept the Senate in pro forma session to prevent Bush from making recess appointments, a maneuver now decried as a “gimmick.”
But if the current president really felt Senate Republicans were unduly obstructing him, he could have made a lawful recess appointment just a day before, when the Senate was indisputably in recess. For whatever reason, he elected not to do so. (One possible explanation is that Obama wanted the appointments to last through 2013, rather than expire at the end of this year.)
John Yoo, advocate of the all-powerful executive, has said the president overreached. The New Republic’s Timothy Noah wrote, “[B]ased on what I’ve seen so far, I’m having trouble seeing how the recess appointment… can possibly withstand a legal challenge.” Politico’s headline writers described Obama’s constitutional authority to make the appointments as “murky.”
All of this is both important and, in certain ways, beside the point. It is important for elected officials to heed their oath to uphold the Constitution. I’ve often argued that the Constitution has been reduced to Robert’s Rules of Order, a procedural guide with no bearing on the substantive powers of the federal government. If politicians start ignoring it even on process questions, it will be another marked departure from the rule of law.
Yet this debate is also somewhat beside the point, because the most important part of the Constitution is the strictly limited powers the document confers upon the federal government. Those confines are routinely transgressed and ignored by all three branches and both parties.
The office to which Richard Cordray has been dubiously appointed, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), was created by a law that is itself manifestly unconstitutional. Dodd-Frank eviscerates the separation of powers and enables the federal government to seize financial firms with only the flimsiest checks. Former White House counsel C. Boyden Gray has co-authored a lengthy document enumerating Dodd-Frank’s constitutional violations.
Dodd-Frank vests so much power in unelected, unaccountable people who are not subject to Senate confirmation that the manner in which Cordray came by his job may as well be a trial run. But it is hardly the only law that is difficult to square with the enumerated powers the Constitution bestows upon the federal government. The very idea the United States is a federal constitutional republic rather than a unitary state has been lost.
The federal government wants everyone to buy health insurance? No problem, just pass a law. Want to pick winners and losers in some industry? That’s fine. The federal government can get involved in that too, either by legislation or executive order. No need to worry about whether any interstate commerce is involved either. Does the president want to intervene militarily in some foreign country? No consulation with Congress — and no national interest — is required.
By all means, let’s scrutinize the constitutional authority for these recess appointments. But let’s not forget the unconstitutional activity that goes on while Congress is in session too.
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (127) | Leave a comment
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aware| 1.9.12 @ 6:52AM
When you've supported No Child Left Behind, Patriot Act, TARP, Medicare Part D, etc. pardon me if I'm a little skeptical of the sudden constitution defending. Makes me wonder if you'll just as quickly forget it when the Republicans are the ones shredding it next.
Darin| 1.9.12 @ 7:14AM
All the items you mentioned were APPROVED by Congress. What Obama did is completely different - he blatantly ignored the Constitution and Congress.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 9:24AM
Don't waste your time. He is, obviously, anything but "aware". He is that 40% who belong to the CULT, formerly known as: The Democrat Party.
50 Years of Leftist Control over our Education System, and "The people" finding out they can "Vote themselves Money" has brought us to today.
Forgive him, Darin. For he is a DUMB*SS, and knows not what he does.
He's like a One Man Black Community.
Dixie Pixie| 1.9.12 @ 10:19AM
Timothy....CULT may be the wrong word for the Democratic Party.
If the RICO Act was fairly applied it would be certain that both the Republican and Democratic Parties would be found to be ongoing criminal orgqanizations.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 11:20AM
You have no idea how right you are. Think of all those "Friends Of Angelo" Mortgages that these Sons of B*tches got. Think of how long they've been "Cooking The Books" at Fannie and Freddie, taking home MILLION$ in the process. (Cooking the Books to reach BONUS Goals, was what the GAO claimed, was going on, at the time of Eric Holder's and Franklin Raines' tenures, there.)
RICO? What about INSIDER TRADING? What about TAX EVASION?
What we need is another Revolution. Preferably, a French one, this time around.
Dixie Pixie| 1.9.12 @ 1:50PM
Timothy.... For kicks and giggles try looking up the RICO Act at wiki and try to find even one of the listed Federal crimes the Democratic Party has not openly committed.
God only knows what crimes they are covering up.
The publicly admitted stuff is bad enough.
TrueBlue | 1.10.12 @ 12:12PM
You don't want the French one, it eventually got down to killing anyone that said ANYTHING against the ceaseless violence. Even many of the original organizers for it were killed for trying to stop it.
TrueBlue | 1.10.12 @ 12:12PM
Also, lets not forget how the French turned out after their revolution...
aware| 1.9.12 @ 5:15PM
Not part of their cult nor yours. Nor a slave to a false left/right paradigm.
Of course Commiebama is doing his own shredding, you are shocked and surprised? So far he hasn't surprised me a bit. Wait till you see round 2. Dude, what do you expect? Do you really think you can do anything about it?
I prefer to be consistent in my criticisms of constitution shredders, unlike some around here who prefer to overlook "our" shredders. Especially when they're running for el presidente.
As Dixie says below, it has degenerated into 1 corrupt party with 2 corrupt wings. The only way you can tell which one is in charge is by who has the choicest tit.
That's what this whole circus is about, divvying the proceeds of organized theft.
Dixie Pixie| 1.9.12 @ 7:18PM
Not to quibble Aware, but my thinking was in another direction.
Not that you were wrong, I was thinking of the Ruling Class whose major sub-divisions are Big Business, Big Government, Big Labor, Big Legal, Big Police and Big Military.
All have grouped themselves into self-serving and mutually reenforcing organizations.
Two of those organizations are the Republican and Democratic Parties.
The problem is far wider and deeper than two corrupt sub-groups of Big Government known as the Parties.
The problem is the concept of Popular Sovereignty has been replaced by the concept of Party Sovereignty.
Political Power and thus Political Legitimacy no longer stems from the “People” but stems from political organizational structure.
In Party Sovereignty, political legitimacy derives from the inter-related organizational structures not from the citizens.
It is the various organizations and their interactions that generate Political Power from self-reinforcement.
It is held together through the use of police force and the external threats to the political organizations that police force is to repel.
Obama's shredding of the Constitution is simply a recognition that Party Sovereignty has triumphed.
Obama no longer needs to consider the citizens as Popular Sovereignty is dying.
The Ruling Class is simply the sum total of all the people of those organizations from which the America Government is created.
Because Party Sovereignty rules, the Ruling Class needs only to consider its needs and wants, not the citizens needs and wants.
The current Great Depression is a natural result.
Warrior | 1.9.12 @ 9:21PM
Excellent read Dixie. I was wondering what happened to Angelo Codevilla after he wrote the Ruling Class. His voice of conservatism has been sorely missed on this ever shifting left site.
Jack in Wi.| 1.9.12 @ 7:35AM
The party that gave us no child left behind, the Patriot Act, undeclared unending war, torture as common practice, endless ex-rays at air ports, the TSA, the Dept of Homeland security, etc. has not got much of a case when it complains about what Obama has done. The vast majority of the party just voted to give Obama the right to kill American citizens at will and to throw them in endless concentration camps and prison with out trial, in the Defense Authoriization bill of 2011, as long as he calls them terrorists. Both parties have been using the Constitution as toliet paper for decades.
Teaghan| 1.9.12 @ 7:59AM
Tit for tat does NOT make it right. (constitutional)
Can we start right now in making it right?
Oldefarte| 1.9.12 @ 9:11AM
NO/WRONG, it is not 'both parties'. Get your head out of your anul cavity and attempt to understand what has been occurring within this country for the last sixty years plus. IT'S THE DEMOCRATS STUPIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dbtexas| 1.14.12 @ 10:07AM
Love it when right wingnuts call anyone stupid. The Republican shenanigans have undermined any pretense of actually caring for anyone other than their narrow, ideological driven tribes. Lots of Obama criticism here, but little mention of the wanton obstructionism of the Republican Congress. That "checks and balances" thing works both ways. Denying him any possibility of governing unless you "do it my way" hardly smacks of best interest for all. We will sit back and watch you wail and moan, self-destructing all the while, and the re-elect President Obama in November.
Lawrence Boccardi| 1.9.12 @ 6:55AM
Where is the Republican that has balls, brains, and can speak effectively? Pat Cadell has it right. The Dems are the party of corrupt, and the GOP is the party of stupid.
chuck| 1.9.12 @ 8:13AM
Where's the Republican who has the balls to file the lawsuit challenging this, and then the Articles of Impeachment, for Obama's blatant violation of Oath of Office to uphold and defend the Constitution?
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:53AM
As Larry said, the party of the stupid! Sadly they reigned us into this mess and are treading turds to keep America firmly quagmired.
Oldefarte| 1.9.12 @ 5:15PM
A lawsuit? WTF will that accompolish? Think 11/4/12 if you really want a toilet paper solution to this excrement which was collectively exited on 11/4/08 by the STUPIDS of this nation!!!!
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.10.12 @ 5:58AM
Couldn'ta said it better, myself.
Frank Natoli| 1.10.12 @ 1:54PM
Amen, brother. This morning, WSJ has a Mitch McConnell article [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204257504577150661990141658.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop] that calls Obama's action a "mistake". If you had to pick one word for such an assessment, would that be? My vote is "pathetic".
Obama ignored the law; the only substantive response is articles of impeachment. Anything less is various expletive-deleted terms that I cannot reduce to polite language.
dbtexas| 1.14.12 @ 10:10AM
You really want to list the corrupt officials and see how many are Repubs or Dems? You folks that only hang out on sites that support your narrow view of the world might be surprised if you ever stepped out of your zone of hatred. Particularly funny to listen to the "chuck's" of the world, spout clueless rhetoric about legal procedures.
Clint| 1.9.12 @ 7:10AM
Babu Bhatt Thinks That Obama Is A Very, Very Bad Man.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 8:20AM
Do you see, what I see? DO YOU SEE IT?!
Clint wrote something without mentioning Ron Paul. He didn't call any of us a RINO, a CINO (whatever that is) or a DINO. No Smear Bund Nazi whatchamacallit.
I know he's a Lunatic, but we're kind of a Family, here, and, even though he's that Dysfunctional, Tourette Syndromed, Crazy Uncle, who lives in his Attic, and nobody likes? He's still one of us.
If anyone lives near him? Could you check on him?
I don't know why, but I'm thinking that there may be a Giant SEED POD, involved.
KennesawJack| 1.9.12 @ 10:20AM
Timothy, I was just thinking the same thing. Not just that, but Jack from Wi posted on another topic and also had no rants, not a single word about Jews or Israel. Odd. Very odd. If Obamarx's latest pissing on the Constitution has even gotten these two off their feed, maybe there's a chance even Boehner and McConnell will pay attention.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 11:22AM
No Jews? No Israel?
That's like a Day without Sunshine, for those guys, isn't it?
Oldefarte| 1.9.12 @ 9:12AM
And you DON'T SEE IT? Are you deaf and blind, or perhaps only DUMB??????????
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 9:17AM
I don't get it.
Oldefarte| 1.9.12 @ 5:16PM
You're apparently THE ONLY ONE [or two of us since I've gotten it since 11/4/08] HERE WHO DOES GET IT!!!!!!!!!!
VonMisesJr| 1.9.12 @ 7:21AM
Ben Franklin quipped to a woman at the close of the 1787 Constitutional Convention that "you have a Republic, if you can keep it."
Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and our Founding Fathers were much smarter than Obama, Pelosi and Reid. They knew we would encounter scoundrels in government that would seek unconstitutional power. So they began the Constitution with "WE THE PEOPLE." They vested primary power with the people, and then the states.
So if you are waiting for Boehner, McConnell, Romney or the SCOTUS to save your bacon from serfdom, you are mistaken.
You will regain your freedom by standing up, speaking out, voting and electing governors and state officials that will do your bidding.
Subsequent to reading Tocqueville, Burke and about the revolutions in Continental Europe 1760-1800; it was clear that Hayek's book "Road to Serfdom" was not just an economic treatise. He understood, as I now do, that unchecked power turns the POTUS into Monarchy, the Congress and top Bureaucrats into the new Nobility, and you will be their serfs.
It has been a long time since they broke serfs on the wheel, but perhaps not for much longer if "WE THE PEOPLE" don't claim our Constitution.
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:52AM
Rather than no functional government at all, I prefer an intelligent monarchy. you DO realize that under the McCain Amendment, the President can put John McCain in detention without charge or counsel for aiding and abetting terroism. He can do it with the 100% consent of the Congress asa matter of LAW and he can actually hold the rest of the RED party in prison, without trial indefinitely, if they continue the terrorism of Bush Era policy.
VonMisesJr| 1.9.12 @ 10:03AM
Where is your intellignet Monarchy? Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Cuba? Pick one and emigrate.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 7:40AM
Is anyone surprised? He's the King. SHE likes to be Called: Your Majesty. HE plays one, in real life.
Did anyone watch the Giant Game, yesterday? They went in to the game, dead last in Rushing. They ran for 172 Yards, yesterday, and after every big run, I was screaming at the T.V. - "YEAH. Do it again! If they ain't stopping you? KEEP RUNNING!
This isn't the 1st time he's done this kind of thing. Like any Petulant Child, he will test and test, til he finds out how much he can get away with. "Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child."
His Drilling Moratorium was ILLEGAL. It was based on FORGED Documents. A Report, done by a Group that his Administration chose, until their "Findings" did not fit with His Highness' Plans.
Hies Energy Secretary, and his Interior Secretary, both falsified the Commission Report, until it said the OPPOSITE, of what the Commission had actually written.
A Federal Judge, TWICE, refused Pharaohs request for a Drilling Moratorium. He did it, anyway. The Judge found him in "Contempt of a Federal Court".
If his lips are moving? Then he's lying. If he would have his Energy and Interior Departments' Secretaries - CABINET MEMBERS - would actually FORGE DOCUMENTS? Why would anybody believe his Labour Department Wh*re, when she puts out her JOB Numbers? Hmmmm? "Fool me Twice"?
He hates all those Fat Cat, Millionaires and Billionaires. But, you can find him Partying with them, almost Daily, these Fund Raising days. You can find them in his Golf Cart. You can find them at the Martha's Vineyard Estates, that he Takes the Queen, and Princesses to, each Summer. You can find them at all of the High Society/Hollywood Extravaganza Parties, that the Emperor and his Empress, like to throw at the Royal Palace, as they implore the rest of us to SHARE in the SACRAFICE, and to "Pay Our Fair Share", as his Cronies GE/GM/UNIONS Pay Nothing.
He's Hugo Chavez, minus the Cancer. He's Mussolini, and he's Vladamir Lenin. He's Napoleon, and if the Pope takes too long to put the Crow on his head?
He'll do it, Himself.
He is Caesar, crossing the Rubicon.And, there is No-One blocking his Army's advance, to the City. No MEDIA. No Republican. No Democrat.
This is how it begins. He's probing. He's poking. He's searching for that Line, that he can not Cross. A line that, I believe, doesn't exist, right now. It's the same line that Hitler probed, and found wonting, that led to the Holocaust.
Hail Caeser!
Hail Obama!
Heil Hussein!
chuck| 1.9.12 @ 8:27AM
Excellent, and spot on, as always.
One disagreement though. You say' "He's Hugo Chavez, minus the Cancer", HE IS THE CANCER! Like any cancer, he is slowly and methodically eating away the body, in this case our country, spreading little fibers and tumors throughout, that, with time, will become impossible to remove. It's slowly advancing, winnowing away this once fine country, until we have nothing left but skin and bones.
Meanwhile, we argue amongst ourselves, destroying the ones who have a chance to save the patient. Cain......serial womanizer, nope! Perry......can't remember a line or two, nope! Newt......3 wives, oh the horror! Bachmann.....what was wrong with her? Romney....too moderate. Santorum......too Holy! Paul.....too kooky!
Any of these are far better than the cancer.
Al Adab| 1.9.12 @ 8:36AM
Tim:
You have it pegged. He has now declared himself Ceasar and we are left with what? While recess appointments are nothing new this represents a new scale and reveals an arrogance, a disregard for the rule of law, which the Left often hides under the mantra of "its the right thing to do" or the end justifies the means.
The clear and present danger now is what actions the citizens need take. Fortunately there will likely still be an election this year. We stand at a dangerous historical moment. How we act will determine what becomes not only of this country, but of human liberty itself.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 8:42AM
"A Republic. IF YOU CAN KEEP IT."
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:45AM
Big jump. A canyonesque leap I would say, from pushing forward the needs of the people with a pen and the complete imprisonment and slavery of all homo sapiens. By your own words sir, Obama is NOT Caesar, but GOD!
If you wanna get to heaven in the next 4 years, you better start building a church!
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 11:29AM
The "Needs of the People"?
What's next? The Greater good? The Masses? This is how it ALWAYS starts. And it always ends with: By any means necessary.
That was the excuse for rounding up the JEWS. And it all started with a PEN.
1st comes the pen, then the Ghetto, and before you know it, you're taking a Shower in a Gas Chamber.
But, then, what did I expect from a guy named: FckEwe?
Al Adab| 1.9.12 @ 12:26PM
Tim:
What our obscene friend above doesn't see is that once we allow an authority to decide what is in "the peoples'" interest we lose all liberty. Quis custodiet custodes? Tyranny by the bureaucrat is tyranny nonetheless.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 8:37AM
I really have to PROOF READ these things.
It's a CROWN for Napoleon's head. It's not a CROW.
I know, because I'm Eating the Crow, right now.
Louis Jenkins| 1.9.12 @ 8:46AM
I think the crow was excellent.
buckeyeman| 1.9.12 @ 9:57AM
creepy allegory
A. C. Santore| 1.9.12 @ 9:53AM
Couldn't be more accurate if you tried!
What I've been calling "the proto-dictator" is clearly coming out of his chrysalis state into the sunshine.
Next, he'll be wearing red jump suits and the transformation will be complete.
Redstateboy| 1.9.12 @ 11:56AM
Once again: TLP, nails it! I'd add.. can you imagine if Das Messiah gains a second term?!! It'll be.. screw it! why not accept the 2nd Oath by placing my hand upon the Koran?
martin j smith| 1.9.12 @ 7:47AM
Our future as a nation I fear is bleak indeed unless there is a Presidential Candidate with the will to be a leader and lead the fight against such behaviors of questionable Constitutional authority. Of course Obama's supporters in Law or wherever will defend whatever he does no matter what. Its like The Soviet government under -say-Stalin--if you want to live you ass lick your great leader. Which if any candidate will take the lead against this dictatorship in the making ?
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:41AM
Let's see, the RED party choices are:
Gordon Gecko lookalike Romney, who creates jobs with corporate raiding.
The Corrupt Christian demogague, who stands for MANDATORY PREGNANCY and ENFORCED CHILDBIRTH.
A proven corrupt bookseller.
A doddering fool who thinks shrinking a world power's power to pre industrial might is EXACTLY what a 21st century America needs.
Good luck with that.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.9.12 @ 11:31AM
I'm guessing that SALON is off line, today.
Redstateboy| 1.9.12 @ 1:29PM
and Ewe as well... any thoughts on your Messiah shredding our Constitution? Any thoughts on Solyndra? 1/2 Billion dollars - GONE! Any thoughts on the Fact FBI background checks for personal weapons has reached an all time high?
Or.... are you just another one of those blind Lemming followers of today's modern Slave Party?
Anthony| 1.9.12 @ 7:52AM
This president is dangerous. The Muslim Marxist has no respect for law and the Constitution. He fancies himself the Hugo Chavez of America, and he and Madam Michelle Antoinette act as if the entire nation are their serfs.
Meanwhile, we and the MSM nitpick our candidates apart. Obozo doesn't just need to be impeachecd, he needs to be in prison along with Eric Holder!!
Wake up America!!!
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:36AM
yes he does, and only impeachment will put him... oh LMAO in the White House, leaving the whole of the Senate with urine and feces on their faces, an American public outraged and headed for the polls, and a guarantee of nothing prosperous for the RED party.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.9.12 @ 8:03AM
Franklin Marshall Davis is smiling.
Anthony| 1.9.12 @ 2:22PM
So is Lucifer's pal, Saul Alinsky.
L. Ross| 1.9.12 @ 8:06AM
I like all that, but I think BHO sees himself as Alexander the Great. Faced with the Gordian Knot, he didn't try to untie it, he only wishes to hack the thing to bits. Sadly, the thing he is hacking to bits is our constitution and nation as we knew it.
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:34AM
The illusion of the America as you know it has been here since Nixon. Bush's electorial theft is just a culmination of the Watergate Burglary's purpose, to throw the election through criminal behavior.
George True| 1.9.12 @ 1:35PM
Bush's electoral theft? Get real! Each and every time the ballots were recounted, he won. Even the New Youk Times reluctantly admitted the next year that Bush actually DID win, if only by a razor thin margin. And that's not counting the 15,000 military absentee ballots from Escambia county that were disallowed, even though there was NO QUESTION that they were legitimate votes, and there was no doubt who they were casting their vote for (Bush).
The Democrats' M.O. is to recount again and again, as many times as it takes until finally ONE recount goes their way, and then THAT'S the one the counts, not any of the others that did not go their way. The Florida state supreme court had multiple opportunities to put a stop to this nonsense but chose not to because they were partisan Democrats. That is why the SCOTUS finally had to weigh in and end the obviously illegal attempts at ballot tampering and changing of rules in the middle of the game.
Timothy L. Pennell| 1.10.12 @ 6:10AM
Al Gore LOST HIS OWN STATE.
That's why he lost.
So, let's put the Florida Fairy Tale to bed, shall we?
Larry Engel, Snark| 1.9.12 @ 8:40AM
Anything less that impeachment is cowardice and defeat
Dick Nome| 1.9.12 @ 8:52AM
Just how do you expect that to happen?? Ain't going to.
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:32AM
EXACTLY. They need the vote of a majority of the Senate and they will NEVER get it. To NOT impeach is literally SILENT CONSENT. Which will only lead to more recess appointments which is exactly how government will function again.
Louis Jenkins| 1.9.12 @ 8:50AM
Obama says he was a Constitutional lawyer? Maybe so, because he is picking the document apart. Regardless of who gets the nomination I'll vote for him if he has an R after his name. Shameful to say.
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:30AM
I thank you for that. A return to Bush Era Reganonmics. I guess your house isn't worthless enough and you have more retirement funds to lose! Fancy another illegitimate war do you?
The only reason the RED party needs a RED President is to pardon all the Scooter Libby lobbyists clones still dominating the Congress.
John Navratil| 1.9.12 @ 9:57AM
'zat you, Purp?
KennesawJack| 1.9.12 @ 10:24AM
Has to be. Either that or Purps been cloned.
Al Adab| 1.9.12 @ 10:25AM
Change the moniker. Obscenity simply doesn't help the cause.
Riff Raff| 1.9.12 @ 3:19PM
It is worse than mere obscenity. His handle is a direct insult to all readers. He is "sticking the finger" at everyone here. I think we should not respond to him at all. He doesn't sound very bright anyway.
KennesawJack| 1.9.12 @ 4:19PM
Riff, don't let him get to you. He obviously likes doing sheep (I immediately got that his moniker is his pasttime) so you can see how he would be attracted to other mindless members of the herd, i. e., Obamarx and his followers.
Louis Jenkins| 1.9.12 @ 4:45PM
Dear FckEwe
It is none of the above. I've lost value in those things you've named. A Red President to pardon all the Scooter Libby lobbyists? Obama will have his list too when his day comes. It comes out of desperation and danger. If you're not willing to risk your life's blood, or treasure, for the Constitution, like the men who wrote it, you are not worthy of being a citizen. Obviously you are not by your very words.
Harry | 1.9.12 @ 11:38AM
Whose constitution did he study? It certainly wasn't our's.
Anthony| 1.9.12 @ 2:36PM
Yep, Ya just gotta love these leftist ibicile "experts" who live in their bubble world. Obozo, Constitutional Law lecturer, Paul Krugman, economist, Algore, enviornmentalist, Jessie Jackson, religious leader, and Bill Clinton, moral ethicist.
What a dispicable group of reprobates.
hardcard| 1.9.12 @ 8:50AM
f m davis is not smiling he is shoveling coal with adolf and stalin, it's too hot to smile.
Oldefarte| 1.9.12 @ 9:17AM
It's beyond comical and ludicrous some of the comments, adverse reactions here relating to this situation. Did you DA's not invision this sort of occurrances on/before 11/4/08? Is this the three monkeys of SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, KNOW NO EVIL perhaps? It's only amazing that the military is not currently incarcerating all of us taxpayer-voters of the conservative-Republican variety who do not swear allegiance to the Democratic Party and it rampant socialistic tactics and dictates [but maybe that will happen tomorrow, who knows?]!!!!!!!!
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:27AM
you are too olde to understand socialism. It was he first form of government, based on mutual need and protection, mutual concern and purpose. Long before Jesus, long before David, long before Abraham, back to (John Mc)Cain and Abel.
Tom Osterman| 1.9.12 @ 11:06AM
We've seen socialism in action, thanks, and it comes down to poverty and tyranny. Cuba, the USSR, North Korea, Zimbabwe, soon to be followed by the PRC. Forgive the rest of us if we're unimpressed.
George True| 1.9.12 @ 1:38PM
Socialism murdered over 200 million people over the last 100 years. I don't believe that's what Jesus preached.
Oldefarte| 1.9.12 @ 5:22PM
It is possibly you who does not understand it, and I would advise you to pick up a copy of any newspaper in the country and read and re-read any/all articles relating to the current situation occurring in Europeon countries [particular Greece, Italy, Portugal, Ireland etc]; and to also hopefully understand that when the economic fecis hits the economic fan of Europe, that it will splatter over the pond of the Atlantic unto us all here in this country!!!!!!!!!!!
FckEwe| 1.9.12 @ 9:23AM
We all know the quibbling on the details is about money? Who gets it, who controls it. if it were about Congressional responsibilities, about lawmaking for the benefit of the people, according to the people's need, representing the voting people's choice and by the people's consent then there would be Federal jobs, massive financial regulation, absolute fiscal transparency, harsh legal punishments for the corrupt and no headlines as these things would be matter of course.
The thing to realize here is that Obama is CHALLENGING the RED party to make impeachment noises. The louder they roar, the less honorable they appear on Election Day. The people want action, not campaign stumping on the Senate floor. One of two things happens, they push forward without a chance of success, or acquiesce. The later opens up the door to 90 Federal judgeships being made filled for President's Day. The former just makes nasty headlines for the Great Obstructionist Premise.
The premise that violating the Congressional Oath of Office is business as usual.
Tom Osterman| 1.9.12 @ 11:13AM
So a dictator wannabee's unconstitutional power grab is a good thing, as far as you're concerned. I knew socialists loved dictators, but I never thought I'd hear it stated so plainly.
Oldefarte| 1.9.12 @ 5:23PM
You make about as much sense as ....A SCREEN DOOR IN A SUBMARINE!!!!!!
Dixie Pixie| 1.9.12 @ 10:04AM
Ok...I will bite.
At what point do we declare the “First American Republic” dead and buried?
The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution has been dead for over a century.
Whole blocks of the Constitution have been rendered null and void when the so-called ??Conservative?? John McCain gave the Federal Government the right to detain anyone indefinitely without recourse at the stroke of a bureaucrats pen.
No Federal budget thus no restraints on spending or borrowing.
The States might as well be a obscure office of the Interior Department.
And the list goes on and on.
So the question is, at what point do we declare the Republic gone and the Constitution a quaint and irrelevant document of a forgotten age ?
Al Adab| 1.9.12 @ 10:28AM
It's pretty close Dixie. This is the year in which the future not only of this nation, but of the Liberty of humankind will be decided. Should Americans fail, the descent into another long dark age of tyranny is upon us for self-government will have proven to be a false dream. I so fear that the people actually prefer Ceasar to their liberty. promises and handouts seem to move them. Apparently all to many are willing to sell their birthright for a bowl of pottage.
Dixie Pixie| 1.9.12 @ 1:30PM
Greetings Al
It is always a pleasure to hear from a incurable optimist.
When the political cartoonists start portraying the economy as a careening car-wreak driven by Obama, you can be sure disaster has already occurred.
We are now at the point where the Ruling Class has decided it no longer cares nor wants to hear from the populace.
The Ruling Class has rigged this election cycle so blatantly, they no longer even attempt to hide the puppet strings.
Nor do they even pretend to acknowledge the concept of popular sovereignty and individual rights.
I think we are a least a decade past the point of no return and the crash will occur in the next presidential term.
No one in the Ruling Class even pretends to want to stop it.
For your amusement, try this political cartoon:::::
http://townhall.com/political-.....2/09/94423
Al Adab| 1.9.12 @ 2:54PM
Dixie:
If only I could be the optimist I would rest easier. Remember how they excoriated Nixon when he said, "if the President does it, it's legal"? Well now our President has declared himself Ceasar, the arbiter of what is in "the peoples" interest. What breaks my heart is that so many of our fellow citizens seem to prefer Ceasar over the tumultous sea of liberty. I suppose the security of the prison cell is preferable to the risks of life.
If you are correct and the crash will occur then it is important for History that the proper parties get the blame. Electing an accomodationist republican will only place the blame on the wrong shoulders.
We stand at the crossroads of History. Our choices and the actions we may take will determine the future of Liberty not only for our nation, but for mankind as well. A long dark age of tyranny awaits if we are not up to the challenge.
Dixie Pixie| 1.9.12 @ 7:47PM
Greetings Al
You are a cheery sort of person.
One definition of an incurable optimist is one who actuality believes there is a sewer to slide into.
Thus in that vein, I would like some Liberal to explain the difference between the current Washington Insiders and a pit full of shit-throwing screeching monkeys.
What were we drinking to let mere primates run a government?
Dixie Pixie| 1.9.12 @ 7:26PM
Does anyone care to answer my simple question?
At what point do we declare the “First American Republic” dead?
Warrior | 1.9.12 @ 9:35PM
The death blow to the republic was dealt when Lincoln was inaugurated and drew the line in the sand about secession.
Dixie Pixie| 1.10.12 @ 12:01AM
Greetings Warrior
I take it you are going with the three Republics of America idea.
1st Republic --- Washington to Lincoln
2nd Republic --- Lincoln to Wilson
3rd Republic --- Wilson to Obama.
Personally I like the one continuous Republic with mostly additions to the original Constitutional / Government structure idea.
That is the conventional idea and the one most commonly used.
So let me further refine my question, what will be the sign-post that signals the end of the current American Republic?
Any ideas anyone?
Margie| 1.10.12 @ 12:49AM
Dixie,
To try and answer your question.. perhaps it will be when they start coming for us and arresting us for being "disagreeable" or some such thing.
Just like they did in Hitler's day.
Redstateboy| 1.9.12 @ 10:07AM
The way I see it... the Lame stream press is to be dispised here. They openly aided and abetted Hussein's election and now they're aiding and abetting his and his Slave (Democrat) Party's shredding the Constitution by not even mentioning it. Someone on FOX this morning said something simple yet profound.. when you're a liberal, who works with Liberals, all your friends are Liberals, your kids go to school with Liberals, you live in a Liberal neighborhood - of course you see nothing amiss with your tiny world view hence you see nothing wrong with your Liberal champion (Hussein) shredding the Constitution.
Dr. X| 1.9.12 @ 10:18AM
"Constitution?" What "Constitution?" BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
If the "Constitution" was on the Jerry Springer show, if the winner of the Super Bowl got the Constitution, if some illiterate rapper with a long prison record had the Constitution written on his gold bling, if the Constitution was written in Spanish so some illegal Mexican could read it, if Madonna humped herself with the Constitution, if the Constitution was plastered in every mall in America, if every iphone and laptop had the Constitution as a screensaver, and if every porno movie featured an orgy on top of the Constitution, the average fat, stupid, indebted American idiot MIGHT give it TEN SECONDS worth of thought.
But right now every politician out there, and ESPECIALLY President Hussein Obama, knows damn well that the Constitution means NOTHING so long as the disability check and the welfare check and the Section 8 rent money are in the mail and the porno movie is on Cable TV.
Al Adab| 1.9.12 @ 10:30AM
Ave Ceasar, we who are about to die, salute you.
Mrs. Vito| 1.9.12 @ 7:50PM
WITH OUR MIDDLE FINGER!!
George S| 1.9.12 @ 10:48AM
How do unconstitutional acts make things worse for the Ruling Class? On the contrary, it makes things easier. The more things are pushed out of the reach of the electorate, the less things elected officials have to worry about campaigning against. Don't kid yourselves -- a good number of Republicans see no harm in what Obama is doing, especially if their reelection prospects are unaffected. To stick one's neck out for defeating an appointment to an agency no one is frothing at the mouth over will only invite opponents with ads claiming the incumbent is against protecting the citizen against fraud so his corporate whores can steal more of your money. Who needs that headache, especially with the education and attention span of today's voter?
B. Traven| 1.9.12 @ 10:53AM
“Constitution, to god-damned hell with Constitutions! We have no Constitution. In fact, we don’t need a Constituion. I don’t have to show you any stinking Constitution, you god-damned cabron and ching’ tu madre!”
Ward Bond| 1.9.12 @ 11:14AM
If you like obama now, just wait until The Second Reign of Hussein.He gives the Constitution the middle finger salute now,what about when he has nothing to fear after the election?
Anthony| 1.9.12 @ 3:14PM
All together now: The reign of Hussein falls mainly on the plain. I say again.
Dixie Pixie| 1.9.12 @ 8:16PM
The pain of Hussein occurs mainly in his stains.
The fain of Hussein is mainly in his blains.
The prian of Hussein is mainly his brains.
The brain of Hussein falls mainly into the drain.
Did I get it right Anthony?
fwb| 1.9.12 @ 11:28AM
No, this appointment could never be a lawful recess appointment. The Constitution REQUIRES that the vacancy occur DURING THE RECESS. The grammar of the clause is unequivocal about the requirements. "...all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess..." leaves no doubt in the minds of those who are properly educated in English grammarical structure. Inly those who are ignorant or desirous of circumventing the rules believe otherwise. Try diagramming the sentence IF YOU KNOW how.
ANYONE who thinks any vacancy can be filled at this time is ignorant AND does not understand the Constitution. Interpreting Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 3 negates the need for Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 2 since the President would always just wait to appoint when the Senate was out.
Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 3 was added to cover the single issue of what to do when the Senate was gone a position became vacant.
EVERY Presisent who has made recess appointments like this one has violated his oath of office and should have been impeached. It does not matter how long it has been done. Slavery was accepted for thousands of years and it was still wrong.
The Constitution is the LAW OF THE PEOPLE and We the People have the right to hold our elected servants feet to the fire.
If those we elect do not follow the law, it is high time We the People wuit being lazy and vote all the b-tards out.
John Navratil| 1.9.12 @ 1:48PM
fwb,
The definition of "happen" is to take place; come to pass; occur. It is clear to me that a vacancy does take place or occur during a recess even if it began before the recess. Even the phrase "come to pass" is defined as "occuring".
The intention was that the President could temporarily fill vacancies when the Senate was unavailable to act; a much more reasonable provision when it took weeks to ride a horse between D.C. and home. Were your definition to hold, all the Senate would need to do to keep a position unfilled is simply not to act on it.
I would be more inclined to your interpretation were the word "arise" used instead of "happen." I'm quite sure the framers would have been specific on this point if that was their intent.
Brubaker| 1.10.12 @ 6:29PM
"The definition of "happen" is to take place; come to pass; occur. "
That's correct, but your interpretation is not. If the vacancy were to "take place" during the recess, it could not have already taken place prior to the recess. Likewise, the vacancy cannot "come to pass" or "occur" during the recess if it has already come to pass or occurred prior to the recess.
The definition and common usage make clear that the intent is to describe an event that begins during the recess, not before it.
We need also note that if the event occurred prior to the recess, there would be no logical reason for waiting until the recess began in order to make a recess appointment -- except to circumvent Congress and the Constitution.
RJ| 1.9.12 @ 12:36PM
Another example of how elected government officials have no regard for the Constitution and established law. Obama didn't start this problem, but he has expanded it along with other current members of Congress.
This is a problem which our Founding Fathers' were fully aware of. In an October 17, 1788 letter to Thomas Jefferson, James Madison wrote of his believe that the lack of a Bill of Rights in the original Constitution was not a "material defect" - "Repeated violations of these parchment barriers have been committed by overbearing majorities in every State. In Virginia I have seen the bill of rights violated in every instance where it has been opposed to a popular current."
The Constitution cannot by itself keep government within its authorized boundary; that is the responsibility of citizens, if we want to remain free.
Buck Ofama| 1.9.12 @ 12:41PM
We must RID the white house of the nigger vermin infestation at any cost.
Dave Williams| 1.9.12 @ 12:53PM
Lose the racism, pal. All it does is give the left ammunition. We despise Obama for his aspirations toward monarchy, his destruction of the economy and of the military, and the content of his character, NOT the color of his skin.
Redstateboy| 1.9.12 @ 2:33PM
Thank you Dave Williams... Hussein is an incompetent who just happens to be 1/2 Blk.
KennesawJack| 1.9.12 @ 1:47PM
Buck, would you be saying the same thing if J. C. Watts, Thomas Sowell, Condi Rice, Walter Williams or Alan West were residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? If so, you have serious issues, bud.
Dr. X| 1.9.12 @ 5:20PM
Although the use of the word "nigger" is unnecessarily provocative, there is in fact a racial component to our present predicament that we are unwilling to admit.
The Constitution was written by white men of intellect, education, class and achievement, and it was written for people intelligent enough to understand and admire it. They understood that few Africans possessed these qualities. Consequently, they excluded Negroes from the body politic.
The last 50 years has seen the cultural negrification of the United States. Whites have willingly adopted the speech, dress, mannerisms, and behaviors of the Negro, and they regard this as a mark of sophistication.
Obama, a man of no achievements and little intellect -- but very hip and trendy -- is a reflection of, not a cause of, our national decline.
Mrs. Vito| 1.9.12 @ 7:48PM
Hey! You're talkin' about King Louis XVI, Jr., man!! (LOL!)
Al Adab| 1.9.12 @ 12:45PM
Does the fact that we are discussing what to do when our government violates The Constitution not cause angst among the citizens? It should.
What might the military decide to do if it becomes necessary to chose sides in some semblance of civil war? Their oath is to The Constitution. What happens, and this is a question for us all, when the government formed under and sworn to defend that Constitution blatantly and intentionally violates it? Does not the very discussion we are having terrify us?
Ron| 1.9.12 @ 1:54PM
Let's see...the soap box has not worked (well, except for the Libs), the ballot box is not working so hot (look at what has been elected recently), the jury box seems to be (SCOTUS) out in left field, so which box is left?
coal carrier| 1.9.12 @ 2:54PM
The tinderbox.
martin j smith| 1.9.12 @ 1:54PM
The Republican Leadershit lost in 2006 and 2008--but they were defeated in 2010 by the Tea Party. Now that the Republican Leadershit has retaken controll of things they will go on losing again. Does that about size things up. ?
Rush says the Republican Leadershit is ignorant or stupid. If he is right--and I am not sure sure--then they are unqualified to be in office.
shipley130| 1.9.12 @ 2:08PM
America has become so "powerful" that we can ship billions of dollars on pallets to Iraq and not even worry about where the money goes. Awesome, mighty America.
Mrs. Vito| 1.9.12 @ 7:45PM
One of this article's points is moot: at the next Obama colonoscopy, we're sure to find Harry Reid's head up there...
POST American| 1.9.12 @ 10:15PM
--------------------FINAL WORD------------------------
Bush Sr./ Clinton/ Bush Jr. and now
Rockefeller front op Obama are, by
ANY definition ---GUILTY OF TREASON.
-RETRO-active IMPEACHMENT of our
past 4 CFR-Trilateral front administrations
-INSTANT nullification of ALLLL their
ILLEGAL, often covert, secret treaty
making
-Swift siezure, AUDIT, prosecution and
abolition of the PRIVATE 'Federal' Reserve
----------------HUAC/ Nuremberg 2012---------------
Winterhawk| 1.10.12 @ 6:57AM
America's nightmare, obama, has a completely un-American interpretation of the Constitution. One that is praiosed by his fellow commies.
Timely Renewed | 1.10.12 @ 7:17PM
The problem began long before this President and the solution must go deeper than simply replacing this incompetent ideologue. Mr. Obama’s imperious disregard of the Constitution is only one manifestation of a national government which has expanded far beyond its original constitutional bounds. We can only hope to be free of this or future administrations of its ilk when we restore the original limits on the national government which have been stripped away by Supreme Court decisions since 1937. Given how entrenched that Supreme Court jurisprudence is, this can only be done by amendments restating those original constitutional limits. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com.
POST American| 1.11.12 @ 1:38AM
Need a little help reading the signs
of the times?
A little refresher course:
"--ANY law that's repugnant to
the spirit and word of the Constitution
is NULL and VOID."
-Marbury vs. Madison
1830
"---We are suspending Liberty
----to SAVE Liberty!"
-Roberspierre
(kick off to the State Terror
of the Paris Directory)
1792
----------CRIMINALITY is CRIMINALITY---------
---------------TREASON is TREASON-----------------
------------HUAC/ Nuremberg is COMING-----------
Don| 1.12.12 @ 1:11PM
Years ago before Obama became President, I think it was NPR; Obama was telling the reporter that he thought that the Constitution was flawed. So, here we are now in 2012, Obama's respect for the Constitution is now on full display. He doesn't like it, so he will just ignore it just like any other dictator who finds laws is too inconvenient to follow because he is wiser than lesser men and the the founders.
Ruler4You| 1.12.12 @ 1:21PM
What? you had to submit an article on a deadline?
I'm sick and tired of wishy - washey journalism. Almost as tired of it as I am of government abuses of power. Yes, in all three branches.
This kind of limp noodle work is typical of the kind of "journ-o-list" that can't seem to commit to the Constitution as the real foundation for government and the socialist idea that the Constitution is dead. But likes to bat the idea back and forth in their heads like some kind of badminton birdie.
Damn it, it's time to choose sides. Either we are a representative constitutional republic or we aren't. And it's high time (yes, all three branches) government did the same.
This hide and seek BS is only victimizing citizens, who by the way are the ones who are supposed to "give their consent" to laws they are subjected to. NOT the ones who are ruled by decree, or by rules 'deemed' to be law, or by some ill informed idealistic jurist who believes he 'can' have an impact on legislation, too.
Arrogant congress makes a law that says they can do insider trading??! And, crickets! nothing!
Either we have a politburo and are ruled by schmucks without honor or morals or we have an honorable government. It's one or the other, but not what ever you want at any given moment in time. And by God, I want it played that way.
ONTIME| 1.12.12 @ 2:12PM
This man we call POTUS is not one to acknowledge submission to the Constitution or the rule of law, he is indeed a destruction engineer placed in office by fraud and deciet by a party bent on vice and control. He is not full vettedas of yet and will not consider allowing his records in legal restraint to be seen by the public nor will he produce the vaunted still delinquent BC needed to qualify him for the office he now holds.
The way I look at we will not fire him now because he is one slippery fish, we are weak and his party has a agenda to cause damage. he is there to wreak havoc as long as his luck holds out and our fate to clean up this horrendous mess he and his party have dumped on "We the people."...We have a lot of work to repair, restore and maintain this Republic..or we can lose it.
Tex Expatriate| 1.12.12 @ 5:57PM
So the chief question now is: What is going to be done about it and by whom? And the answer . . . (drum roll) . . . is nothing, by no one.
The unlawful, unconstitutional mess that is the United States Government (administered by either party for the last 146 years) will not be corrected until---and unless---about one-half the states begin to nullify federal laws and eventually secede, setting up another constitutional government. What, you say, it's unthinkable! No, it isn't.
Can anyone imagine any U.S. President launching a military attack on twenty or twenty-five secessionist states in 2012 or hereafter? Or imagine a military that would obey such orders? Would a Marxist such as Obama or a Fascist such as Biden dare to attack half the former nation, especially considering that each of those states has its own National Guard, a military that the federal government increasingly relies upon for its overseas wars?
Secession looks better every day.
Doug | 1.12.12 @ 11:26PM
I hope both houses of Congress read this.
You have allowed a president to make himself a king. You have allowed him to render you irrelavant. You continue to allow him to deliberately ignore his duty to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.
Time and time again, we have reached out to you to fulfil your responsibility to the People. Does your honor not mean that much to you? How can you look at yourselves in the mirror each day and think you are without blame in this tragedy? You have the Constitutional duty to fix this. Even if you don't have the numbers, you still have the obligation to put his actions before the People.
I firmly believe this president is just looking for an excuse to declare martial law. Already he is in violation of Posse Comitatus (forgive the spelling). He denies Arizona the right to protect its citizens, property, and part of the United States' southern border. The heinous part of this is that he refuses to secure the basic rights of American citizens by putting them and the nation in harm's way: refusing to enforce those very laws he denied the People.
This president now is in the process of polluting the judiciary. You have allowed the media to lie, to omit the facts, and to tarnish while under protection of the First Amendment. And of all things to bite you in the backside, you have allowed them to exercise privileged communication status to the point they can legally hide sources, evidence, and enemies of the United States without personal accountability or respect toward the safety and security of their fellow countrymen.
The question is can we ever trust you to do your job, to take back the rightful authority the founders put in writing? Can we trust you to put the media on notice that First Amendment protection does not absolve the media from responsibility when it deliberately frames an opinion in the public by omitting facts related to the truth of what happened? And can we trust you to make it clear to the media that the First Amendment does not absolve the media from it's legal and moral duty to share information critical to the security of the United States of America, her people, and their personal liberty?
Whom do you serve . . . the People or the party? Choose. It's time to dethrone the king and restore the Constitution and its place among We The People.
Dave| 1.13.12 @ 2:31AM
Why not screw the Constitution even if sworn to defend it? Our chief Muslim in charge of defending a flawed program set up by our founding fathers would have had him hanged for treason.
Dave| 1.13.12 @ 2:31AM
Why not screw the Constitution even if sworn to defend it? Our chief Muslim in charge of defending a flawed program set up by our founding fathers would have had him hanged for treason.
Scott | 1.14.12 @ 11:20AM
The Constitution has become less than Roberts Rules of Order. Consider:
A law that is not enforced is no law at all.
The Constitution is not being enforced, so it is no law at all, much less the highest law of the land.
The Constitution is passively enforce instead of actively enforced. There is no referee or law enforcement officer taking actions against transgressors of the written "laws" that make up the Constitution. Instead, the members of the three branches of government enforce the Constitution if they happen to feel like it.
The politicians in the Federal government enforce the Constitution at their politically motivated whims. Which means that the Constitution is basically a blunt instrument for the politicians to wham each other on the head with.
So the Constitution is less than Roberts Rules of Order.
The problem in a nutshell is that the Constitution is flawed. It provides for passive enforcement of itself, not active enforcement as it would be if there were an office charged with enforcing it.
You can complain and point fingers all you want, but all the whining and finger pointing won't fix a broken Constitution. The behavior of the other guys is a symptom of the problem, not the cause of it.
Congress cannot fix the Constitution. That isn't in their character. The Supreme Court can't fix it. That isn't in their character or the power. For that matter the Supreme Court is a creation of the corrupt Congress. The States can't fix the Constitution because they are structured the similar to the Federal government and a similar character.
The only was the Constitutional Enforcement Office can be created is by Presidential coup d'etat. Basically, a President has to recognize that the Constitution has a flaw in it; that the flaw must be fixed or the government will collapse into statism; that the Legislature, Courts and States cannot fix the flaw; and that Presidential coup d'etat is the only way to fix the problem.
Once all of those conditions are met, the President in keeping with his oath must write an Amendment, place it in the Constitution, and see to it that it is enforced.
That's phase 1 of fixing the current problems of the US government; recognizing the need for a fix and recognizing how the fix must be made.
Phase 2 of fixing the problem is designing the Office of Constitutional Enforcement, ensuring that it conforms and supports the original principles used in the design of the Constitution which is, not limited, but minimal government with distributed powers.
Owen K| 1.14.12 @ 1:15PM
The only thing we can do is to elect people to the Senate, the House, and the Presidency who will respect and honor the Constitution. Obama was elected because voters bought into the slippery smooth delivery and the veneer that Obama presented during his campaign. Voters did not take time to look into who Obama really is and what his plans really are. Voters need to be more responsible and take the time to get past the empty promises and the veneer that politicians present to them. The Constitution has been shredded not simply because Obama and Congress have done so, but because voters are not paying attention and taking personal responsibility as citizens. "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom."
Scott | 1.14.12 @ 7:17PM
How has this call to "to elect people to the Senate, the House, and the Presidency who will respect and honor the Constitution" working out?
Answer: It ain't.
You've got to stop pushing "solutions" that have not, are not, and will not work, and start pushing for something else. Something that will work.
Democracy is a beast the Constitution was meant to cage. The Constitution has a flaw. The beast got out through that flaw. Asking the beast nicely to put itself back into the cage isn't working. Appealing to the beast's higher nature isn't working either. Sometimes we get it one step closer to putting back in, but in the long run we lose two steps back. We lose more freedom with every generation. So a different, firmer, and more direct tack is necessary.
You can't blame democracy for being a democracy. It will always do what democracies always do, which is to act irrationally and immorally and ultimately self destruct.
Don| 1.14.12 @ 6:25PM
Last week, President Obama stood up to Republican obstructionism by making Richard Cordray the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a recess appointment. 45 Republican senators had vowed to block any nominee to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and without a director, the bureau couldn't begin its work protecting consumers. So President Obama made a recess appointment for the head of the bureau. I thanked President Obama for using a recess appointment to appoint Richard Cordray as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.