“...he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law...
“The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”
― Article II Section 2 of the US Constitution
President Obama (D) appointed Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three others to the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate was in “pro forma” session. According to the Obama administration:
“The President nominated Mr. Cordray last summer. Unfortunately, Republicans in the Senate blocked his confirmation. They refused to let the Senate go forward with an up or down vote. It’s not because Republicans think Cordray isn’t qualified for the job, they simply believe that the American public doesn’t need a watchdog at all. Well, we disagree.”
“…Here are the facts: The Constitution gives the President the authority to make temporary recess appointments to fill vacant positions when the Senate is in recess, a power all recent Presidents have exercised. The Senate has effectively been in recess for weeks, and is expected to remain in recess for weeks. In an overt attempt to prevent the President from exercising his authority during this period, Republican Senators insisted on using a gimmick called “pro forma” sessions, which are sessions during which no Senate business is conducted and instead one or two Senators simply gavel in and out of session in a matter of seconds. But gimmicks do not override the President’s constitutional authority to make appointments to keep the government running. Legal experts agree. In fact, the lawyers who advised President Bush on recess appointments wrote that the Senate cannot use sham “pro forma” sessions to prevent the President from exercising a constitutional power.”[1]
The Senate Rs were doing what the Senate Ds did back when Bush was President and Obama was a Senator: pretending to be in session over the end of the year by gaveling in for a few minutes and ignoring the President's nominees. But now that he’s President, Obama decided the Senate can't do that.
“Do As I Say, Not As I Do” says President Obama
This isn’t the first time our “Constitutional scholar” President has changed his interpretation of the powers of the executive branch now that he’s President:
- In 2007, Candidate Obama promised not to use signing statements as a candidate (video) and reneged after he was elected.
- Candidate Obama acknowledged it is un-Constitutional for the President to attack a country without authorization from Congress. Yet as President he has bombed Libya, and launched drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen killing hundreds of civilians.
- Candidate Obama also said the USG cannot detain US citizens without due process[5]. President Obama has executed US citizens without due process.
“Do As I Say, Not As I Do” says the Opposition
Now the opposition party is in an uproar about the President violating the Constitution by appointing four bureaucrats:
- Rush Limbaugh, who also pretends to be a Constitutionalist, said “Obama is acting outside the Constitution,” and “defying the Constitution.” He called it “lawless behavior,” and analogized Obama’s action as taking “a pee on the Constitution.”[2]
- Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) called it an “unprecedented power grab,” and said, “The precedent that would be set by this cavalier action would have a devastating effect on the checks and balances that are enshrined in our Constitution.”
- Other “limited government” conservatives called it another example of how liberals “pay lip service to the Constitution.”
Where were those same champions of the Constitution when:
- Ron Paul pushed to end the Fed, which emits fiat paper money and devalues the savings of all, but those controlling the financial system, by bailing out big banks? Why do the same champions of the Constitution ridicule Paul for advocating gold-backed money when Art I Section 10 of the Constitution states that “No state shall… make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts…”?
- The USG pursued undeclared wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, and Libya? Art I Section 8 of the Constitution says only Congress shall have the power to declare war.[3]
- Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA) which allows indefinite detention without due process for US citizens (which the federal government was doing anyway?[4] Provision 1021 of the bill, which grants the President the authority to have the military indefinitely imprison US citizens, violates our 4th and 5th Amendment rights to be secure in our persons and to be subject to due process of law.
- Congress passed and continues to renew the PATRIOT Act which violates our 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures?
- Congress created the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA, which routinely violates our 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures?
- The Obama administration executed American citizens without due process?
How will our champions of the Constitution vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) which threatens our 1st Amendment right to freedom of expression?
“A Dangerous Man”
Both sides quote the Constitution while they're out of power and ignore it once they’re in power. Nothing gets the loyal opposition quoting the Constitution faster than when the other side tries to get one over on them. But when both sides agree to violate the Constitution, watch out. Of the Republican candidates for President this year, only Ron Paul criticizes the attack on our liberties at home and calls for following the Constitution.
Now both parties are beating the drums for war against Iran. Only Ron Paul, called “a dangerous man” by opponents in his own party, warns against overreacting and starting a war with Iran (video), pointing to the million deaths of Iraqis and thousands of deaths of US troops in Iraq as an example of what we risk.[6]
Ron Paul is a dangerous man. He means it when he talks about following the Constitution. And people are listening.
___________________________
[1] “America's Consumer Watchdog,” The White House Blog, Dan Pfeiffer, Jan 4, 2012, (Accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/04/americas-consumer-watchdog on Jan 7, 2012).
[2] “Rush Limbaugh: ‘Lawless’ Obama Is ‘Taking A Pee On The Constitution’,” by Jon Bershad, Jan 5, 2012, (Accessed at http://www.mediaite.com/online/rush-limbaugh-lawless-obama-is-taking-a-pee-on-the-constitution/ on Jan 7, 2012).
[3] Congress cannot delegate the authority to declare war to the President as it has with it's Authorization to use force legislation. That is an attempt to amend the Constitution which requires a different process than passing legislation.
From Ron Paul’s speech in the House, 8 Oct 2002 on the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002:
“This is not a resolution to declare war. We know that. This is a resolution that does something much different. This resolution transfers the responsibility, the authority, and the power of the Congress to the President so he can declare war when and if he wants to. He has not even indicated that he wants to go to war or has to go to war; but he will make the full decision, not the Congress, not the people through the Congress of this country in that manner.”
[4] “Obama Says Bill Breaks With Our Values, Signs It Anyway,” The Atlantic.com, By Conor Friedersdorf, Jan 3, 2012, (Accessed at http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/obama-says-bill-breaks-with-our-values-signs-it-anyway/250828/ on Jan 7, 2012).
[5] “Barack Obama's Q&A,” By Charlie Savage, Boston Globe, Dec 20, 2007, (Accessed at http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/ObamaQA/ on Jan 9, 2012).
[6] “Rick Santorum calls Ron Paul ineffective, dangerous,” By Michael A. Memoli, Jan 8, 2012, (Accessed at http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-paul-santorum-record-debate-20120108,0,7996570.story on Jan 8, 2012).
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