Obama’s Next Tactic – The Executive Order

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” – P.T. Barnum

There’s been speculation whether it was really P.T. Barnum that said that or, perhaps, actually Abraham Lincoln who first used it. No matter. Barack Obama seems to have based his entire political career (and his socialist agenda) on the assumption implied in James Thurber’s variation: 

“You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.”

To a political extremist (left-wing or right-wing), the best-kept secret for years has been the sleeping constituent. An American more concerned about the outcome of American Idol than what’s taking place in Washington has been a dream come true. And it’s worked especially well for Barack Hussein Obama, hasn’t it?

But like the Japanese in World War II, Obama pushed the American people until we awoke “with a terrible resolve.” Suddenly, the big smile and teleprompter sincerity aren’t swaying the masses like they used to. And the backlash has begun.

We’ve seen Obama’s approval rating falling faster than any other President as more and more of his socialist agenda becomes known, and as more and more of his “Czars” are exposed as tax-cheats and worse.

Now, key election losses by Democrats to Republicans in several states have served notice: Obama-mania has officially run its course. The recent Senate election in Massachusetts won by Republican Scott Brown to replace Ted Kennedy also ended a filibuster-proof Senate. Given these recent events, it would be easy to think we are well on our way towards regaining control from the Obama-socialist agenda.

But don’t pop the cork on that champagne just yet. We are far, far from the point of celebrating, folks.

Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has advised Obama to  utilize the “Executive Order” technique used by many Presidents (including Bush and Clinton) to jump-start his agenda. In doing so, he would effectively bypass a Congress whose members are getting more and more reluctant to slit their own political throats by supporting the administration’s agenda. 

What We Can Look Forward To

Obama has  been frustrated by a Congress that has failed to confirm a number of his Cabinet nominees. As Donald Borsch Jr. writes on RightPundits.com, Emanuel has been quoted as saying:

“We are reviewing a list of Presidential Executive Orders and directives to get the job done across a front of issues.”

Translation: Obama is going to confirm, by himself, several appointments that Congress hasn’t acted on. And if that works, bend over, folks. If  Congress won’t pass President Obi-Wan Conniver’s  Health Care or Cap & Trade, he may well choose to force it down our throats with an executive order (What the heck did you think this is, folks… a democracy?).

As Borsch writes:

With the Senatorial recess approaching, it would be the perfect time to confirm those (nominees)  he wants with no fuss. In a meeting at the White House, President Obama told Mitch McConnell of Kentucky that he would use his Executive power to confirm nominees if the Senate didn’t get them done before their recess.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing illegal about doing this, believe it or not. Executive Orders do not require Congressional approval to be implemented. They have the same legal status as if passed by Congress. The same with recess appointments which are a bit more short-termed, as recess appointments expire at the end of the Senate’s next session.

Authorization for Executive Orders is specified in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution which grants “executive power” to the President. Section 3 of Article II further clarifies, stipulating that the President “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

There is, of course, a fair amount of controversy when Presidents resort to Executive Orders.  From Thisnation.com:

Executive Orders are controversial because they allow the President to make major decisions, even law, without the consent of Congress. This, of course, runs against the general logic of the Constitution — that no one should have power to act unilaterally. Nevertheless, Congress often gives the President considerable leeway in implementing and administering federal law and programs. Sometimes, Congress cannot agree exactly how to implement a law or program. In effect, this leaves the decision to the federal agencies involved and the President that stands at their head. When Congress fails to spell out in detail how a law is to be executed, it leaves the door open for the President to provide those details in the form of Executive Orders.

Controversy is no stranger to the previous occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Most Presidents have resorted to using it but sparingly. Some of the more notable uses:

• Integrating the armed forces (President Harry S. Truman)
• Desegregation of schools (President Dwight D. Eisenhower)
• Barring racial discrimination in federal housing, hiring, and contracting  (Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson) 
• Barring the use of federal funds for advocating abortion (President Ronald Reagan but later reversed by President Bill Clinton)

Now while that would seem to give Obama the green light in regards to things like healthcare and the Cap and Tax bill, there may be some issue as to whether a sitting President can implement something as sweeping as completely doing away with the health care system as it currently exists or fundamentally changing (some say “scuttling”) the free enterprise system by forcing Cap and Tax in this manner.  Nothing as sweeping as these two would-be changes has ever been done via Executive Order… but leave it to Barack Obama to want to be the first. This is the man with the golden ego who, in his own estimation, was destined to do great things.

Recourse?

There are two types of recourse available if he should dare go this route. The first would be legislative recourse. This would require, essentially, a Congressional 2/3 majority which, being an election year, would give some Democrats a chance to redeem themselves with voters if they were to vote to reverse such an executive order. This would, however, require guts on the part of the Congressmen and women, and we all know what a shortage there is in that department.

The second form of recourse is through the courts. This would normally be done on the grounds that the Executive Order exceeds the President’s constitutional powers. Should Obama decide to act on either of these two issues via executive order, there could easily be a case made for a judicial course of action.

In the end, Obama would be wise not to try to implement either healthcare reform or Cap and Tax in this manner. Either one might just stand a chance of being reversed in Congress if enough Democratic members who would like to see their political careers continue vote for what they know their constituents prefer.  

If that doesn’t work, a legal challenge could take long enough to delay implementation until the fall elections give Americans the chance to register their displeasure. Even if that failed, the next President would be able to issue an executive order to reverse Obama’s damage… if it’s not too late to save our economy and free enterprise system. Or if the country simply revolts (Obama would be wise to consider that possibility).

In the end, I believe democracy will prevail. While Obama might be able to thumb his nose at the American people now that he’s in office, the American people may well have ability to reverse his damage.

In any event, if Barack Obama is fool enough to follow Rahm Emanuel’s advice and attempts  to strong-arm his agenda down the throats of the American voter, all he will accomplish in the end is to validate what so many of us have been saying: That he has a socialist agenda that is designed to break our economy, nationalize health care and reduce Americans to relying on the Government for virtually every aspect of life.

Back off, Mr. President.  You don’t have the skills, the knowledge, or the talent to pull this off successfully. You have arrogance, ego, and nothing more than an ideology that has proven itself a failure wherever it has been tried. The American people (you do remember us, don’t you?) have made it abundantly clear we do not want these changes you seek. We may have been sleeping during your campaign, but we are wide awake now and now let us be perfectly clear. Any attempt to implement your socialist agenda against the will of the American people would be seen by millions as nothing less than an act of treason; your legacy reduced to being remembered as the President who sparked the next American revolution.

And you thought Bill Clinton’s legacy was a stain…

Gerry Ashley