What About That Pesky Constitution Confuses Obama?
Jan 6, 2012 Political
King Barack Hussein* made a few appointments by declaring that the Senate was effectively in recess so he had the authority to do so. His mouthpieces claim that the White House Legal Council has reviewed the issue and said it was OK for King Hussein to make the appointments. Interestingly, the Department of Justice is the agency that normally reviews items of Constitutionality. I imagine that Hussein figured that his Council could say it was OK and then after the fact he could persuade his buddy Holder to write a favorable opinion.
The rule of law. Hussein said the Senate was effectively in recess for weeks so he could make the appointment because the Constitution says so. If Hussein wants to be technical, let us do so. My well worn pocket Constitution, Article II, Section 2, last paragraph reads:
The President shall have the 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. [emphasis mine]
So let us assume, for a moment, that Hussein is correct about the Senate being in recess. Technically, the vacancies DID NOT HAPPEN during the alleged recess. The Constitution is clear in that the President may fill a vacancy that occurs while the Senate is in recess. These vacancies have been present for quite some time and DID NOT occur during the recess Hussein claims exists.
Therefore, he had no authority to begin with regarding making the appointments. This will likely go to court and it would be great if a ruling came down expressing exactly what the Constitution states and thereby prevent Congress and presidents from playing games regarding appointments. If the vacancy did not occur during a recess the president cannot fill it, period.
Let us suppose that a court does not rule this way (and some past rulings might run counter to it). Referring to my trusty Constitution, I see this under Article I, Section 5, Paragraph 2:
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
The US Senate has a website that spells out what a pro forma session is and how it relates to the last paragraph of Section 5. That section reads:
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
And the Senate site explains it this way:
This section was included to prevent either chamber from blocking legislation through its refusal to meet. Each chamber takes very seriously its independence of the other body. To avoid having to ask the other chamber for permission to adjourn, the Senate and House simply conduct pro forma (as a matter of form) sessions to meet the three-day constitutional requirement. No business is conducted at these sessions, which generally last for less than one minute.
Additionally, the Senate explains that pro forma sessions occur, last a few minutes, and no business is conducted:
Pro Forma Session: A pro forma session is a brief meeting (sometimes lasting only seconds) in which no business is conducted. It is held usually to satisfy the constitutional obligation that neither chamber can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other.
There is no doubt that pro forma sessions are part of business and are recognized as such. It is also evident that they are held so that one chamber does not have to ask the other to adjourn which means they have NOT adjourned. The methods for recess in the Senate are as follows:
In the Senate, the Chair has no inherent authority to declare recesses. Recesses are accomplished only (1) by the full body giving unanimous consent to hold recesses “subject to the call of the Chair,” or (2) by adopting a motion to recess, offered by any Senator from the floor. Wiki Answers
The best I can figure from reading the Congressional Record for the month of December (you have to search with the month parameters), the Senate did not motion for a recess and has been adjourning every three days. I also note that some of the Senators who held the sessions were Democrats. It is possible the Senate adjourned three days at a time because the House was still in session debating the tax cut extension and the Senate did not want to ask permission to adjourn (under the Constitution) so it held pro forma sessions and most Senators left town. Since they never adjourned a quorum to motion for a recess they have been in pro forma sessions every three days. It is interesting to note that the Senate did this because it was unlikely the House would have granted permission to adjourn. It wanted to remain and hash out the tax cut bill. The Senate passed its version and did not want to stay so it used pro forma sessions to avoid having to ask. The leadership of the Senate (Democrats mind you) is responsible for the Senate not being in recess. Don’t expect to see this on the liberal media. They have to blame it all on Republicans.
There is not doubt that these kinds of sessions are the practice of the House and Senate as part of their procedures (procedures they are Constitutionally authorized to enact) so I cannot see how King Hussein is able to do a recess appointment. He does not get to decide if they are in recess or not, they do.
So it looks like Hussein has bombed on several issues of the Constitution. Wasn’t he allegedly a Constitutional law professor?
Of course I am no lawyer and this will have to be settled in the courts. No matter how it all turns out things are going to get uglier than they already are, if that is even possible.
I believe, as do many who have looked at this, that King Hussein has overstepped his authority and has usurped the Constitution.
NPR has an interesting article about it
*If he is going to act like a dictator I will address him as one.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: adjourn, constitution, king barack hussein, lies, recess appointment, Senate
Congress Won’t Hurt Economy So Obama Will
Jan 4, 2012 Political
Barack Obama took an unprecedented step today by making the appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Why is this unprecedented? Because the Senate is still in session. The Senate is the body that advises and consents to Presidential appointments and presidents are only allowed to make an appointment when the Senate is in recess and unable to take up the process.
The Senate is in pro forma session. They meet every three days so they are still in session. It is obvious that this is being done to prevent recess appointments and it is not something new. Harry Reid did the exact same thing to prevent George Bush from making recess appointments.
Of course, Reid supports what Obama did because he now views the process as obstructive. Got that? When Democrats do it then it is good but when Republicans do it then it is obstructive.
The morons at the Daily Kos are happy with Obama and support the move. Imagine how they (and Harry Reid) would have reacted had Bush appointed someone during the pro forma sessions held by Democrats. We don’t need to imagine. We know they would have lost their minds and called Bush King George and a dictator. But when messiah Obama does it then it is fine and dandy.
It was reported just yesterday that Obama would not make any appointments during this recess (that is not a recess) but he evidently was persuaded by his handlers to do this.
Obama has engaged in a power grab in order to hurt the country. Obama himself said he did this because Congress refuses to do the things that will hurt the nation:
“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 in a way that hurts our economy and puts people at risk, I have an obligation as president to do what I can without them.” [emphasis mine] USA Today
Obama makes two admissions here. The first is that Cordray will hurt the economy and people and the second is that if Congress refuses to hurt the economy and the people then it is up to Obama to do so.
Obama has been doing things that circumvent Congress since he took office. He continually claims that he wants to work with Congress but if the Congress does not do what he wants then he will look for other ways. This is not how the country works. Our government is supposed to be one of checks and balances and the Constitution spells out how things are done.
Obama has rejected the checks and balances and the Constitution in order to push his agenda. This is the mark of a dictator and Obama has left no doubt that he fits that bill.
He sees himself and his position as being above the rules and the process.
He sees himself above following the Constitution.
And he will end up getting lots of pushback from Congress. This matter will end up in court, it will end up being an issue in the campaign and it will end up biting him in his rear.
The Republicans in Congress need to refuse to do anything for this man from now on. Do not debate legislation, do not take up what he wants, and do not do any of it at all. Tell him that he gets NOTHING.
King Barack Hussein needs a swift kick in his donkey.
And to the liberals, if you think this is OK then you all need to remember that a Democrat will not always occupy the White House. If this stands then a precedent has been set and a Republican president can appoint anyone during any pro forma session and you all will need to STFU about it.
Looks like this appointment runs in opposition to the view of Obama’s own Justice Department…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: abuse of power, Democrats, Harry Reid, lies, Obama, pro forma session, recess appointment
Obama Bypasses Senate Confirmation With Recess Appointment
Jul 7, 2010 Political
Barack Obama is a hypocrite, of this we have no doubt because he has shown time and again that he will do the very same things he criticized others for. He has done some of the very things that Bush did and for which Obama criticized Bush but the Obama sock puppets remain silent. Why, this man is trying to run our country and fix things so he should have some room to operate. How can we get in the way of this gifted speaker?
Obama used the week long recess, yes I wrote WEEK LONG, to appoint a controversial figure to be the head of Medicare and Medicaid. Obama did not do this over the August recess or the Christmas (winter for you pagan progressives) recess, no he did it over a week long recess and he did it in order to avoid the confirmation process.
Dr. Donald Berwick will be a recess appointment because he is controversial and he is opposed by most Republicans. He has made statements in the past about the need to ration care (whether we will do it with our eyes open or closed as we do now) and he would have received some very tough questioning had he gone before the Senate.
The White House is trying to lay this hypocritical move on Republicans by claiming that Republicans wanted to stall the process for political reasons. This is not true and is an attempt to either rationalize the move or rewrite history. In either case, it is not true. Berwick was nominated in April and the Democrats have not set a schedule for his confirmation hearings. They could have done that but they do not want the whole health care issue, one opposed by the majority of voters, brought up again before the midterm elections. This is the real reason that Obama is making the recess appointment.
Unfortunately, this means that Berwick will be damaged goods. This is not my opinion but the opinion of (mmm mmm mmm) Barack Hussein Obama himself. When George Bush made the 2005 recess appointment of James Bolton to be UN Ambassador, Obama had this to say:
To some degree, he’s damaged goods,” said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I think that means we’ll have less credibility and, ironically, be less equipped to reform the United Nations in the way that it needs to be reformed.
So according to Obama, Berwick will have less credibility and be less equipped to reform Medicaid and Medicare in the ways they need to be reformed.
HIS OWN WORDS ABOUT A RECESS APPOINTEE.
But wait, there’s more! When Bush made the 2007 recess appointment of Sam Fox as Ambassador to Belgium it was again, guess who, (mmm mmm mmm) Barack Hussein Obama who made the following statement:
It’s disappointing that President Bush would defy the will of Congress by appointing Sam Fox Ambassador to Belgium. I opposed Mr. Fox’s nomination because I had serious concerns about his candor, judgment, and qualifications for this important post. Appointing nominees that are opposed by a majority in Congress simply because they are political cronies is old style politics at its worst. Our nation’s ambassadors should possess strong credibility and character so that they may effectively represent U.S. interests overseas, and I don’t think President Bush applied that test with this recess appointment.
Well, well, well. Disappointing that a president would DEFY the will of Congress by making a recess appointment of someone opposed by members of Congress. Obama said a majority but we can’t know that because they never held the confirmation hearing. However, there were certainly people with concerns about the nomination because Obama indicates that he was one of them. So he was disappointed that the will of Congress was defied when he, Obama Almighty, was not able to question the person he opposed but he feels completely fine about appointing a person who is opposed by other members of Congress.
This is another example of Obama’s inability to lead. He talked a great game and feigned righteous indignation at the appropriate times but now that he is in the hot seat the very expectations he had of others do not apply to him.
This is the problem with people who have a messiah complex. They think they are above the rules, even the rules they once agreed with. It is equally true of those who hold Obama up as their messiah because they will completely ignore what he did or rationalize it.
Hear is some news for these people:
God gave us a Messiah, we need a president.
Source for Obama quotes:
Alpha Patriot
Big Dog Salute to Ron Smith of WBAL.
Never surrender, Never submit.
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
Tags: berwick, hypocrisy, lies, Obama, recess appointment