When is anyone going to start getting concerned?
President Obama used his recess appointment powers Wednesday to name a head for the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three new members to the National Labor Relations Board — moves Republican lawmakers said amounted to an unconstitutional power grab.
The president acted just a day after the Senate held a session — breaking with at least three different precedents that said the Senate must be in recess for at least three days for the president to exercise his appointment power. Mr. Obama himself was part of two of those precedents, both during his time in the Senate and again in 2010 when one of his administration’s top constitutional lawyers made the argument for the three-day waiting period to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Obama tapped former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the CFPB, and named three others to the labor board — all of which had been stymied by congressional Republicans who said Mr. Obama is accruing too much power to himself through those two agencies.
In strikingly sharp language, Republicans said the Senate considers itself still in session for the express purpose of blocking recess appointments, and the move threatened to become a declaration of war against Congress.
“Although the Senate is not in recess, President Obama, in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the American people,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican.
It kind of ignores the word “Recess” as well as Obama’s own stated adminstration policy.
It turns out that the action not only contradicts long-standing practice, but also the view of the administration itself. In 2010, Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal explained to the Supreme Court the Obama administration’s view that recess appointments are only permissible when Congress is in recess for more than three days. Here’s the exchange with Chief Justice John Roberts:
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: And the recess appointment power doesn’t work why?
MR. KATYAL: The — the recess appointment power can work in — in a recess. I think our office has opined the recess has to be longer than 3 days. And — and so, it is potentially available to avert the future crisis that — that could — that could take place with respect to the board. If there are no other questions –
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Thank you, counsel.
Back in 2005, President Stinking Hypocrite had a different opinion on recess appointments in general:
“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.”
The anencephalic Harry Reid applauded Obama’s power grab despite of a history of blocking Bush from doing the same:
Iain (here and here) and Dan (here) are right to be outraged at President Obama’s brazenness (if not lawlessness) on the recess appointments, but it is not like he lacks accomplices. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has backed the president’s play, according to the Hill. Senate Democrats will no doubt echo that support.
The hypocrisy here is blatant, even by congressional standards. In 2007, Reid kept the senate in pro forma session in order to block President Bush from making recess appointments — particularly, the eminently qualified Steve Bradbury’s appointment to head DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel. “I had to keep the Senate in pro forma session to block the Bradbury appointment,” Reid recounted in 2008. “That necessarily meant no recess appointments could be made.
Obama is out of control. He is dangerous. We are headed toward a Constitutional crisis. Thus I feel a need to reiterate Andy McCarthy’s plea:
So my question is: are Republicans just going to grouse about this, or are they actually going to do something about it?
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
Maybe that Sheriff in AZ is getting close to the truth about BHO’s origins….
1 Out of 51: Only 1 Senate Dem Supports Obama’s Recess Claim
http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/06/only-one-senate-democrat-supports-obamas-recess-claim/
Headline more accurately should read 1 Out of 51: Only 1 Senate Dem Supports Obama’s Recess Claim….on the record.
No Senate Republican do.
As the entrenched Republican RINO scum are every bit as bad as the unprincipled Democrats in way to many issues, it must be supposed that Republicans will do nothing! As I have said many times on this site as well as others, the establishment doesn’t give one DAMN about the people or the laws of this land! Anyone in the electorate who would dare question the establishment political scum is looked down upon. And as I said, make no mistake about this! Time and again when pushed to the so called wall, establishment Republicans have marched in lockstep with their counterparts when it comes to protecting their power.
And whose fault is this in the end? An electorate which with their hands out and their enforced indoctrination from the leftist scum educational system! An electorate that is so “ME” oriented it refuses to take its most sacred right seriously, the right to vote! An electorate that in “mind numbed robot” (as Rush would say I know, but so apt) blind faith, refuses to take the responsibility to even read or learn about the candidates and their elected officials, choosing to believe the “Big Lie” as it is put forth by the state controlled co-opted media! As in any dictatorship, control the message, control the people! And now more than ever, it is apparent our elected officials, having in their minds successfully indoctrinated the electorate are quite confident in ignoring the laws of our land purely for the power lust and in turn delivering us to the third world status of the rest of the failed Marxist/Socialist states.
Drjohn asks at the beginning of his piece, when are we going to get concerned? I ask the electorate in general. When are the majority of you going to get their heads out of their asses (please excuse my crass comment, but it is exactly how I feel) and if nothing else take responsibility and actually do your civic duty? When is the electorate going to take control of our country back from the treasonous bastards of both parties? In the end, that is the biggest problem of all.
In other posts, including this sight, I’ve seen more than once and for that matter used it myself, the Hitler analogy as to the Big Lie, one this administration as well as the scum on the Republican side use with open impunity to keep their power base! However, there is one difference now that wasn’t there until the last 20 years or so. The information one needs to make an educated vote is now there and easy to find. One just has to look for it, read and or listen to it from both sides and then make what should be an informed decision. And in this endeavor, this electorate with the lack of responsibility on their part, with this” I want” attitude and so on has sadly failed.
So as Drjohn said! When is someone going to get concerned? Easy answer! When the electorate on a whole hopefully becomes responsible exercise their right to vote with responsibility, not blindly but being self informed and hopefully adhering to the principles that made this country great! One must hope this transpires soon or this country is doomed. This isn’t just about a power grab! This is about an Anti-American President and the elected officials of both parties who have chosen to ignore the laws of our land and spit on “We the People”! And it is in the end the people’s fault! And in that we should be very concerned indeed!
DJ…the cow left the barn a long time ago my friend.
Hate to cast some inconvenient facts here, drj. But unfortunately the only reason that the GOP is using this is not because they don’t like the appointee, but that they wanted to use the appointment process to delay the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at all.
Unfortunately, the Dodd-Frank legislation was passed by the Dem majority Congress in the dark of night, and is a reality on the books until it’s repealed. Hey, I think it’s a detrimental POS bill myself. While delaying putting the agency czar in place for an enacted law may have good intentions, it is not heinous to engage in recess appointments that have happened in the past. Right now, the only way to draw attention to the useless and detrimental agency is to make a stink about the appointment process.
But fact is, as appointees go, the GOP has no problem with Cordray as the guy.
As far as the Labor Relations Board… well, recess appointments are what they are. Such methods are not “unprecedented” at all.
OMG, He used the same executive power Bush did over a hundred times to appoint someone the GOP has been blocking for over two years to head an agency to help average Americans which THE CONGRESS CREATED? Say it ain’t so, LOL! The GOP has been blocking dozens of appointee as a political tactic to hurt Obama.
But it hurts average Americans. Wake up! Stop lying. Why do you hate America? And why are you playing to morons like Joebluecanary?
libbozo.. you should have quit at the “same executive power that Bush did” part and you might have made a point.
Blocking appointees is not a tactic used solely by the GOP, but is used by any minority party when available. Granted, your party has held power sway for the majority of seven decades… meaning they’ve had to employ the tactics less than the GOP in those decades. But there’s ample “blocking” done by the lib/progs since the GOP held power since the mid 90s to 2006. I might also add, the seven decades your party held power is als the same time they’ve managed to create and talk the rest of the nation into entitlement programs sinking our economy.
But to portray this as solely a GOP tactic indicates you are brain dead to history.
Dodd Frank will not be “helping” the average American and in fact will be hurting them by increased costs and interest/borrowing to sustain worthless fed jobs.
@MataHarley:
I re-read my post and I don’t see anything which asserts something contrary to what you wrote. I know that they think the position is without sufficient oversight, but that’s not the point.
If this stands, then what is to stop Obama from making any and ALL appointments “recess appointments”?
Nothing, drj. Just like every POTUS in history before him, recess appointments have always been utilized. The only thing that will stop any recess appointment is what the GOPers did not long ago by leaving a shadow presence in the beltway, that would prohibit the classification of “recess”.
The GOP didn’t do that over the Christmas holidays, and Obama took advantage of the “recess”. Granted, there could be an argument as to whether the recess mustered up to the 10 day rule. But that’s their only recourse. Other than that, nothing “unprecendented” about it whatsoever.
Ronald Reagan made about 240 recess appointments during his 8 years; George W. Bush made 171 .
Thus far Obama has made only about 30 recess appointments in a little over 3 years, despite the fact that republicans have obstructed nearly 20 percent of his attempted appointments to date. That’s an average of only 10 per year.
In what sense that represents “an unprecedented power grab” is beyond me.
The only things unprecedented are the levels of republican obstructionism and hyperbole.
Greg… geez… fish in a barrel comment, dude.
Obama only had to make about 30 recess appointments because two of the three years were governed by a big margin Democrat Congress in both chambers. Translating for the simple minded, the GOP had no power to block appointments in a supermajority Senate.
Gawd. Is it possible the opposition is so dumb as to really be this easy?
It could not be a recess appointment because Congress was not in recess. Period. It is illegal and invalid, and can reasonably seen as a foot in the door for further illegal actions in the future.
The anger this stunt engenders in a lot of people is partly because it’s far from the first illegal thing this Chicago crew has pulled since they arrived in D.C. They have been breaking the law and getting away with it since 2009.
That’s the “10 day” rule there, Wm T. i.e. most traditional Constitutional authorities definition of a recess. Therein lies the argument. Thus why I said the “10 day rule” as the only recourse.
Now whether the GOP pursues this… being as they don’t mind Cordray, but just mind the existence of the CFPB itself, remains to be seen. If they don’t fight it based on specifics of recess definitions, it’s as value as the law itself.
@MataHarley: Bush was blocked from making “recess” appointments in 2007 by Hairy Reid. He kept the Senate in “pro forma” session just as was done in this case, except that Obama doesn’t play nice.
It’s NOT about recess appointments. It’s about obliterating the rules. The Congress was in session. You guys keep missing the fine point here. You’re becoming the proverbial boiled frogs.
And I ain’t alone any longer.
They didn’t hold the necessary meetings to be in consideration for a “pro forma” session, drj. I already mentioned this below. My guess is that the GOP got caught with their pants down on this one, never dreaming Obama would do this over the holidays.
Now, if the recess doesn’t meet their Senate rules via days, they may have a chance there. Will they pursue it? I doubt it…
Same thing as I said to Wm T. The “days” of the “recess” is their only recourse. If they don’t fight it on those rules’ grounds, the appointment is as legal as any other recess appointment.
@MataHarley:
The answer is
YES YES YES
Obama absolutely depends on it.
@MataHarley: As noted in the post, this action violates their own SCOTUS stipulations.
These are hypocrites. Liars.
@MataHarley, #12:
Probably not, but I encourage people to keep believing that it is.
Are you saying that an unprecedented number of Obama civilian appointments were not blocked by Republican use of Senate rules or filibusters during 2009 and 2010? I seem to recall those years differently.
drj, as the jurist points out, what the courts may look at as a “sham pro forma”… i.e. perfunctory meetings where no real business is conducted… isn’t likely to make the grade for the argument merely to make a political statement. And the statement here is that Dodd-Frank’s creation of the CFPB is a lousy law.
I don’t disagree in the slightest. However as long as the law is in force, that body will be created one way or another… despite trying to play the rules.
THe Jurist points out there is legal precedent for this.
As noted… and pay attention, Greg and libbozo… Harry Reid used the same tactics in 2007. Therefore it is not, even in recent history, “unprecedented”.
Also note that the Constitution doesn’t establish the minimum times for breaks as it relates to Presidential appointments during a recess. All in all, should the GOP attempt to challenge Obama on the rules, I doubt they’d find a friendly judicial opinion awaiting them.
It sucks. But it’s not unprecedented, and it’s not solely a GOP maneuver.
@MataHarley: Again, I point out that their actions are contrary to their own stipulations.
And that is the point.
I do believe your point was your headline, drj. Which happens to scream something about “an unprecedented power grab”.
As I’ve pointed out, it’s not unprecedented in the least.
And it’s certainly no surprise that Obama does something the opposite of what his mouthpieces said in the past. This is a guy who has generals and other appointees that say one thing, while he does another. Nor does it surprise me that when Obama wants something, he’ll have his legal guys look into it to see if it will fly.
In this case, it may or it may not. But it may never be questioned if the GOP doesn’t pursue it legally. Since the GOP has no problem with Cordray, I doubt they will. In which case all the posturing and indignation is somewhat worthless, don’t you think? You should, instead be writing to McConnell and Boehner.
@MataHarley: I hear you, but I take Andy McCarthy’s side.
@DrJohn, LOL. Well, I understand. But you start walking on thin ice, playing the moral high road with commonly used tactics by both parties.
I suspect you and McCarthy will be highly disappointed. The GOP will not pursue this because of their own hypocrisy and exposure. But they will try to play this as a political talking point this year.
Problem is, weak points like these are so easily debunked when we have much stronger issues against Obama than this. The issue is not the appointment. The issue should be that any appointment for such an agency is done under protest by the GOP because of the idiocy of the panel and it’s bogus existence to begin with. That’s a legit protest. But until it’s repealed, it’s stil the law of the land.
Same with all this crap for O’healthcare being created, and money spent. Both Dodd-Frank and O’healthcare were shoved down our throats via party line votes. But you can’t ignore enacted laws and still pretend you respect our government structure. That’s hypocritical in itself.
Perhaps what the GOP should have done was agree to Cordoray’s appointment but with one of those “signing statements”…. indicating a respect for rule of law, but a political protest for parts of that law.
Gee, Greg. You’re the one presenting yourself here as Mr. Statistic. Why don’t you tell us how many appointments were blocked via pro forma methods in the supermajority years. If they weren’t in recess, the GOP was powerless to do anything.
If they didn’t get them thru with a supermajority while in session, enough of their own party didn’t like the choices. And there’s some food for thought for ya. Ya know, like maybe the Blue Dogs were tired of being run over roughshod by the extreme left leadership? Why do you think it took so long, plus a little political bribery, for a supermajority to get Dodd-Frank and O’healthcare thru?
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/203617-house-gop-introduces-bill-disapproving-of-recess-appointments
Maybe they ought to consider filing a complaint in federal court while they’re at it.
Seems whenever one side says it is usurpation, it looks more like abdication to the other side.
A legal filing would clarify matters.