At his January 28 State of the Union Speech, Obama is expected to formally announce the acceleration of his unconstitutional plot to “fundamentally transform” America — regardless of whether or not Congress approves. Instead of adhering to the U.S. Constitution as his oath of office requires, the president and his top aides have said repeatedly that Obama’s radical agenda will be foisted on the nation via decree — so-called “executive orders” and “executive actions” — if lawmakers do not promptly roll over. Critics and members of Congress, however, are already outraged.
In January 14 remarks about making 2014 a “year of action,” Obama, sounding more like a third-world dictator than a U.S. president, told reporters that he was not just “going to be waiting for legislation.” His job description, of course, is to faithfully execute the laws — not make them. Before his first cabinet meeting of the year, however, he said: “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone — and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward.” By “the ball,” Obama was referring to his radical agenda.
In recent days, despite a nationwide outcry over the accelerating dictatorial machinations, his top officials have been publicly reiterating the plan to rule by decree ahead of the State of the Union speech. “If Congress doesn’t act, the president will,” White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer told Fox News on Sunday, adding that Obama planned to offer “practical” schemes to move America “forward.” If lawmakers do not cooperate, he will simply bypass them, Pfeiffer suggested. “You can do a lot,” the advisor added, citing edicts on “climate change” and “education.”
Speaking to CNN as part of what appeared to be a coordinated propaganda blitz, Pfeiffer made similar remarks. “He is going to look in every way he can with his pen and his phone to try to move the ball forward,” Pfeiffer said. “We’re putting an extra emphasis on it in 2014,” he continued, saying Obama will “assure to the American people that we can get something done either through Congress or on our own because what they want are answers.”
In a letter to Obama supporters over the weekend, Pfeiffer also indicated the massive scope of the effort. “President Obama has a pen and he has a phone, and he will use them to take executive action and enlist every American … in the project to restore opportunity for all,” he wrote. The scheming, Pfeiffer said, will cover everything from increasing the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits to expanding pre-kindergarten “education” and legalizing an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants — the vast majority of whom will vote Democrat, according to surveys.
White House spokesman Jay Carney made similar unconstitutional threats during an interview with ABC. “To work with Congress where he can and to bypass Congress where necessary,” Carney said of the agenda, adding that 2014 would be a “year of action.” It was not immediately clear what would make it “necessary” to “bypass” Congress, though based on the administration’s record so far, it appears that whenever lawmakers refuse to bow down, executive decrees follow.
Among other examples of the administration lawlessly ruling by decree has been the bogus fight against supposed “global warming.” When Congress refused to adopt radical anti-carbon decrees that Obama admitted would cause energy prices to “skyrocket,” the administration simply used the EPA to impose the scheme via edict. After even the Democrat-controlled Senate refused to pass Obama’s assault on gun rights, the administration simply attacked the right to keep and bear arms with “executive orders.”
He also foisted Common Core nationalized education on America using decrees, and even started a war without so much as asking Congress — much less obtaining the constitutionally required declaration of war. Despite having sworn an oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution, which reserves all legislative powers to Congress, Obama claims to be under the mistaken impression that he can simply rule by “executive order.” While the unconstitutional abuse of non-existent executive powers has become a decades-long bipartisan trend, Obama has pushed the lawlessness to new levels.
Half-baked efforts to create a false impression of congressional GOP resistance notwithstanding, Congress, even the House under Republican leadership, has largely served as a rubber stamp for Obama’s agenda thus far. Some lawmakers, however, faced with surging levels of public outrage, are starting to speak out. “It sounds vaguely like a threat, and I think it also has a certain amount of arrogance,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has introduced legislation to rein in the administration.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), meanwhile, also blasted the machinations. “The president says he has a pen to sign executive orders and a phone to rally support,” he said. “The Congress should insist that he find the Constitution and follow it.” Sen. Blunt also noted that Obama’s “bad policies” — “more regulations, more taxes, higher utility bills and healthcare turmoil” — “hurt poor Americans the most.” Sen. Ted Cruz said Obama should apologize for lying.
Of course, Congress has multiple avenues available to rein in the out-of-control administration — the most obvious and important: simply refuse to fund unconstitutional edicts. As Americans across the political spectrum and even lawmakers become increasingly frustrated, however, efforts to impeach Obama have been gaining support. Whether the “year of action” threats and decrees will serve as the last straw remains to be seen.
Photo of President Obama delivering his Jan. 24, 2012 State of the Union address: AP Images
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected].
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