Senator Obama on the Constitution and the balance of powers
What a difference a few years—and a seat on the throne of power—make.
The context in which Trey Gowdy was speaking here was the debate on the Enforce the Law Act, by which Congress would attempt to give itself standing to sue a president for not “faithfully” executing the law. It has passed the House, with Republicans joined by five Democrats.
One would think that members of Congress would support this bill in a bipartisan way, but Democrats in Congress seem all too eager to cede their power to President Obama, who would like to be able to modify Congressional acts at will (which he has done so far, with impunity).
Here’s Gowdy:
I’m going to read a quote, and then you tell me who said it. “These last few years, we’ve seen an unacceptable abuse of power, having a president whose priority is expanding his own power.” Any guess on who said that, Mr. Speaker? It was Senator Barack Obama. Here’s another one: “No law can give Congress a backbone if it refuses to stand up as a co-equal branch as the Constitution made it.” Senator Barack Obama. “What do we do with a president who can basically change what Congress passed by attaching a letter saying, ”˜I don’t agree’ with this part or that part?” Senator Barack Obama. “I taught the Constitution for ten years, I believe in the Constitution.” Senator Barack Obama. And my favorite, Mr. Speaker: “One of the most important jobs of the Supreme Court is to guard against the encroachment of the executive branch on the power of the other branches, and I think the Chief Justice has been a little too willing and eager to give the president more power than I think Congress or the Constitution originally intended.”
So, my question, Mr. Speaker is, how in the world can you get before the Supreme Court if you don’t have standing? What did the president mean by that?…If you don’t have standing, how can you possibly get before the Supreme Court?
Even in the unlikely event that the Senate were to pass the bill, Obama is on record as saying he would veto it. That’s President Obama, of course; Senator Obama would have said otherwise, when a Republican president was in power.
[ADDENDUM: Here’s today’s example of the genre.]
When the King is lawless, must we obey the King?
Those that refused to obey Saddam Hussein were put into rape rooms.
Sure wish Gowdy had challenged Grahamnesty in SC.
I often watch CSPAN, and Gowdy appears to be a real conservative and a warrior. Go Trey.
apparently O learned a lot from his observations of W
@q “apparently O learned a lot from his observations of W”.
I think you meant Lenin and Mao.
W was a great and good man. Obama is a bad man and a worse leader.
“W was a great and good man. Obama is a bad man and a worse leader.”
Dubya is a good person, although he made, IMO, many damaging long term decisions which I can excuse becuase his heart was purely for the USA. BHO is, to put it kindly and stay ‘G’ rated, a deranged and dangerous narcissistic empty chair. F*&# him and the f*&#ing horse he rode in on. Burn the MSM down to the ground.
BTW Mr, Ms, It, q:
BHO and the Constitution are mutually exclusive. A matter of matter meets anti-matter. Stand back or else you will lose all the skin on your skull.
Mike: “When the King is lawless, must we obey the King?”
That may be an ethical question, but it’s also a risk assessment question.
This is group therapy. The half-life of its benefit is very short. We come here, having informed ourselves as to which of our oxen has been gored today, and vent.
Feel better for having done so? Will tomorrow be any better for today’s venting against venality, idiocy and evil?
No. Which is why we keep coming back.
Eric,
I agree. At some point the risk assessment question also becomes ethical though. I think we are past that point, but maybe not yet.
There was a debate in, I think, the 17th century on the matter – along the lines of the morality of removing a King (in a forceful way even) when the King is against the Nation and the people.
I think there were good reasons on both sides.