President Obama signaled in his SOTU address that his solution to the supposed obstructionism of the Republicans was to pursue his agenda unilaterally, invoking the (ever-increasing) power of the executive branch and the bureaucracy. The obvious part of that pursuit involves acting as he wishes, lack of legislative authorization notwithstanding, but the insidious part of that pursuit involves NOT acting. We’ve already seen how he’s “postponed implementation” of certain parts of ObamaCare which, given that there’s no provision for such unilateral rescheduling in the law, is doublespeak for disregarding the law and violating one of the central mandates of the Presidency i.e. the Take Care Clause.
Nor is it the first time he’s ignored the law of the land. Google will list myriad examples of “selective enforcement,” another euphemism for “I’ll decide when and how to apply the law.” There’s the decision not to argue in defense of the Defense of Marriage Act before the Supreme Court. While I disliked that law, the executive branch isn’t supposed to make those sorts of judgments. We can also look at the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS, find elements within Fast and Furious, witness directly the misuse of TARP money to bail out GM and the bullying that forced GM’s creditors to waive their rights under a century of bankruptcy law, and even ponder the lawfulness of his drone “kill list.”
Of course, this behavior isn’t new with Obama, but the from-day-1 adversarial tone that the administration set, the combativeness put forth on any issue where Congress disagrees with the President, and the expansive interpretation of presidential authority when taking action all strongly suggest that he’s taking it much farther, that there’s not a hint of respect of or deference to the limits of the office. A president who railed against the expansion of executive branch authority under his predecessor is all-in on it now that he’s in charge. His lamenting of the restrictions the system puts in place should scare anyone who has even the slightest respect for the principle of limited government.
It’s no surprise, then, that the GOP worries that a compromise agreement would get the “selective enforcement” treatment, that the elements of a bipartisan bill that important to its voters will have their implementation delayed or will be disregarded entirely, and that the bill will simply provide cover for the Democrats doing what they want. Voters should worry about that as well. The implications for the effective functioning of our government are not good. If the opposition party controlling half the legislative branch cannot trust that the deals they make will be faithfully executed, why should they make any deals?
Obama reminded us in 2009 that “elections have consequences, and at the end of the day I won.” He quickly abandoned that principle when the GOP took the House back in 2010, and has pretty much dismissed the will of the voters ever since (had he respected the “elections have consequences” mantra, he would have copied Clinton and shifted his ideology and his approach to conform to the new reality). Yes, he got re-elected to the Presidency, but at the same time the voters left the House in the hands of the GOP. Rather than respect that decision by the electorate, he has opted for the path of lawlessness, and has done so overtly and aggressively. His “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone” declaration is a rather bold-faced threat to the opposition, the same sort of “my way or the highway” stance that he and the Democrats embraced during the health care reform debate.
In the refusal of the GOP to yield on some issues, and in its ambivalence regarding compromise on immigration, it’s safe to say that Obama is getting his just deserts. His lawlessness is a major contributing factor to the gridlock we are all-but-certain to face for the balance of his tenure as President. Meanwhile, bad policies and ill-conceived initiatives will continue onward, with little hope for corrective action – until he either wakes up to the fact that he’s not an emperor or until he leaves the White House.
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