The pen and phone

Obama recently proclaimed that he will govern by executive order.  He said that he "has a pen and a phone" and will govern without the consent of congress if necessary.

What is scary about this?

Well, a lot.  But, usually the president has, at least, taken the trouble to hide his lawlessness behind lies or incompetent yes men.

Now, unencumbered by ever having to run for office again, he has no fear of the people, Republicans or even members of his own party.

I recently read a 4th grade primer entitled, "The Constitution and You."  The book clearly outlined the separation of powers.  The framers of our constitution feared a tyrannical government, which is why they definitively separated the powers of government among the executive, legislative and judicial branches.  The system is so easy that a nine-year-old can understand it.

Were the founders of our country fear mongering lunatics?  No, they left a tyrannical government to set up a new form of government which was controlled by the people.  So, they knew what they were doing when they separated those powers - they did it on purpose to curtail the activity of an out of control branch.  In recent decades, there has been a fear of activist judges legislating from the bench.  But, now, we can clearly see which branch is abusing its power - the executive.

Thank goodness the House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans.  They have been able to frustrate some of Obama's progressive, liberal agenda.  But, he is tired of that.  If Republicans won't roll over and play like he wants, he will take his pen and phone and stompy foot into his Oval Office and do whatever he wants.

Let me be quick to say that the president does enjoy executive privilege and all presidents have used this privilege during their tenure.  (No one has used it anywhere near as many times at Obama.) But, it is there and it exists for a reason.

If a law needs to be clarified or explained, the president can issue an executive order for that.  The executive order is meant to support or uphold the law (like judges are supposed to do) NOT REWRITE THE LAW.

One of the most egregious acts of Obama's reign of tyranny is his penchant for rewriting Obamacare over and over again at his own whim.  He has re-written the law over a dozen times.  These changes didn't help or improve the law, they didn't support the law.  The changes have frustrated the law, have brought insurance companies close to ruin and have only made this albatross law harder to comprehend and navigate.

Let's be clear - he isn't allowed to do that.  This should be as scary for Democrats as it is for Republicans.  What if a conservative president is elected next?  Will Democrats and MSNBC stand by quietly while he or she governs with only a pen and a phone?  I don't think so.

Clearly the media does have a role in this lawlessness.  I think that if a Republican were to destroy the constitutional separation of powers the way that Obama has done, there would be media outrage.

But, Obama had better be careful.  Right now, you have a pen and a ballot and we can all send a big message to Washington this November.