Smith: Imperial president: Obama has pattern of overreaching

photo Robin Smith

In recent remarks, President Barack Obama declared he would work around the U.S. Constitution - the supreme law of the land - to "get things done" by avoiding the U.S. Congress. This proclamation was followed by similar comments in Obama's State of the Union address standing in front of the other two branches of government under the guise of growing the economy: "So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do."

The unconstitutional statement was met with many rising to their feet in support of an imperial president.

The circumvention of constitutional process in haranguing Congress didn't begin with Barack Obama. The use of executive power has been tested throughout the administrations of both Republican and Democratic presidents.

However, a congressional hearing last week yielded a self-identified "progressive" Democrat providing testimony in his field of expertise, constitutional law, with a statement that should stir every citizen.

Dr. Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, observed that the malignant and illegal expansion of executive power by Barack Obama has America at "a constitutional tipping point." Turley continued, "My view is that the president has in fact exceeded his authority in a way that is creating a destabilizing influence in a three-branch system."

What would cause a law professor to join others in offering such alarming testimony in a congressional hearing?

The Obama administration has become infamous for its tactics of not enforcing federal law and for rewriting law to meet its whims with no congressional participation. Specific citations of Obama's ruling by decree are concrete, as recorded by Forbes in a Feb. 24 article:

• Ignoring immigration law enforcement;

• Halting deportation;

• Initiating 35 changes to existing law regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, 23 changes since July 2013 alone;

• Creating law by issuing countless waivers through the Department of Education to avoid standard enforcement and the EPA's unharnessed attack on industry;

• Signing 23 orders directed at gun control;

• Arbitrarily selecting laws to enforce or ignore;

• Expanding the NSA's domestic spying operations.

In declaring his independence from Congress and willful defiance of his oath of office to "faithfully execute the Office of the President ... to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution," Barack Obama proves he's a lawless tyrant unashamedly committed to accomplishing his political agenda while thumbing his nose at our established laws, our current law-abiding citizens, and the very process that makes the United States a democratic republic and not a dictatorship.

On Dec. 3, Dr. Turley offered up additional evidence of Barack Obama's despotism. "The danger is quite severe. The problem with what the president is doing is that he's not simply posing a danger to the constitutional system. He's becoming the very danger the Constitution was designed to avoid. We have what many once called an imperial presidency model of largely unchecked authority. And with that trend we also have the continued rise of this fourth branch. We have agencies that are quite large that issue regulations ..."

While candidate Obama touted his history of teaching constitutional law, President Obama is teaching the world how to oppress a free people in open mockery of our nation's law and Constitution.

Barack Obama has set the mark for radical ruling by demonstrating "he does not have a fixed truth -- truth to him is relative and changing; everything to him is relative and changing." Saul Alinsky should be very proud.

Robin Smith served as chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, 2007 to 2009. She is a partner at the SmithWaterhouse Strategies business development and strategic planning firm and serves on Tennessee's Economic Council on Women.

Upcoming Events