tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post9074283051936685699..comments2023-10-30T12:22:17.806-04:00Comments on Liberty Takes Effort: Less like a president than a kingLiberty Takes Efforthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13398225334133635697noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-10709987919781560622017-03-06T06:31:19.029-05:002017-03-06T06:31:19.029-05:00This is an interesting opinion piece by George Wil...This is an interesting opinion piece by George Will in the Washington Post on 3/6/17 titled, 'Big Government is ever growing - on the sly' on the dispersing of the federal workforce to states, private companies, and non-profits. <br />http://www.capecodtimes.com/opinion/20170305/big-government-is-ever-growing-on-sly Liberty Takes Efforthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13398225334133635697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-28773405709937193112014-11-24T18:04:25.663-05:002014-11-24T18:04:25.663-05:00President Obama issued several executive orders as...President Obama issued several executive orders as part of his Immigration Accountability Action on November 20, 2014. Information related to this can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/immigration-action This action, regardless of the policy value, is a major exercise of executive power that further consolidates power in the executive branch. As stated in this blog post and others this trend is dangerous and has just traversed a new and more expansive path. Those who support the action will likely one day regret the day of its signing. Another president of the future, not supportive of their views, just got a lot more powerful and they will feel the effect of that power. Liberty Takes Efforthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13398225334133635697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-38624481175344432222014-08-27T07:51:56.362-04:002014-08-27T07:51:56.362-04:00The NYT reported on 8/27/2014 that President Obama...The NYT reported on 8/27/2014 that President Obama intends to pursue binding international agreements to reduce carbon emissions without a treaty that would require U.S. Senate confirmation. There are many issues associated with such action described in the article. Once again, unable or unable to build coalitions in the legislative branch the President opts for executive action that may be unconstitutional. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/us/politics/obama-pursuing-climate-accord-in-lieu-of-treaty.html?_r=0Liberty Takes Efforthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13398225334133635697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-73137949263735363402014-08-09T08:05:18.056-04:002014-08-09T08:05:18.056-04:00President Obama signed Executive Order --Fair Pay ...President Obama signed Executive Order --Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces on July 31, 2014 http://tinyurl.com/muf8jmm . This Executive Order is no more than a give away to labor unions and trial lawyers. A critique in the Wall Street Journal of 9 August is worth reading, "With the stroke of a pen, the President rewrites federal labor laws http://tinyurl.com/mnxsrsa ." It will surely achieve three things, 1) the bureaucracy will increase in size, 2) the taxpayer will pay higher costs for any federal project or service, 3) fewer companies will do business with the federal government as they see the cost and complexity of compliance to be too great. Liberty Takes Efforthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13398225334133635697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-91205502110788892092014-07-25T07:50:12.315-04:002014-07-25T07:50:12.315-04:00FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN MORE FULLY UNDERSTANDING T...FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN MORE FULLY UNDERSTANDING THIS ISSUE THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION IS PROVIDED<br /><br />1. William P. Marshall wrote in the Boston University Law Review in 2008 an instructive essay titled “Eleven Reasons Why Presidential Power Inevitably Expands and Why it Matters.” He asserts that the expansion of presidential power is unquestionable and results from “technological, social, and legal changes.” <br /><br />Marshall describes eleven factors influencing the growth of presidential power and provides some recommendations for action to slow, but probably not stop, the expansion:<br /><br />1) The role of executive branch precedent should be reconsidered. <br />2) Promote Department of Justice independence. <br />3) Combat executive branch secrecy<br />4) Congress should pursue its institutional obligations<br />5) We all need to stop reflexively supporting as constitutional the actions of the president we support<br /><br />2. If one or both houses of the Congress see their loyalty more to their party than to the institution to which they were elected there will be no counter balance to the growth of presidential power. If Congress is a rubber stamp for the president or it does not exercise its power to counterbalance the president it will soon be powerless and it will not matter who controls the bodies.<br /><br />3. Executive Orders have been used by presidents since George Washington to direct the executive branch in the execution of direct constitutional powers and laws. Executive Orders have taken a prominent role in the expansion of presidential powers particularly since Lincoln. The volume itself is concerning, but the cumulative effect and the invoking of precedence have contributed to a primacy of the Executive that is counter to the founding principles. <br /><br />Most disturbing is the use of Executive Orders to end run the Congress. Presidents increasingly are using the Executive Order in place of the passage of laws to implement their will. <br /><br />The American Bar Association (ABA) criticized George W. Bush in 2006 stating, “The president’s constitutional duty is to enforce laws he has signed into being unless and until they are held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or a subordinate tribunal.” One would assume the ABA intended this caution to all presidents.<br /><br />4. Signing Statements were used by presidents early on in the republic, but they were not used frequently until the Reagan administration. Each president since Reagan has used the signing statement to note their objection and stated power to ignore some or all of a given law as they assert a Constitutional power that is not evident to most. <br /><br />5. The people working in the Washington bureaucracy, often called the fourth branch of government, are overwhelmingly Democratic. Washington D.C. has a Democratic voter registration of 75% and voted for President Obama in 2012 by over 90%. The suburbs of Virginia voted Democratic in the 2012 presidential election from 60 to over 70%. Montgomery County, MD voted 71% for President Obama in 2012 and Prince Georges County, MD voted for him with an astounding 90% of the vote.<br /><br />6. The House of Representatives is considering a lawsuit against President Obama for failure to faithfully execute the Affordable Care Act. Regardless of one’s political alignment on this issue, there are important constitutional issues to be considered. In particular, “what is the limiting principle of the president’s discretionary authority in implementing the law?” A very interesting CSPAN covered hearing in which lawyers for and against provided testimony is available at http://www.c-span.org/video/?320415-1/hearing-lawsuit-president-obama<br /><br />Liberty Takes Efforthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13398225334133635697noreply@blogger.com