Justices Challenge Obama's Abuse Of Power
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case challenging one of Barack Obama's abuses of power. Like you, I am frustrated that Obama is getting away with what appears to be extra-constitutional actions. Rarely a day goes by when I am not asked, "Why isn't something being done?"
Well, something is being done. The House of Representatives has launched several investigations and held numerous hearings. As you know, Obama's allies control the Senate, preventing unified action by Congress. In other situations, lawsuits have been filed in the courts, but they take time to work their way through the system. The abuse before the Supreme Court today, for instance, occurred two years ago!
On January 4, 2012, Barack Obama made four recess appointments, including filling three vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board. Now, no one disputes the president's authority to make recess appointments. But the Senate was in session when Obama made his appointments. Three lower federal courts have ruled that Obama's appointments were unconstitutional.
But guess what, folks? The Constitution gives him the right to appeal. And he has appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. Senate Republicans and 17 right-to-work states joined the lawsuit against Obama's executive overreach.
Insiders say that Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, half of the court's four-member liberal bloc, were skeptical of the legality of Obama's appointments, suggesting the decision could be 7-to-2 against Obama. A decision likely won't be issued until the summer.
If the justices decide that Obama's appointments were illegal, they could rule that everything the National Labor Relations Board did since January 2012 is null and void. The court could also avoid that issue entirely. If it refuses to address the board's actions, there will be another round of lawsuits that could take years more to resolve.
Here's to hoping the high court not only rules on the appointments, but also considers all decisions made by the board so we avoid any lingering doubt and confusion.
Ariel Sharon, R.I.P.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon passed away over the weekend after eight years in a coma. I was honored to meet with Prime Minister Sharon and a number of Israeli cabinet members on one of my first trips to Israel. We discussed the long alliance between our two great nations and why it must be maintained.
It was predictable but depressing to see reporters from a number of networks, including even Fox News, engaging in moral equivalence upon his death. This CNN headline is a good example: "Ariel Sharon: Hero or butcher?" The people who thought Sharon was a butcher and a war criminal were the enemies of Israel, who Sharon smashed whenever he could.
I believe that he made only one significant error. That was to believe Israel could withdraw from Gaza and get credit in the international community for doing so. The 2005 decision deeply divided Israel, and in short order Gaza fell into the hands of Hamas. It has been a launching pad for attacks on Israel ever since.
We learned all we needed to know about what Gaza would become when news broke that the Jews who lived there were not the only ones being forcibly evacuated. The Jews who died there had to be evacuated too. Jewish graves were literally dug up and the bodies removed because everyone understood that the graves would be desecrated by the Palestinians. Sadly, Israel has no credible partner in this so-called "peace process" with whom it can make peace.
"Hillary's Hit List"
The top story this morning on two of the Beltway's leading news sites, Politico and The Hill, carried the ominous title "Hillary's Hit List." The story is an excerpt of a new book about Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions. The release of this portion of the book is not at all flattering, and highlights the prickly relationship Hillary has had with political reporters, most of whom swooned for Obama.
As the title suggests, Hillary's campaign kept an extremely detailed list of members of Congress who supported her 2008 campaign and who did not. What is most telling is that even in the campaign's closing days, compiling Hillary's hit list remained a top priority. Consider this:
- "As one of the last orders of business for a losing campaign, they recorded in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet the names and deeds of members of Congress. They carefully noted who had endorsed Hillary, who backed Barack Obama, and who stayed on the sidelines …Almost six years later most Clinton aides can still rattle off the names of traitors and the favors that had been done for them… The data project ensured that the acts of the sinners and saints would never be forgotten.
"There was a special circle of Clinton hell reserved for people who had endorsed Obama or stayed on the fence after Bill and Hillary had raised money for them, appointed them to a political post, or written a recommendation to ice their kid's application to an elite school."
March For Life
The 41st annual March for Life will take place next Wednesday on January 22nd. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will come to Washington, D.C., to demonstrate their commitment to the sanctity of life and to be a voice for the most innocent and voiceless in our society. A lot of hard work goes into making a tremendous event like this possible. Much of it is done by volunteer organizations around the country.
A number of pro-life events will take place in conjunction with the March for Life. I am pleased to report that American Values is co-sponsoring prayer service at Constitution Hall Wednesday morning. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
I hope you'll make every effort to attend the March for Life and the prayer service, especially if you live within driving distance of Washington, D.C. Of course, most folks can't come to Washington, but many churches will observe Sanctity of Life Sunday this weekend. I encourage you to find out what is going on in your community and to be involved in the "good fight" for the right to life!