Apologists here for Obama’s use of executive orders point out the other recent presidents who’ve also overreached their use of executive orders. This makes the abuses more important, not less, as this has been an on-going deviation from the Constitutional limits of the president since at least FDR in the 30s. An executive branch run wild makes the abuses of kings and dictators almost inevitable. That is why it must be reined in; that’s why the framers constructed limited powers in their document. On the otherhand, there’s clear evidence that all of Obama & co.’s study of the Constitution must have been focuses on tactics to skirt its limitations.

The Department of Justice offered a defense Thursday for President Obama’s controversial decision to make several recess appointments while Congress was holding pro forma sessions.

In a memo, Justice argued the pro forma sessions held every third day in the Senate do not constitute a functioning body that can render advice and consent on the president’s nominees. It said the president acted consistently under the law by making the appointments.

“Although the Senate will have held pro forma sessions regularly from January 3 to January 23, in our judgment, those sessions do not interrupt the intrasession recess in a manner that would preclude the president from determining that the Senate remains unavailable throughout to ‘receive communications from the president or participate as a body in making appointments,’” Virginia Seitz, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, wrote in the memo dated Jan. 6.

The Office of Legal Counsel concluded the president has authority to make recess appointments during a recess and that Congress can only prevent the president from making such appointments “by remaining continuously in session and available to receive and act on nominations,” not by holding pro forma sessions.

Republicans, who had set up the pro forma sessions to prevent Obama from making the appointments, are expected to challenge them in court.
Obama used his recess-appointment powers to place Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He also named three people to the National Labor Relations Board.

Seitz offered several points in defense of Obama’s actions.

The memo noted that pro forma sessions typically last only a few seconds and require the presence of only one senator.

CONTINUED at The Hill.

Congressional officials said President Obama has used his recess appointment powers Wednesday to name a head for the controversial newConsumer Financial Protection Bureau in a move Republican lawmakers said amounted to an unconstitutional power grab.

Mr. Obama made the appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray even though theSenate, which has the power to confirm nominees, considers itself still in session.

But the White House argues Republican senators stonewalled the nominee for so long that Mr. Obama had no choice but to circumvent them.

In making the appointment, Mr. Obama rejected the precedent set by former President Clinton and the precedent Mr. Obama and his fellow Democrats set under President George W. Bush in 2007 and 2008.

“Although the Senate is not in recess, President Obama, in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the American people,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican.

GOP House Speaker John A. Boehner called the move “an extraordinary and entirely unprecedented power grab by President Obama that defies centuries of practice and the legal advice of his own Justice Department.”
“The precedent that would be set by this cavalier action would have a devastating effect on the checks and balances that are enshrined in our Constitution,” the Ohio Republican said in a statement.
Administration officials told the Associated Press they anticipate the move may be challenged in court.

The president is expected to introduce Mr. Cordray during a trip to Ohio Wednesday, and in prepared remarks the AP reported Mr. Obama will callSenate Republicans’ ongoing blockade of his nomination “inexcusable.”

CONTINUED at the Washington Times.

*Written by Rob Rimes.

1. Introduction:

Lucky for me, Colonel Allen West does not represent my district. I’m lucky enough to be within the boundaries of one of the very few GOP congressmen who is pretty much awesome. My congressman is Connie Mack, a guy who is actually trying to develop an effective plan to cut spending and get us out of this fiscal insanity (look up and read about his ‘Penny Plan’). Without getting off topic, this article isn’t about how dope my rep has been, it is a critique of the rep that borders my district. A rep that represents the core values and ideals of the Tea Party.. or so we thought.

Allen West is a Florida guy just like Marco Rubio, the last Tea Party hypocrite I wrote about in this ongoing series (here). Col. West is another one of the infamous Tea Party candidates that won an important election and now holds office. Obviously he is not living up to the hype of the Tea Party platform because I am writing about him. I did put him on blast already with the first installment of this series (here) but that obviously just scratched the surface and he’s done a few more questionable things since then in his short time as a congressman.

In my first article, I covered his support of the PATRIOT Act. Unfortunately for us, his non-Tea Party tendencies don’t end there. You see, Col. West is nothing more than an establishment cock who duped the voters into backing him. Apparently, just like with all these other two-faced fraudulent Tea Party fucksacks, West doesn’t understand that the public is paying attention like never before and there will be a time when the office he holds will be up for grabs again. He’s got time to turn this shit around but as far as I am concerned, this fucking turkey needs a serious chin check from his constituents.

2. The Issue of the Debt Ceiling:

When it comes to the issue of the debt ceiling, Allen West let us all down. Granted, most Republicans voted for the Boehner deal but as it was proven by the Cato Institute and many other sources for economic awesomeness the plan was complete bullshit. In fact, it was as useless as a rabbit without a dick. What the debt deal doesn’t do is it doesn’t cut spending, it doesn’t fix the deficit and in the long run it just gives the Beltway Suits more power to waste more of our hard-earned money. West obviously didn’t do his homework or he just went with the majority of the establishment and took the safer road.

Ron Paul, Michele Bachman, Justin Amash and my congressman Connie Mack all voted the right way, as did a dozen or more other Republicans. By aligning himself with the “politics as usual” crowd, West may have bought us some time but ultimately he just contributed to digging the hole a lot deeper. Eventually we will all have to face the music. But really, isn’t this what the Tea Party was trying to prevent? Isn’t the main purpose of the Tea Party to cut spending, balance the budget and get things to a place where they are fiscally stable? Well, if Allen West truly represents the Tea Party, I would have to say “no”.

Now I am perfectly aware that there are groups out there that are trying to push West into challenging Senator Bill Nelson for his seat and there are even some who are pushing for him to run for president in 2012 but c’mon people! This is just crazy as the guy has barely had a queef of a political career. These are like the “Rubio for President” people, they just don’t get it and they obviously don’t pay attention to a goddamned thing. Those people are the cancer that plagues the Republican Party and they are why it can’t move forward and change even with the Tea Party injection.

However, there are a lot of people who aren’t standing for this madness. In fact, one of the major Tea Party groups called out Col. Allen West and all the other “Tea Party” candidates that stood beside Boehner during this economic shit show. So how does West respond to being put on blast by the Tea party? Well, here’s something he said about it on the Laura Ingraham Show:

I think what we have to ask ourselves is, If you’re telling me that I need to vote ‘no’ against the Boehner plan, then what am I voting for? I’m going to stand with this Boehner plan and, once again, if the folks who one minute they’re saying that I’m their ‘Tea Party hero’ and what, three or four days later ‘I’m a Tea Party defector’ — that kind of schizophrenia I’m not going to get involved in.

That’s a pretty shitty statement as far as I am concerned. The Tea Party isn’t being schizophrenic on the issue, Col. West is being schizophrenic on what he supposedly represented before he was voted into office. I guess it’s easier to throw the shit right back and deflect it than to really explain yourself and to try and stand with those who put you in power, regardless of the challenging road ahead. But whatever, I’m sure he sleeps just fine at night.

3. The Issue of the Runaway Runway:

The debt ceiling issue isn’t the only area where Col. Allen West strays away from a Tea Party platform. Another issue that people need to be made aware of is that he is a big fan of pork, especially when it is a hearty helping of pork just for him! Massive feasts on pork should not be in any principled Tea Partiers diet but Allen West doesn’t seem to care. He’s like one of those people that says that they are vegetarian but they still eat chicken and fish. You’re not vegetarian people, just say you don’t eat beef and pork just like West should say that he is fiscally responsible except when it comes to a big ass plate of greasy fat bacon just for him!

You see, Allen West, who expresses that we have to stop all this spending and then points to all these other wasteful programs and projects, has just gotten $21 million dollars from the federal government to build a new runway at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport! West himself said:

This runway is long awaited and much anticipated. At this crucial time for our economy, it is imperative that we encourage this kind of development, which will bring thousands of jobs with it and boost tourism – South Florida’s number one economic engine.

M’kay.. that sounds like something a big government puppet would say from either party. If he truly represented the Tea Party he wouldn’t have taken the money. Instead, he would’ve understood that government meddling and involvement in such matters stifles capitalism and economic freedom. In the end, we all lose in this sort of scenario. However, because it is HIS project, he can justify such actions. He can try and explain it away as a job creator and a way to boost the Florida economy but at the end of the day he employed a big government solution to a practical problem that an unregulated free market could’ve straightened out real quick.

I guess it is too much to assume that this Tea Party monster hasn’t watched Milton Friedman’s ‘Free To Choose’ or read Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt or any of the other economic greats. Maybe instead of just taking these Tea Party candidates at their word when they express the rhetoric, the Tea Party members should hold them to a higher standard and check their credentials. Just a thought.

4. The Issues of Everything Else:

Now I don’t want to just bash Allen West here; I am barely being as harsh as I’ve been known to be with others. I did write about his support of the PATRIOT Act in the first part of this series of articles. I’ve also written about how it is a monstrous law that strips away our freedoms, costs us a shitload of money via taxation and is downright evil and tyrannical unlike anything else the American people have been forced to live with by their elected officials (except maybe Lincoln’s insane ego-driven power grabs). The reason I am revisiting it is because Col. Allen West voted against it recently. He spoke out about how he really studied it, looked into it and decided that he could no longer support it. That’s pretty awesome coming from an ex-military leader. For that, my hat goes off to him because there are still far too many politicians on the right and the left that are supporting this abhorrent violation of our constitutional rights. This also allows me to have some hope. Hope that as he moves on in his career he will learn from his mistakes, analyze the facts more carefully and reassess some of his decisions. Well, one can only hope. So far the outlook is still grim.

As far as his voting record goes, I wasn’t crazy with the fact that he voted for H.R. 2715 which “..provides the Consumer Product Safety Commission with greater authority and discretion in enforcing the consumer product safety laws, and for other purposes.” Again, dude needs to learn what Friedman, Rothbard and others have to say on the subject. Also, what’s with the “other purposes” part? That’s pretty goddamned vague isn’t it? This is nothing more than a bill that gives increased power to a government agency and power that isn’t even clearly defined for that matter. Do we need a product safety commission? I’m not against the idea but I am against the government handling it. The private sector is more capable of handling these things but big government stooges would rather you think differently and apparently this Tea Party “smaller government – less spending” freshman does. If only there were a way to quantify the fiscal waste here.

Another major thing that Allen West did, that is seemingly under the radar, is that he broke away from the GOP on their strategy to pull apart Obamacare. Essentially, West claims that it is pointless to fight the health care leviathan as he already voted to repeal it and the Democrat-led Senate immediately thwarted the efforts of the House Republicans. So instead of voting against Obamacare again and again, he has given up and accepted defeat essentially. I mean, the methods the House is using to combat this thing might not be the best per se but at least they aren’t easing up on it and their message is clear. Tea Partiers as well want this parasitic legislation defeated. It must not be that important to Col. Allen West or maybe the fact that he has two applicants for federally-funded school-based health centers in his district has him walking on eggshells. Point is, I understand that he feels that his votes are wasted. However, the choice is simple, you either check the ‘yes’ box or you check the ‘no’ box. There is a right decision and there is a wrong decision. To just check the ‘no’ box takes the same amount of energy and effort as checking the ‘yes’ box. The message he needs to send is to his constituents not his party. If he, as their leader, gives up on it, then what’s the point of him even being there. At this early into his career he’s pretty much turned his back on one of the key Tea Party issues. This may note bode well for his future plans.

5. Conclusion:

Allen West is still new, he’s still working through the kinks but as I have said in previous articles, we don’t have time for him to figure this all out. We need leaders who have a clear cut agenda and who stick to it. Guys like Ron Paul who have always voted the same way and who have been completely transparent and unfaltering in their decisions are the kind of leaders we need. Sadly, Ron Pauls are very far and few between. However, Dr. Paul’s son Rand Paul is also a freshman Tea Party candidate and he has spoken loud, made an impact and hasn’t backed down from the platforms and ideals he represented in his campaign. At this point, he is the measuring stick for all other Tea Party freshman. Maybe that’s not fair but is it really that hard to just go to Washington and do what you said you were going to do? It’s not for Rand Paul but apparently it is for guys like Allen West and Marco Rubio. So if they can’t handle it, maybe someone else needs to do the job?

I wish we had time for these guys to figure out their shit but we don’t. The problem is that most of these Tea Party Republicans were just pandering to the movement to get elected. Now that they are in they know that it is hard to remove an incumbent. Maybe these guys are banking on the possibility that the Tea Party was just a fad and that by the time the next election rolls around, they’ll be free and clear to just coast on through their career without any real GOP primary challengers to give them a run for their money. I really hope not.