..... Wonder how That Happened?
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"The “great leader” model of the presidency is extraordinarily dangerous. President Obama proves it each and every day; it’s what gives him the power to tell our enemies that he’ll have more “flexibility” after his “last election.” He’s our leader; we’re his followers. It’s that easy to him."By Ben Shapiro
America’s constitutional structure is built on checks and balances. The idea behind these checks and balances is simple: We want interest counteracting interest, ego counteracting ego. We don’t want any one person to gain too much power — or any one faction or any one way of thought.
Gridlock, for lack of a better word, is good.
President Barack Obama, however, has a different idea. He believes that America must be fundamentally transformed. That fundamental transformation cannot be effectuated without a fundamental transformation of the system of American government.
No wonder, then, that President Obama declared war on the Supreme Court this week.
Now, there’s a case to be made that the Supreme Court should not have the power of judicial review. That case is basic: If the Supreme Court can strike down anything at any time in the name of the Constitution, that power elevates it above the other branches. The checks and balances break down. The argument against judicial review is an argument in favor of checks and balances, not against them.
But that’s not the argument Obama made. Instead, he argued that the Supreme Court should not strike down Obamacare, because that would be “unprecedented” and “extraordinary.” What’s so new about the Supreme Court’s doing what it’s been doing since 1803? Nothing, exactly, except that it would cut against Obama. In other words, judicial review is only bad when it rules against Obama.
The same holds true of Congress. Congress is great when it does what Obama wants. When it doesn’t, Obama wants the power to simply ignore it. He has repeatedly stated on various issues, “If Congress won’t act, I will.” He’s used his executive branch powers to appoint dozens of czars with Cabinet-level power but without Cabinet positions so that he doesn’t have to have them approved by Congress. He’s appointed officers in violation of the Constitution, wrongly maintaining that he has the right to do so.
In essence, Obama detests the checks and balances. He doesn’t like gridlock. It stops him from implementing his vision.
Though Obama’s power grab is unprecedented, his philosophy is not. It has roots in the progressivism of the early 20th century, when Woodrow Wilson ripped the Constitution as an archaic document that prevented him from crafting social change. He said the president should be a visionary rather than a mere vessel of the people. The president, he said, has to lead.
The “great leader” model of the presidency is extraordinarily dangerous. President Obama proves it each and every day; it’s what gives him the power to tell our enemies that he’ll have more “flexibility” after his “last election.” He’s our leader; we’re his followers. It’s that easy to him.
Fortunately, the Constitution doesn’t allow for such egotism acted out in policy. The Constitution requires checks and balances. It requires that we battle out each and every policy change, that we compromise, deadlock and stall. Getting things done is not so important as getting the right things done. And nobody has a monopoly on what the “right thing” is — no person and certainly no one branch of government.
Dear Mr. President,
Supposedly, you are some sort of constitutional scholar. At the very least, you can read, you can write, and despite being merely some sort of guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, you once famously referred to yourself as a “Constitutional Law professor.”
Ringing a bell so far, Mr. President? Great.
“Renewable” energy such as Solyndra-style projects, along with energy efficiency, is slated to spend $2.33 billion. There’s much, much more hidden away in corners of the budget. For example, the “Recovery Act” included a whopping $16.8 billion for the DOE office handling energy efficiency and renewables.
White House bias against the coal industry is even more apparent when you look at past federal budgets. Funding for coal technology is being trimmed down, slowly but surely. The amount provided for the current year is less than in any year since 2005. In fact, in FY 2010, the DOE received $404 million for coal projects.The numbers highlight Obama obvious misplaced priorities. This administration will stumble all over itself in their attempt to fund failing companies based on questionable technologies but they'll cut off research grants for improving proven, reliable, energy sources.
"During the administration of former President George W. Bush, it was a priority to help the utility industry find cleaner ways to burn coal. Then, the DOE touted a $1 billion Clean Coal Power Initiative. The Obama administration’s plan is to spend not one dime on it this year. Nothing."
"Not to worry, insists Obama. His energy plan won’t inflict serious damage on Americans’ budgets."Why is this administration driving up electricity prices while subsidizing failing technologies while crippling reliable energy sources?