Normally I dont post about politics on Facebook, but I wanted to share the link to Jonathan Turleys written statement which he presented to Congress when he testified yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee on the subject of The Presidents Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws. Ive also copied a couple of paragraphs from his introduction in this post below. What do you say Facebook friends about this issue? That all Presidents have used their discretion when enforcing the law? Ill agree with that. But are you concerned about the erosion of our system of government? This is not all about the president. Besides having a President who frequently acts unilaterally when he doesnt have the authority to do so, we have a Congress that doesnt do its job and allows the executive branch to exceed its limits. The Congress actually alarms me as much as if not more than the administration because, in my opinion, Congress routinely disregards the will of the people that they represent. Its all very frustrating isnt it? jonathanturley.files.wordpress/2013/12/testimonyturley-faithful-house-final.pdf From the statement... ... I believe that President Barack Obama has crossed the constitutional line between discretionary enforcement and defiance of federal law. Congress is given the defining function of creating and amending federal law. This is more than a turf fight between politicians. The division of governmental powers is designed to protect liberty by preventing the abusive concentration of power. All citizens –Democratic or Republican or Independent – should consider the inherent danger presented by a President who can unilaterally suspend laws as a matter of presidential license. ... The current claims of executive power will outlast this president and members must consider the implications of the precedent that they are now creating through inaction and silence. What if a future president decided that he or she did not like some environmental laws or anti-discrimination laws? Indeed, as discussed below, the nonenforcement policy is rarely analyzed to its natural conclusion, which leads to a fundamental shift in constitutional principles going back to Marbury v. Madison. The separation of powers is the very foundation for our system; the original covenant reached by the Founding Generation and passed on to successive generations. It is that system that produces laws that can be truly said to represent the wishes of the majority of Americans. It is also the very thing that gives a president the authority to govern in the name of all Americans. Despite the fact that I once voted for President Obama, personal admiration is no substitute for the constitutional principles at stake in this controversy. When a president claims the inherent power of both legislation and enforcement, he becomes a virtual government unto himself. He is not simply posing a danger to the constitutional system; he becomes the very danger that the Constitution was designed to avoid. ...
Posted on: Thu, 05 Dec 2013 03:43:57 +0000
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