There’s some breaking news today regarding Der Fubar’s recess appointments to several agencies. At the time the appointments were made, the Senate was not out of session. This led to a number of suits demanding that the appointments be vacated as illegal.
Well, they have been, In a major constitutional slap at Obama, his appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were declared unconstitutional. Here are some of the details from the Washington Times:
In a case freighted with major constitutional implications, a federal appeals court on Friday overturned President Obama’s controversial recess appointments from last year, ruling he abused his powers and acted when the Senate was not actually in a recess.
I don’t know why this is unexpected. Obama’s contempt for the constitution is well known. This is what happens when you announce you are going to ignore the separation of powers and rule by decree.
The three-judge panel’s ruling is a major blow to Mr. Obama. The judges ruled that the appointments Mr. Obama made to the National Labor Relations Board are illegal, and the board no longer has a quorum to operate.
So anything the NLRB did is illegal. Any regulations or ruling can now be challenged, and no doubt, will be overturned.
But the ruling has even broader constitutional significance, with the judges arguing that the president’s recess appointment powers don’t apply to “intrasession” appointments — those made when Congress has left town for a few days or weeks.
The judges signaled the power only applies after Congress has adjourned sine die, which is a legislative term of art that signals the end to a long work period. In modern times, it means the president could only use his powers when Congress quits business at the end of a year.
If I understand this, If congress stays in session, but the members return to their states or districts, the congress is still in session. Now I don’t claim to fully understand this, however, I think that if congress adjourns, such as going home for campaigning or holidays, and there are positions that haven’t been filled, the President can make an appointment for the remainder of the term1.
Recently, Harry Reid has not adjourned the senate in order to prevent both Bush and Obama from doing this. In the past, when congress adjourned, they either went home by horse or train. Since congress was not available to advise and consent to a presidential appointment, the president could make a temporary appointment in case of emergency.
“The dearth of intrasession appointments in the years and decades following the ratification of the Constitution speaks far more impressively than the history of recent presidential exercise of a supposed power to make such appointments,” the judges wrote.
The courts do love precedent.
“Recent presidents are doing no more than interpreting the Constitution. While we recognize that all branches of government must of necessity exercise their understanding of the Constitution in order to perform their duties faithfully thereto, ultimately it is our role to discern the authoritative meaning of the supreme law.”
BLAMMO! The courts shoot and they score! Basically, the courts told Obama that yes, he does have to follow the Constitution no matter how much he hates it. Of course, this isn’t over yet.
The case is likely to end up before the Supreme Court, and it turns on the definition of what the Constitution means when it says “recess.”
I think if the congress says “We are now in recess” that means they are in recess. Pretty simple really. So what set all this off?
Last January Mr. Obama named union lawyer Richard Griffin and Labor Department official Sharon Block, both Democrats, and a Republican, NLRB lawyer Terence Flynn, to the labor board using his recess powers. He also named Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, using those same powers.
One of the reasons Obama used the recess appointment for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was so many Republicans were opposed to the boards very existence. It’s basically self funding and not accountable to congress. In other words, there is no recourse if you get screwed by them. Cordray was waiting for confirmation, but his nomination was stalled in the senate. Obama decided to play king again and said “The hell with Congress. I’m in charge!”
Mr. Obama’s move, though, appeared to break new ground by acting at a time when the Senate was meeting every third day — specifically to deny him the chance to make recess appointments.
The president argued that even though the Senate was convening every three days, the pro forma sessions didn’t allow any business, and nearly every senator was absent from the chamber, signaling that the Senate wasn’t able to perform its confirmation duties and should be considered essentially in recess.
His opponents had warned that if Mr. Obama’s stance prevailed, then presidents could make appointments when the Senate takes its recess for weekly party caucus lunches.
And since King Putz thinks he is a ruler and not the President, he pretty much did just that. Now he has had his head handed to him by the courts. Of course, not everyone agrees with the court.
Victor K. Williams, an assistant professor at Catholic University School of Law who filed briefs arguing that the court should reject the case as a political question between Congress and the president, called the judges’ ruling “historically wrong.”
“This panel of the D.C. circuit has accomplished what Minority Leader Mitch McConnell failed to do. Minority Leader McConnell said that his No. 1 objective was defeating Barack Obama and Barack Obama’s attempt to govern. This D.C. circuit panel has been successful where McConnell failed. They have really, effectively challenged the president’s ability to govern,” Mr. Williams said.
Looks like we have another jughead who thinks that Obama should have absolute power. Didn’t we get enough of this with that other idiot, Louis Michael Seidman? Well, this will be going to the USSC where I’m sure the liberals will say Obama can do whatever he wants, the conservatives will say that “You know, they wrote this pretty clearly,” and Roberts will probably say that it’s a tax. Whatever happens, anything that slaps down the SCoaMF is a good thing. He is a crook, a liar and a tyrant and should be impeached and removed from office. Maybe pissing off Reid might just clear the roadblock that is the Democrats in the Senate. We shall see.
Thatisall
~The Angry Webmaster
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