Obama's Tin Ear Returns

The American Spectator  "It may be that Obama is feeling his oats after his payroll tax cut "victory" over House Republicans and therefore trying to flex his muscles. But he's picked a stupid fight at a stupid time, with far more to lose than to gain, reminding us of the surprisingly tin-eared Chicago-style politician he spent most of 2009 and 2010 proving himself to be."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/01/05/95195

Jennifer Rubin: Obama’s recess appointments: The ex-law professor makes a power grab  "It also gives the Republicans the upper hand in their argument that Obama is interested not in governance, just in naked partisan power plays. That may send a tingle up the legs of the left, but to average voters it may well seem like bad faith by a president who has long since proved unable to work within the system of separation of powers."

Obama on the Campus

Obama Campus 2012  "In the next 10 months, we shall see the college campus to be a center of Democratic activity.  The reason appears in this short piece at The New Republic by Ruy Teixeira.  According to Teixeira, the youth vote is crucial to Obama's reelection, 18-29-year-olds forming one of his strongest support groups.  In 2008, the youth vote went for Obama by a 2-to-1 rate, a huge disparity that, I believe, has never been seen before in presidential elections.  If those numbers hold up, and if the youth vote turns out as well as it did in 08, when 51 percent of them went to the polls (a huge gain over the 40 percent that turned out in 2000), Obama's prospects improve significantly.  It may make the difference."

A Test Where 'Good" Means 'Terrible'  "I asked the teacher what I was supposed to do if a presentation was bad or poor. She looked at me and said, with a straight face, "Good means poor." "How so?" I asked. "What kind of semantic gymnastics is that? Does that mean that superior is above average, and excellent is average?" She didn't answer the question, but said that the students worked really hard on their projects and the school didn't want any of them to feel discouraged. If they scored in the 70s, then their presentation was considered bad. "But you're telling them that it is good," I said."


Both above from Manhattan Institute

Foreign Policy Experts Urge President Obama to Take Action Against Assad

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The Foreign Policy Initiative  "The letter also responds to recent statements by the Obama administration in opposition to efforts by embattled Syrian citizens to defend themselves. “Such a position is counterproductive, especially since the protesters themselves are calling for international protection from the Assad regime’s forces,” the group said. “U.S. condemnation of their armed resistance undercuts them, and could have the effect of discouraging further Syrian military defections.” "

Obama and recess appointments (UPDATED)

Now we realize that there is nothing that stands in the way of a president openly refusing to be bound by the Constitution. Who will enforce his adherence? Congress? Not when his party rules there and supports him in this as we will see below?

WaPo:  Obama’s recess appointments are unconstitutional  "President Obama’s attempt to unilaterally appoint three people to seats on the National Labor Relations Board and Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (after the Senate blocked action on his nomination) is more than an unconstitutional attempt to circumvent the Senate’s advise-and-consent role. It is a breathtaking violation of the separation of powers and the duty of comity that the executive owes to Congress.

"Yes, some prior recess appointments have been politically unpopular, and a few have even raised legal questions. But never before has a president purported to make a “recess” appointment when the Senate is demonstrably not in recess. That is a constitutional abuse of a high order."....

"If Congress does not resist, the injury is not just to its branch but ultimately to the people. James Madison made clear that the separation of powers was not to protect government officials’ power for their sake but as a vital check on behalf of individual liberty. To prevent future tyrannical usurpations of power, Congress must act to redress this serious threat to our liberty."   By Edwin Meese III and Todd Gaziano

Obama’s Reelection Strategy: Bypass Congress  "In brief, the entire multi-trillion dollar bureaucratic apparatus of the federal government will be directed towards Obama’s reelection.  Unfortunately, these executive actions will have serious negative economic consequences in terms of compliance costs and the broad uncertainty and anxiety that comes from not knowing what arbitrary decisions will come next.  That’s terrible news for our economic recovery, and it may also mean that the Obama strategy will backfire politically with an electorate that’s desperate for job creation and economic growth." Also this:  The White House Is Wrong — The Senate Conducted Business During Its ‘Recess’

Neal Boortz says: Ceasar Obummas strikes again!   "Obama said he was going to “fundamentally transform the United States of America.”  Are you starting to understand how he intends to do that?  Let’s start with ignoring the Constitution."


Krauthammer: Obama's Recess Appointments Part Of "A Long String Of Lawless Actions"


Oops, she did it again:  "Nancy Pelosi is "glad" that President Obama ignored the Advice and Consent requirement of the Constitution on his recent appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the new bureaucratic beast, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."

Weekly Standard:  ‘A Lawless Action by the President’  "As the man vested with “The executive Power” (all of it), the president must, first and foremost, faithfully serve as the nation’s chief executive — ensuring that the laws and the Constitution are carried out as written.  The very rule of law largely depends upon his fulfillment of that trust."

Update: Obama takes victory lap  "Two days after defying Republicans and appointing Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, President Obama visited the new agency to take a little time to gloat."

Bill Ayers Apostle Appointed White House Education Initiative Director

ed.gov

Big Government  "Jose Rico has been named the new director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, a key position that could help close the achievement gap between white and minority students.  But if his history is any indication, his influence may do more harm than good.

Perhaps most troubling is Rico’s connection to unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and communist radical Mike Klonsky through the Chicago-based “Small Schools Workshop.”"....

“Klonsky stressed: ‘Chairman Mao’s brilliant teachings on the ‘three worlds’ is a scientific application of class analysis to today’s world conditions. This thesis clearly defines friends and enemies and isolates the two superpowers, while uniting the world’s peoples.’”