Yesterday, we, at The National Patriot, asked YOU, our readers and the American people to take action. We asked this in the wake of Obama’s “recess” appointments.

These appointments took place while the Senate remained in Pro Forma session.

Obama’s actions are in contempt of Congress.

Obama’s actions are a willful violation of the United States Constitution.

Obama’s actions are a direct violation of his oath of office.

We thought it would be interesting to see what some Congressional members are saying about Obama’s actions in regard to the “recess” appointments.

“Once again we’re seeing presidential overreach. This is not what our founding fathers had in mind for this great nation.”   

Congressman Allen West

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“The president put his own political future and the radical views of his far-left base ahead of constitutional government. The president will have to answer to the American people for this power grab.”

Sen. Orin Hatch

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“I think the president wanted to pick a really big fight, and he has surely chosen one. This is a direct affront to the American people and the constitutional system of government that we have.”

Sen. Mike Lee

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“It’s clear the president would rather trample our system of separation of powers than work with Republicans to move the country forward. I expect the courts will find the appointment to be illegitimate.”

Speaker John Boehner

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“Apparently, advise and consent called for in the Constitution doesn’t apply to this Chicago-style politician. He’s more interested in rewarding his friends than living under the law Americans need to abide by. Business as we know it in the Senate is over for this administration in terms of accomplishing anything legislatively or finding any cooperation from this side of the aisle. He has poisoned the well. I believe it’s an abuse of power. Now he is saying he’s above the law — the law doesn’t apply to him.”

Sen. John Brasso

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Here are a few reactions from GOP presidential candidates.

President Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is perhaps the most powerful and unaccountable bureaucracy in the history of our nation, headed by a powerful and unaccountable bureaucrat with unprecedented authority over the economy.  Instead of working with Congress to fix the flaws in this new bureaucracy, the President is declaring that he “refuses to take no for an answer” and circumventing Congress to appoint a new administrator.

This action represents Chicago-style politics at its worst, and is precisely what then- Senator Obama claimed would be “the wrong thing to do.”  Sadly, instead of focusing on economic growth, he is once again focusing on creating more regulation, more government, and more Washington gridlock. As President, I will focus on turning around our economy so that America can once again lead the world in job creation.

– Mitt Romney

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The answer to an imperial president is a Congress which stands on its own rights.  And the correct response to what the president just did would be for the Congress to zero out and refuse to fund the National Labor Relations Board.

The National Labor Relations Board now has a majority of members who were never confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  This is a clear violation of the spirit of the law, and Congress has an obligation to defend our rights, and the correct way is the power of the purse.

– Newt Gingrich

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You are not above the law Mr. President. The law doesn’t say you can do this.

I hope the Senate has the backbone to shut the Senate down and say ‘you will repeal these nominees or we are doing nothing.’

Someone needs to stand up and say, ‘Enough Mr. President. You are not the emperor.’

– Rick Santorum

(Did Mr. Santorum read our TNP article, “Emperor Obama Has Decreed…Let It Be So!!!”)

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By making ‘recess’ appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when Congress is not actually in recess, President Obama has acted in clear disregard of the Constitution.  And the President must be called to account for his actions.

It is disappointing that a former constitutional law professor does not understand that the President is not a dictator or a king who can simply ignore the Constitution whenever he feels frustrated by the system of checks and balances wisely put in place by our Founders.

I have opposed unconstitutional power grabs by Presidents of both parties throughout my Congressional career, and this consistency leaves me as the only Republican candidate with the credibility and the record to challenge President Obama on his continuous overstepping of his constitutional boundaries.

If the President insists on behaving in such a cavalier manner with regard to requirements set forth by the Constitution, then action by Congress may become necessary to rein in his flagrant contempt for the rules 

– Ron Paul

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One wonders what legal scholars have to say with regard to these “recess” appointments. Here are a few examples.

“It’s positively frightening that President Obama taught constitutional law to vulnerable students at the University of Chicago Law School for 12 years, because he is entirely ignorant of the U.S. Constitution’s most important provision: separation of powers.”

“Professor Richard Epstein has previously faulted Obama, addressing their time together as teaching colleagues at the University of Chicago law school, for failing to engage in dialogue and debate with other instructors. Epstein’s observation on this point was brilliant – indeed, prescient – because such dialogue and debate uniquely forces legal thinkers to understand the ways in which they are misguided. Or, in Obama’s case, just plain wrong.”

“Obama totally fails to comprehend the most important provision of the U.S. Constitution: that the U.S. government consists of three equal branches – the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Each is separate. Each is entitled to conduct its own affairs as it sees fit. Each is barred from poaching upon the duties of another branch.”

“The Richard Cordray so-called ‘recess’ appointment does exactly that, and thus is unconstitutional, as is Obama’s recent vow to legislate if – in his view – Congress should have legislated but didn’t. Obama ought to be forced to confine his presidential activities to his constitutional role of executing the laws passed by Congress. He ought to be forced to stop enacting laws himself.”

“There ought to be a lawsuit by Congress against Obama. I hope there is one.”

–    Maureen Martin
Senior Fellow for Legal Affairs
The Heartland Institute  

“It is for the Senate, and not for the president, to determine whether the Senate is in session.”

“For the president to say that the Senate is not in session when the Senate says that it is, introduces a set of constitutional confrontations that we would be far better off doing without.”

–  Prof. Richard Epstein, University of Chicago Law School.

“…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.”

“President Obama’s flagrant violation of the Constitution not only will damage relations with Congress for years to come but will ultimately weaken the office of the presidency. There eventually may be litigation over the illegal appointments, but it will be a failure of government if the political branches do not resolve this injustice before a court rules…Congressional leaders of both parties must vigorously (though thoughtfully) defend their prerogatives. Senators could filibuster all presidential nominations, as Sen. Robert C. Byrd did in 1985 over a lesser recess appointment issue, until Obama rescinds these wrongful appointments. The House or Senate could condition all “must-pass” legislation for the remainder of 2012 on an agreement to rescind these appointments. The House also could require the attorney general to produce legal justification and testify at oversight hearings.”

“If Congress does not resist, the injury is not just to its branch but ultimately to the people.”

–     Edwin Meese, the former U.S. Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, and Todd Gaziano, Director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies

At The National Patriot, our argument for bringing articles of impeachment against Obama is simple.

 

1)      Article I, Section 5 of the United States Constitution clearly states, “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings.”

 One of the rules of the Senate allows for Pro Forma sessions.

 Pro Forma – A brief meeting (sometimes only several seconds) of the Senate in which no business is conducted. It is held usually to satisfy the constitutional obligation that neither chamber can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other.

As the Senate was in Pro Forma session at the time of these appointments, Obama willfully violated Article I, Section 5 of the United States Constitution.

2)      By his willful violation of Article I, Section 5 of the United States Constitution, Obama has placed himself in contempt of Congress.

 

3)      Upon the inauguration of a President, the President takes an oath of office.

“I, (insert name) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

With regard to his willful violation of Article I, Section 5 of the United States Constitution, Obama has willfully violated his oath of office by not supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States.

 

4)      Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution clearly states, “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

“High” in the legal parlance of the 18th century means “against the State”. A high crime is one which seeks the overthrow of the country, which gives aid or comfort to its enemies, or which injures the country to the profit of an individual or group. In democracies and similar societies it also includes crimes which attempt to alter the outcome of elections.

With regard to his willful violation of Article I, Section 5 of the United States Constitution, Obama has willfully injured the country for the profit of his political party by placing himself above the rule of law and above the people of the United States who must abide by the rule of law.

At The National Patriot, we believe that errors or simple oversight in policy can be corrected by reversal of policy either by congress or by somewhat stricter measures such as the filing of a lawsuit. These appointments however do not constitute a simple error or oversight.

These appointments by Obama, constitute a willful violation of the very Constitution he professes to have taught at the University of Chicago.

We also believe that such a willful violation of the Constitution by a President of the United States sould be met with the strictest recourse available.

As all Members of Congress also take an oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, The National Patriot believes it is incumbent upon those Members of Congress to fulfill that oath by employing the strictest recourse available.

That is why we are asking you, our valued readers and fellow Patriots, to send a link to this article to each and every Member of your state’s congressional delegation to encourage them to do the right thing.

We ask that you share this article throughout all social media avenues and encourage your social media contacts to share it as well. Together, We the People can flood the emails of congress and let them know where WE stand. We also ask that you use the comments on this blog article to let your fellow Patriots know what state YOU are in and that you have sent this to YOUR congressional delegation which will further encourage others to do likewise.