This week, partisan games in
Washington reached a fevered pitch as Congress acted to prevent recess
appointments, yet the administration made them anyway. Congress has been
gaveling into session for less than a minute every three days for the express
purpose of technically staying in session. The 40 second "pro
forma" sessions may strike supporters of the President as
obstructionist, but Congress was using its clear constitutional authority and
playing by the rules. Frustrated, the President simply disregarded the
Constitution, and appointed Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer
Financial Protection Board, and Sharon Block, Richard Griffin, and Terence Flynn
to the National Labor Relations Board anyway.
Playing fast and loose with
the Constitution only gets worse with every administration. Because of the
dangerous precedents being set, both parties would be wise to defend
constitutional bounds, no matter who crosses the line. Defending a
constitutional overstep always comes back to haunt them once power changes
hands.
The Obama administration
expressed extreme frustration with the Senate's refusal to confirm its
nominees. The truth is, for better or worse, these are the cards the voters
have dealt Washington. The Constitution, with its system of checks and
balances, not only allows for gridlock, it practically guarantees some degree
of it. The Founders knew that gridlock can be a very good thing. If nothing
can be agreed upon in Washington, harm to the country is limited. Considering
the Obama administration's ideas of what caused our problems, and how to
solve them, the wisdom of the founders certainly shines through today.
According to the
administration, the new Consumer Financial Protection Board is an absolute
necessity. Another bureaucracy, with more rules and red tape and paperwork
and procedures is supposed to protect the people from bad actors in the
marketplace. On the contrary, the answer was staring us in the face in late
2008 when these bad banks and corporations threatened to go belly-up. The
laws of economics were working to remove corrupt companies from the market
forever, to never abuse or defraud another customer or depositor or
shareholder again. Bankruptcy is the ultimate consumer protection, and what
did Washington do? It protected the banks instead, and created more
bureaucrats.
This is exactly why
constitutionally-inflicted gridlock should be respected. But instead it is
clearer than ever that we are now a nation ruled by men, not laws. This
nation needs to respect the Constitution again. No exceptions. The oath of
office to protect and defend the Constitution is still in effect when checks
and balances get in the way of a political agenda. If not, it has no meaning
at all.
