COMMENTARY | The Daily Caller is reporting the National Right to Work Foundation is suing President Barack Obama over controversial appointments to the National Labor Relations Board that the president says are recess appointments, but are really not strictly speaking.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of the president appointing three members of the NLRB and the chairmanship of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, claiming these are "recess appointments" when the Senate, which advises and consents to such appointments, was not in recess.
There is a consensus Obama acted in violation to the Constitution in making these appointments. Conservative columnist Michael Barone states Obama has defied the Constitution. Former Attorney General Ed Meese and Todd Gaziano warn the appointments are not only unconstitutional but will ultimately weaken the office of president.
In any event, President Obama has decided to mire his own government in legal bickering for at least the remainder of his term. Decisions taken by the NLRB and the CFPB will be in doubt because there is doubt that Obama's appointments to those two bodies were made legally.
President Obama, as has every president since Washington, has taken an oath to "the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." By making these appointments without the advice and consent of the Senate, Obama is in violation of that oath.
If flagrantly violating the Constitution is not an impeachable offense, then nothing is. However, the chances of Obama being impeached are about the same as the lost continent of Atlantis suddenly rising from the oceans.
The House, albeit under the control of the Republicans, has no stomach for instituting impeachment proceedings. After the Bill Clinton fiasco, this is understandable. More important, the Senate will never muster the 67 votes necessary to remove Obama from office and make Vice President Joe Biden the president. One gets the impression Obama could have all of the Republican candidates for president arrested and sent to Guantanamo and the Senate Democrats will wonder what the fuss is about.
That leads to the ultimate judge of presidents -- the voters. At issue therefore is do we care if a president follows the Constitution or not? Illegal "recess" appointments may seem a small thing. But they can lead to bigger ones. At stake is what kind of government we shall have going forward.
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