Witnessing the
Arrogance of Power

December 9, 2013

The week before Thanksgiving the U.S. Senate “reinvented” the way it operates by using a questionable procedure to change its rules, drastically reducing the ability of the minority to filibuster judicial appointments.  In doing so they changed hundreds of years of precedent and eliminated the need for the majority party (currently Democrats) to get a buy-in from at least part of the minority party (the Republicans).

Three Democrat senators voted against this rule change.  Carl Levin (D-MI) a prominent and influential moderate put out a statement explaining in great detail why Senate Majority Leader Reid's (D-NV) action could cause lasting damage.  "Changing the rules, in violation of the rules, by a simple majority vote is not a one-time action," he warned. "If a Senate majority demonstrates it can make such a change once, there are no rules that bind a majority, and all future majorities will feel free to exercise the same power, not just on judges and executive appointments but on legislation."   Levin argued that the move opened the floodgates for the majority to change important rules on a whim. 

So why did the Senate majority leader do this? 
President Obama has been creating legislation through the regulatory process.  He has publicly said  numerous times if he cannot get the Congress to do what he wants he will bypass them and do it on his own (by regulation or executive orders). 

The last line of defense against this arrogance of power is the D.C. Circuit Court.  Currently this court has an even balance of Democrats and Republicans and it is this court that has the primary jurisdiction over federal regulations. This court has been holding the administration’s feet to the fire, stopping the regulators when they overstep statutory authority.   The President sent three appointments to this court to the Senate for confirmation, appointments that would tip the scales and allow regulators to continue overstepping their authority.  These appointments were blocked by the Republican minority, who saw this as an attempt to “pack” the court.

The questionable change to the Senate rules was an arrogant power grab!  By eliminating the need to have some Republican support for these appointments, the Democrats established a procedure where only 51 votes are needed,  thus cleared the way for the Administration to pack the DC Circuit Court and allow the Administration to continue overstepping its authority (e.g., bypassing  Congress through the issuance of regulations).  

We are not only seeing this arrogance of power in the Senate, but also in the White House. Here are some examples: 

• The Dream Act was opposed and not enacted by Congress so the President illegally instituted its provisions by executive order.
• The IRS targeting of conservative groups who opposed the President was way out of line.
• The President has decided what laws his administration will and will not enforce. 
• He has delayed parts of ObamaCare without statutory authority.  Even though the Congress wanted to do this, he failed to come to them. 

As we approach the primary election, we encourage you to identify and elect leaders who will oppose the current arrogance of power in Washington. Everyone should follow the law and regardless of a person’s position nobody should be above the law. 

Bill, Mark, and John