Barack Obama admits to circumventing the Congress on No Child Left Behind
It has been the contention of many of Barack Obama’s detractors–myself included–that Barack Obama doesn’t care about the constitution and is willing to circumvent it whenever he feels it is necessary. I have written about how Barack Obama is not adverse to using government agencies such as the FCC and the EPA to make end runs around the Congress and implement policies which the Congress did not pass. Then there is his penchant for using the Executive Order for implementing new policies such as amnesty for illegal aliens and the like.
Barack Obama has been getting away with this because the Congress has not been willing to stand up for itself on a whole and reign in a president who doesn’t understand the concept that the three branches of government are equal–he does not preside kinglike over a parliament no matter how much he wished this were the case.
The fact that the Congress has been unwilling to challenge the president has now emboldened Barack Obama and he is no longer even bothering to hide the fact that he is simply ignoring the Congress and doing whatever the hell he wants to, and this is evidenced by the following remarks he made while giving out exemptions to the No Child Left Behind law:
I’ve urged Congress for a while now, let’s get a bipartisan effort, let’s fix this,” Obama said. “Congress hasn’t been able to do it. So I will. Our kids only get one shot at a decent education. They cannot afford to wait any longer. So, given that Congress cannot act, I am acting
This is a dangerous mindset for the president–and I am not talking about this specific issue because I happen to feel that the federal government has no business in education in the first place, it is not one of the enumerated powers in the constitution–I am talking about procedure here.
The president is now of the mindset that if the Congress does not act as he would like it to act that he will now simply execute his plans through executive fiat and ignore the will of the Congress, and are we to think that there a line that he wouldn’t cross in the future as he looks to implement his radical agenda? The constitution is a limiting document meant to ensure that the people will not be subjected to a ruler who dictates policy to the people–the president and the Congress are limited to and beholden to the consent of the governed.
The constitution provides the people with a representative republic and this is why the founders set up a system of checks and balances between the three branches, no branch of government is supposed to be more powerful than the other. We elect people to represent us and those people are embodied in the Congress.
But Barack Obama has not been able to push his agenda through the body which we elected to represent us so he has decided to forgo our representatives and push his agenda through without the consent of the governed. This is the very definition of a dictatorship and this is precisely what the founders fought against.
What is the purpose of electing people to represent us if the president is going to ignore the Congress and implement policies which the Congress has already rejected? Under Barack Obama the Congress has been relegated to obscurity and irrelevance because he continues to impose his will on the people in defiance of the Congress.
This usurpation of our right to representation is not new, it has been going on for years, but under Barack Obama it has been elevated to a new level and until the people wake up and realize how far we have drifted from the original intent of the constitution we will continue on this path toward serfdom.
When the Consitutional Convention ended in 1787 Benjamin Franklin was confronted by a woman who asked him what the convention had given the people; Franklin famously stated “a republic, if you can keep it.” It now appears as if those words were prophetic because we appear on the verge of losing it, if we haven’t already.
America's Watchtower 
“I am not talking about this specific issue because I happen to feel that the federal government has no business in education in the first place”
That is how I felt at first, until I read a few things (linked below) that indicate his waiver program may actually give the federal government even MORE power over state/local education, rather than less. It’s “do as we see fit” or forgo the federal money. So the potential is there for the federal government to be more involved in education than ever.
http://educationnext.org/government-by-waiver-no-child-left-behind-follows-the-health-care-precedent/
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/government-by-waiver
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Wow! Very interesting, thanks for the links, I will be checking them out.
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I think there are too many people that will keep their mouths shut about what he does because they do not want to be called a “racist”. We are back to that word again and it has been used til I am sick of hearing it and ignore whoever shouts it out. The problem is, no one in Congress wants to be associated with putting some limits on the president for fear of this word. Where is that time we were supposed to not see color and this president was going to bring every one together? Instead of using it for the good, he has used it for evil. He has set us back years in race relations. He will do as he damn well pleases and dares anyone to say anything to him. We can also thank the media for all the help and cover they have given. How many people would laugh at you if you brought up about being very close to a Dictatorship? The bottom line is the Constitution needs to be upheld by who we voted in or they need to be voted.
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Voted OUT. Sorry was cut off. As for one branch of the Government being in more control, how is that allowed? Even the liberals are becoming useless to the Executive Branch, surely they see that! Especially ones that don’t vote WITH the president. It is back to that “nudge” thing again, see how much you will tolerate and then go a little further, then further, well when does it stop and who will stop it?
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I agree Lou, the Congress is too timid on this issue and many others because they fear being labeled as racists. It is time to put aside those fears because Barack Obama is destroying this country and he needs to be stopped at all costs!
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Obama is a zero in every way except for knowing how to play the political game. He looks a the miserable poll ratings for congress and sees the chance to use the low opinion of congress against them. This will continue until his last day in office. With Boehner as Speaker, I don’t see congress taking him to task.
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Boehner does appear to be weak, doesn’t he? The sooner we are rid of Barack Obama and all of those who are too timid to fight back against him the better off the country will be.
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Here is the way I see and the way many should see it in America. If the President uses executive order to overstep the constitutional authority he has, and congress fails to exercise their constitutional authority to stop implementation of an unconstitutional act, then the American people are the last line. The question should be asked if the regulation or order is even enforceable considering it was either created or implemented by unconstitutional means. The answer is simple. Unless the constitution specifically grants the President the power to create regulation by bypassing congress (which it doesn’t) then whatever the President creates or tries to implement through executive order is unconstitutional and therefore not binding. End of story. People need to view it like this. Sates need to view it like this. The people are the last line of defense. This is what the states did with ObamaCare and this is what the people and states need to do with these actions. That’s my opinion for what it’s worth.
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Well said John and you are 100% correct! It is amazing to me that the House hasn’t stood up against this although I am not surprised the Democrat controlled Senate hasn’t. If they are not willing to stand up to Barack Obama then it will be up to the states to and we have seen some pushback from the states on Obamacare and illegal immigration so perhaps the people are waking up to what is going on in Washington.
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I also agree, John. As the Senate is not standing up and they are a majority Democrats. apparently they just want their paycheck and retirement and are letting him do as he pleases. Does the Administration have files on all the senators and congressmen to keep them quiet? The House is a different matter, because we have control there. Well, I am not sure about that because the Republicans are split, so it is questionable. At some point they will catch on, but for now they are just going with the flow. It doesn’t affect them, or so they think, but we know in the end EVERYONE will be affected. Unless, they know something that we don’t and they are totally exempt or something to that effect. What do you think? Right now we have our vote to try and stop this, if it doesn’t work, we know what the next step is and I hope we have the backbone as a country to take it back and put it in working order again. This Administration is completely disfunctional, but not many seem to care.
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I believe that the Senate agree with the president because they are still a Democrat majority and they don’t give a damn how their agenda is implemented as long as it is implemented. I wonder how they would feel if this were a Republican making moves like this?
As for why the House hasn’t called him out on this, your guess is as good as mine.
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This idea of ignoring unconstitutional edicts from the Federal government is something Thomas Jefferson forsaw that there might be a need for some day and called it “nullification”. A good book on the topic is “Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century” by Thomas E. Woods. Also, you might want to catch Woods Interview with a zombie @ http://www.interviewwithazombie.com or just google nullification: Interview with a zombie.
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Thanks for the link I will check it out. Many of the founders that that nullification was a legitimate option for throwing out laws the states thought were unconstitutional but stuff like this isn’t taught in the schools any more and people look at you like you are crazy when you suggest something like this. Because people no longer read or understand US history we are losing our republic as it slips towards socialsim.
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Boehner may be weak, but he could be cunning. Napoleon observed that one should never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake. Obama is making them hand over fist. As for NCLB, he did the same with amnestey for illegal aliens. He appointed a compliant director who supports sanctuary cities to do his bidding and thumbed his nose at the public. Arne Duncan is already doing what the nation’s highest ranking law enforcement officer has directed him to do; since Obama will not obey the law, Congress has little recourse other than impeachment.
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That is a very interesting theory Lin; perhaps the House is giving him enough rope to hang himself.
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