King Obama I? For "progressives" the Constitution is a living document (read: one is free to change, reinterpret or ignore it when it stands in the way of "progress"). President Obama, however, has gone one step further: just ignore it altogether.
Rule by fiat has its advantages--by the time Congress gets angry enough to take action in the courts (or the House gets outraged enough to draft articles of impeachment) his term will likely be over. But the damage done to the balance of power and the Constitution will remain as Obama's legacy.
Those who applaud the selective enforcement of federal law, the undermining of the federal legislature and the marginalizing of the Constitution will rue the day when the pendulum swings as it invariably does from left to right and right to left (Carter-Reagan, Bush-Clinton, Clinton-Bush,Bush-Obama,Obama-????). When a conservative recaptures the White House and Senate and inherits a supercharged Executive Pen with which to legislate from the Oval Office (and can appoint like-minded nominees without worrying about Senate filibusters thanks to Harry Reid's trampling on the time-honored veto power of the senate to oppose presidential appointments for partisan gain), the cheerleaders from the left and relative silence from the traditional media will be replaced by squeals of righteous outrage and hoards of Chicken Littles (read: reporters) who now placidly snore through the most imperial presidency in memory will awaken to regale us with a cacophonous chorus with which to announce the impending end of civilization as we know it.
Here is a memo to gleeful and furious partisans alike who applaud or decry blatant abuse of executive powers for partisan purposes: When a train is traveling at 300 miles per hour towards a solid wall, the ultimate effect is the same--and predictable with 100 percent certainty--whether a conservative or liberal are at the controls.
