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Wash. Examiner editorial refers to "Czar Obama"

December 09, 2009 10:43 am ET by Media Matters staff

From a December 9 Washington Examiner editorial, headlined "Czar Obama takes aim at Congress":

Congressional liberals who failed to get their cap-and-trade scheme approved in the Senate are ecstatic about the EPA's ruling. There was a time when American liberals worried about excessive executive power; today they cheer as Barack Obama dons the robes of the imperial presidency in ways that Richard Nixon never dreamed possible. Consider, for example, the enthusiasm of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who said "the message to Congress is crystal clear: Get moving. If Congress does not pass legislation dealing with climate change, the administration is more than justified to use the EPA to impose new regulations." In other words, if Congress heeds public opposition and refuses to pass cap-and-trade, well, then Czar Obama will act on his own.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute is challenging the EPA Endangerment Ruling in federal court, but Congress ought not wait on the judicial branch to declare this action unconstitutional, as it surely should if and when the Supreme Court reconsiders the issue. Congress must assert its supreme authority now by denying funds for the enforcement of this pernicious ruling and explicitly directing EPA to withdraw it. Like Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are Democrats, but does that mean they must also be his servants?

Tags: Washington Examiner

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    • Author by phredicles (December 09, 2009 10:49 am ET)
      2  
      Huh. Did the Examiner mind when Republicans (and an awful lot of Democrats) in congress unquestioningly did Bush's bidding?
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    • Author by Dem02020 (December 09, 2009 11:02 am ET)
         
      I guess I won't ask about the "Washington Examiner", because I don't care... and as far as the "Washington Times", well I already know that's Rev. Moon's dying DC newsletter... I'd ask this rhetorical question though: at what point do the many DC newsletters (all having some sort of political or lobbying sales angle), at what point does someone pretend they are newspapers?

      I mean, is it the number of pages in the newsletter, that suddenly makes them a supposed newspaper?

      Or is it found in the name, like "Examiner" or "Times"?

      And so maybe that's all you have to do to pretend your newsletter (always selling some political party or industrial concern) is a newspaper, give it a name that sounds like a traditional newspaper name... like the "Examiner" or the dying "Times".

      But what about the "Chronicle" and the "Bugle", or the "Post" or "Masthead" (a favorite of mine), what about the "Enquirer"?

      Inquiring minds want to know.
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    • Author by shaggles (December 09, 2009 12:39 pm ET)
      1  
      I can't believe these right wing tools have the nerve to complain that Obama is trying to claim too much power after 8 years of the Bush/Cheney unitary executive theory. That's probably why he said Nixon had never dreamed it. Because he knew Bush ahd not only dreamed it, he'd surpassed it. Remember for example before the Iraq war when he said he didn't need congresses approval to declare war on Iraq? And those were his own words. Not the words of a senator like the EPA quote from Kerry.
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      • Author by jeff191 (December 09, 2009 3:19 pm ET)
           
        Nixon, Clinton,W. All 3 abused executive privilege in some ways and appropriated power. Often they were opposed by members of their own party who realised an important truth, the strenghtening of executive influence over the legislature can be a dangerous policy regardless of who is in office at the time.
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    • Author by thaneb (December 09, 2009 1:19 pm ET)
      2  
      In calling this action "unconstitutional" the Examiner ignores the role of the Executive and its administrative bodies once Congress has enacted legislation. In this case the enabling legislation of the EPA and the relevant enviromental legislation. At this point, if Congress disagrees, it may de-fund, but it was content to cede it's everyday control over such matters to the Executive by legislating and it is unlikely to do so.
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      • Author by jeff191 (December 10, 2009 12:03 pm ET)
           
        nice to see someone marshall the facts and bring informed debate to the issue.
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