CONSOLIDATING POWER
By Michael
Connelly
MichaelConnelly.Jigsy.com
I have received dozens of inquiries about the Executive Order signed by
President Obama on March 16, 2012. It is titled the
“National Defenses Resources Preparation” order and
appears at first glance to be just the reissuing of
an order signed by previous Presidents during
wartime or when war seemed imminent. It is designed
to provide for the efficient allocation of critical
resources needed by the military. It is claimed that
this order is no different from previous orders and
just puts new agencies into the mix such as the
Department of Homeland Security.
However, there are several things that raise my
concerns when I read the order.
First, it
clearly gives expanded powers to the President in
peacetime if there is a national emergency, and of
course, the President is the person who will decide
what constitutes such an emergency. At that point
the President can take control of energy production
and allocation as well as food, water, and other
resources. It also gives the President the power to
control the allocation of health care resources,
transportation, and other important areas of the
economy. By the way, the President can also
reinstate the draft.
The second major concern I have is that this version
of the order was signed by a President who has
consistently shown his willingness to ignore the
Constitution of the United States in order to get
what he wants. It was the White House that insisted
that the provisions allowing for indefinite
detention of American citizens be included in the
National Defense Authorization Act that was the
subject of a previous article on my blog. It was
also Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United
States, who recently said that it is Obama who
determines what the constitutional phrase, “due
process of law,” means, not the Constitution itself
or the courts.
Then we have Leon Panetta, the Secretary of Defense,
informing Congress that Obama can commit the United
States to go to war if he has International
permission instead of the permission of the U.S.
Congress that is required by the Constitution. Add
this to the fact that Obama has ignored the Congress
and the will of the American people when issuing
Executive orders, and has ignored direct orders from
the Federal courts and we see a President who is
consolidating power into his own hands at the
expense of the Constitution and the freedoms of
Americans.
These are not the actions of a man who thinks that
he will be relinquishing his position in November.
They are the actions of someone who is willing to do
whatever is necessary to stay in power. Does anyone
remember a few months ago when Beverly Perdue, the
Democratic governor of North Carolina, suggested
that the 2012 elections be suspended for two years
to give Congress time to fix the deficit. The
national news media ignored the comment or treated
it as a joke. Perhaps it was just a bad joke, or
perhaps it was one of the trial balloons that Obama
is so fond of floating.
It is important to look at history. Many of the
longest ruling dictators allowed elections to be
held. They just made sure that they never lost one.
It is time for every American to read our
Constitution once again and realize what we are
losing. You can also read the Executive Order on the
White House website at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness
mrobertc@hotmail.com
www.michaelconnelly.jigsy.com
www.constitution.jigsy.com