There is a remarkable, incredible story in the news this week. Obama orders judges to overturn law Congress passed. Think about it for a moment. As president, Obama's role is to work with Congress to create new laws, and repeal bad or obsolete laws.
Yet here Obama is openly bypassing Congress and attempting to issue executive orders to the "independent" judiciary to get a law he disapproves of repealed. If Obama wants the Defense of Marriage Act gone then why doesn't he ask Congress to repeal it? After all the law originated in Congress and it would be to Congress to repeal it. That's how law is supposed to work in a checks and balances system.
Is contempt of Congress a crime? Because that's what Obama's actions amount to. Refusing to acknowledge Congress' powers under the constitution, openly defying and undermining Congress. Because that's what it is. This act is nearly 20 years old. If it was unconstitutional then it is preposterous to believe that activist lawyers and the courts would just "realize" that today.
So what's next? If Obama can blow off working with elected Congress and by fiat order unelected judges (who he appointed) to just wipe off the books laws Obama finds inconvenient, then what's next? Perhaps the president can continue to push the envelope and order his judges to create new laws that he wants. Maybe the judiciary could be "urged" to agree that law can originate with executive order from the president, and Congress role is just to consult in some undefined manner.
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