Federal Mandates, Government agencies, Healthcare, Government regulations

Obama Power Grabs Threaten Our Democracy

By Fred Dardick
Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Something is very broken in our government, and I’m not talking about the trillions in wasteful spending by Democrats in Washington. It’s something else that I believe will be regarded as the true legacy of the Obama presidency—a tectonic shift in the balance of power from private citizens and our elected representatives in Congress to the executive branch.

What Soros, Pelosi, Reid, and the rest of the progressive crowd understood better than anyone prior to Obama’s arrival in Washington, was the mechanisms for the direct control over most American enterprises already existed within the federal framework. It was present in the cabinet level departments and other federal agencies that answer to the President, giving an immoral leader unchecked authority should they be so bold to exercise it, influence the framers of the Constitution had never intended when this nation was established.

Over the years, cabinet level departments and government agencies, including the EPA and FCC, have substantially grown in power as additional responsibilities were added to their mandates through legislation. This ongoing process was acutely demonstrated this past year when control of the healthcare insurance industry was gifted to the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Treasury was put in charge of banking.

These agencies now hold so much power that their decisions can trump laws written by Congress. Last week the Secretary of Health and Human Services granted waivers to 30 corporations and unions that exempt them from ObamaCare mandates. It makes one question the purpose of elected representatives when an unelected bureaucrat can dictate at will whether or not companies have to comply with the law. http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/14/with- ... nd-losers/

Under Obama’s leadership the transfer of power away from Congress has progressed with alarming speed. For months, Cap and Trade energy legislation was bitterly contested on both sides of the aisle and in the end the bill was abandoned. However, because of regulations set by EPA Administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, a government bureaucrat that most Americans have never even heard of, CO2 emission limits will begin January 2011. Our economy faces potentially catastrophic increases in energy costs, all accomplished without a single vote in Congress. http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/21600

We have seen the executive branch use government regulations to take direct control of private industries including auto manufacturers, http://hotair.com/archives/2010/07/19/t ... -closures/ educational loans, http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010 ... alth-care/ commercial fishing http://michellemalkin.com/2010/08/20/an ... cean-grab/ and domestic energy production http://michellemalkin.com/2010/07/20/wh ... r-economy/ while Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials provide de facto amnesty to illegal aliens by refusing to prosecute offenders. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/23 ... verbruggen

Even with all of these successes, the Obama administration still reaches for more influence. The Department of Education is actively considering regulations that will give it control over the educational content http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=209589 taught all levels from kindergarten through graduate school and the Department of Interior is looking to take over millions of acres of privately owned land throughout the United States. http://michellemalkin.com/2010/08/14/ho ... -our-land/

An isolated instance of failure by the administration can be found in the FCC where efforts to implement Net Neutrality regulations have been thwarted, not because of Republican resistance or the lack of a legal framework, but due to Democrat resistance that have made the issue so politically radioactive that even Obama hesitates to carry it out.

Of course this may change after the November elections. Obama has spent the last few months framing the argument that conservatives are trying to take the country “backwardsâ€