Back Off Mr. President!

Name That Tune
Toon by A.F. "Tony" Branco

Reuters wrote yesterday, “The White House was forced on the defensive on Wednesday as it sought to explain controversial remarks President Barack Obama made earlier in the week about the Supreme Court's review of his signature healthcare reform law. . . . Obama expressed confidence on Monday that the Court would not take an ‘unprecedented, extraordinary step’ by overturning the law, provoking a storm of protest that he had been inaccurate and was challenging the nation's top judges in an election year. . . . During robust questioning when [White House Press Secretary Jay] Carney was told at one point that he had mischaracterized what the president had said, the press secretary was forced to repeatedly defend the remarks of his boss . . . .”

Chairman of The Institute for Constitutional Policy Curtis Coleman in his radio commentary today said, "President has raised new questions about his credentials as a constitutional scholar and lawyer. It was a rare and disturbing glimpse behind the veil of a teleprompter. The President of the United States was suggesting that unelected judges should not consider the constitutionality of a law passed by Congress. Commenting on the anticipated ruling of the Supreme Court on Obamacare, the President warned against “ a lack of judicial restraint” in which “an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law.

"That statement revealed a heretofore suspected and now confirmed fault line in the President’s commitment to the Constitution that would rival the San Andreas fault. That the thought would ever occur to any President that it was not only within the authority but the solemn responsibility of the Supreme Court to consider the Constitutionality of any law passed by Congress – and to overturn it if necessary – is incomprehensible. Such a suggestion from the President of the United States demonstrates a flagrant disregard for the rule of law or a frightening lack of understanding that the United States is a republic, not a democracy – governed not by the whims of society but by the rule of law as expressed in the Constitution of the United States of America."

Speaking at the Rotary Club of Lexington, Kentucky, today, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell discussed his criticism of President Obama’s preemptive complaints about the Supreme Court’s consideration of the president’s health care law. “[A]fter a careful study of the law and the precedents, and after weighing the arguments on both sides, the Court will make its final determination. Whether I agree with it or not, I’ll respect the decision. But, apparently, President Obama didn’t like the tenor of some of the questions the justices asked about the health care law during last week’s hearings, questions that highlighted the unprecedented power that the administration now has over your and everybody else’s health care as a result of its passage. So earlier this week, the President did something that as far as I know is completely unprecedented: he not only tried to publicly pressure the Court into deciding a pending case in the way he wants it decided; he also questioned its very authority under the Constitution.”

He added, “Now, the President’s words were particularly troubling given his past treatment of the Court. Two years ago, he used a State of the Union Address to publicly chastise the Court for its decision in another case he didn’t like — with members of the Court sitting just a few feet away. He looked at the line that wisely separates the three branches of government, and stepped right over it. But what the President did this week went even farther. With his words, he was no longer trying to embarrass the Court after a decision; rather, he tried to intimidate it before a decision has been made. And that should be intolerable to all of us.”

Leader McConnell continued, “[A]t the end of the day, it’s the judiciary that ensures we’re a nation ruled by laws, not the whim of a President or a particular Congress. That’s why the Founders made sure the people who sit on the courts have lifetime appointments. It’s why the Constitution explicitly prohibits Congress from lowering their pay. It’s why justices enjoy the freedom to decide cases as they see fit, even if it means upsetting the very President who appointed them. The truth is, if this law’s in trouble, it’s because giving the government this much power is hard to defend, not because a few justices had the temerity to suggest as much. But the President seems to be saying that you’re an activist if you’re not stretching the limits of the limited powers the Constitution gives to the federal government.”

“We can all disagree about the merits of a President’s policies,” he concluded. “But the American people should be able to expect that their President will defend the independence of the Court, not undermine it, safeguarding and strengthening our country’s institutions, not actively weakening them. The President crossed a dangerous line this week. And anyone who cares about liberty needs to call him out on it. The independence of the Court must be defended. Regardless of how the justices decide this case, they’re answerable, above all, to the Constitution they swore to uphold. The fact that this President does not appear to feel similarly constrained to respect their independence doesn’t change that one bit. So respectfully, I would suggest the President back off.”

---

Tags: Barack Obama, Supreme Court, Mitch McConnell, Congress, Constitution, democracy, judicial activism, judicial restraint, Obamacare, Republic, separation of powers, Supreme Court, Coleman Commentary, Constitution, Constitutional Crisis, Health Care Reform To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!