Obama Passes the "I've Got A Pen" Act - Executive Power Legislation

Conservative talk-radio host Mark Levin has responded to Barack Obama’s “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone” declaration to Congress with a declaration of his own: “This is gradual, quiet coup.”

Levin was referring to Obama’s recent statement that he will not wait on Congressional legislation to pass his agenda but will instead use his pen to take executive and administrative actions when and where he sees fit.

Levin played audio clips of Obama’s remarks, which he made before the start of his first Cabinet meeting of the year, on his nationally-syndicated radio – interspersed with commentary. Excerpts:

Obama: “One of the things that I’ll be emphasizing in this meeting is the fact that we are not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help that they need. I’ve got a pen…and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions…that move the ball forward.” 

Levin: “He’s just announced that he is going to assume law-making powers. He does not recognize the [Republican Party] majority in the House of Representatives.”

Obama: “One of the things that I’m going to be talking to my Cabinet about is how do we use all the tools available to us, not just legislation, in order to advance a mission that I think unifies all Americans.”

Levin: “[He is] assuming that he represents all Americans, that he’s a unifying figure, that we just need to concentrate more power in his hands. He will decide what laws are good, what laws are bad. He will use executive orders to pass laws that Congress won’t pass. And he will ignore laws he doesn’t like, and he’ll rewrite laws that he wants to rewrite like ObamaCare and so forth.”

While Levin’s claim that Obama is literally staging a coup smacks of hyperbole, his analysis of Obama’s comments does not. This president has demonstrated time and again that he will circumvent Congress and the Constitution when he disagrees with existing legislation (Defense of Marriage Act, existing immigration law), and that he will act by decree when bills he champions fail legislatively (DREAM Act).

Obama amends Bill of Rights by executive order.

However, perhaps the most telling – and frightening – part of Obama’s declaration, as Levin pointed out, is that this president seems to believe that he and he alone knows what is best for “the American people,” of whom he speaks as if they are an over-simplified homogenous group, in full support of whatever action(s) he deems necessary. That, in and of itself, is frightening enough.

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Article credit: Mike Miller - While Mike's professional background is in the financial field, he has been a political junkie since his early days in grade school. He entered college with the intent of pursuing a journalism degree, but politics and the business world pulled (and pushed) him in a different direction. Mike also publishes "Rat Nation," a conservative political blog, where he writes as "Rat." Mike's articles have been featured on Forbes.com, The Dallas Morning News, Fuse, Newsvine, Discovery News and various other sites.