Obominations

The RNLA blog has a weekly "Obomination" feature covering the ways President Obama has defied the rule of law.

February 17, 2012:  Obama Tramples on the First Amendment

Last Friday, Obama held a press conference offering a “compromise” on the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate.  It was assuredly a compromise: Obama declared that religious institutions must compromise their consciences and provide abortifacient and other services. Read more.

February 10, 2012:  The Hypocrisy of Obama and His Party in the Senate

Last week, 34 Senators wrote a letter to Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), pointing out the Democrat’s hypocrisy with regard to the permissibility of presidential recess appointments during Senate pro forma sessions.   The letter charges Obama and the Democrats in the Senate with “undermin[ing] the constitutional authority of the Senate in order to serve a political objective.” Read more.

February 3, 2012:  The "Wholly Unacceptable" Fast and Furious

Exactly three years ago, Eric Holder was sworn in to be Attorney General.   In that time, Holder has admitted that Fast and Furious – where law enforcement officials sold guns to drug dealers in Mexico and a gun was used in the murder of a United States border patrol agent – is “wholly unacceptable.”  Lawmakers in the House of Representatives that chief law enforcement official Eric Holder’s behavior just that – wholly unacceptable – as well. Read more.

January 27, 2012: DOJ Advancing a Political Agenda

Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler said that the Obama administration is using the Federal Motor Voter Law “to advance a political agenda.”  On July 12, 2011, the Justice Department sued Louisiana claiming that “Louisiana officials have not routinely offered voter registration forms, assistance and services to the state’s eligible citizens who apply, recertify or provide a change address for public assistance or disability services.” Schedler said there is no evidence of state employees deliberately neglecting to make voter registration forms available. Read more.

January 20, 2012: DOJ Distorts Data As It Aggressively Scrutinizes Voter ID

Obama’s Justice Department will go to whatever lengths to distort data in order to pursue their “aggressive” agenda against voter ID.  The Department of Justice is misusing its power where it has authority not to preclear voting statutes if they violate civil rights laws. Read more.

January 13, 2012: Obama's DOJ Puts Politics Above the Law

Last Friday’s Obomination was Obama’s decision to make four illegal recess appointments last week.  This week, the Obomination is his Justice Department’s poorly written after-the-fact rationalization for those appointments.  Obama and his administration believe the law should be followed only when it suits their political agenda.  Read more.

January 6, 2012: Obama's Recess Appointment Timing: Change We Should Not Believe In

Barack Obama appointed Richard Cordray director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through a recess appointment, while the Senate was in a “pro forma” session.  But that’s not all.  Hours later, Obama installed Terrence Flynn, Sharon Block, and Richard Griffin as NLRB Board Members, appointments also made during the Senate’s pro forma session. Read more.

December 23, 2011: The Scaremongering by the President’s Men

The title of this Obomination comes from an insightful op-ed by Jason Riley published this week.  Riley is a seasoned journalist on the editorial board of a major newspaper, not a politician.  His observations of the voter ID issue comes after hearing recent comments by an Obama administration official and a civil rights leader with close ties to Obama.  He identifies what is going on as “scaremongering.”  Read more.

December 16, 2011: The Man Obama Picked To Be At the Helm of Justice

As news started to break about Fast and Furious, Obama said of Attorney General Eric Holder, "I have complete confidence in him."  Obama may now be the only one who does.  As we learn more about Holder’s role in the Department of Justice in matters such as voting rights, politicized hiring as well as Fast and Furious, concerned members of Congress as well as presidential candidates are concerned that the man Obama picked to be at the helm of the Justice Department is unfit.  Read more.

December 9, 2011: The Left Responds to Vote Fraud Investigation by Denying Vote Fraud Exists

Prosecutors in St. Joseph County, Indiana are now currently investigating what appears to be a concerted effort of forging signatures to get Obama on the primary ballot. The question must be asked: Was the person now in office really even supposed to be on the ballot? Instead of confronting this serious concern and supporting reforms at the polls, the left proceeds to flat out deny vote fraud exists. Read more.

December 2, 2011: Obama Continues to Support ACORN

Apparently, Obama’s right hand (his DOJ) ignores what the left hand (which Obama uses to sign) is doing.  Obama’s Office of Justice Programs awarded a grant of $138,130 in 2011 to Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) in order to “sustain the efforts” of the organization. But wait!  In December of 2009, President Obama signed into law a bill that prohibits federal funds from going to ACORN.  Read more.

November 25, 2011:  The Unconstitutionality of Obamacare

Why get rid of Obamacare?  Yes, there are practical arguments that so much federal government control over the health care industry is not efficient or helpful.  Then, there are concerns about whether it was even well-written and had the support of the legislature, when over 2700 pages of the Obamacare bill were read by hardly anyone who voted for it.  But most importantly, Obamacare should be struck down because it is the unconstitutional expansion of the federal government.  Last Monday, the Supreme Court granted cert to the Obamacare case and now the justices have the opportunity to review the constitutionality of this law and potentially strike the whole law down. Read more.

November 18, 2011: Cherry Picking Election Laws

The Department of Justice “can’t just pick and choose which sections to enforce.”    Senator David Vitter made this statement and issued a letter this week to Attorney General Eric Holder calling on the Justice Department to enforce all provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).  Vitter is “deeply concerned” that the DOJ is “allowing some states to keep felons, illegal aliens and dead people on their voter rolls, which is a clear violation of the law.”  Read more.

November 11, 2011: How Obama’s Agencies Are Disenfranchising Military Voters

Today we celebrate Veterans Day, which was first proclaimed in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.   Yesterday was the 236th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.  Tuesday was Election Day.   This week, it’s important to ask: “How have we treated our military voters?”  The answer is not something to be happy about. According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program, over 112,000 military voters neverreceived their absentee ballot this year.  Read more.

November 4, 2011: Obama Declares War Against Voter ID

Many members of the media and commentators are talking about the supposed “GOP war on voting.”  However, it’s really Obama who has taken the offensive on voter ID.  According to the Wall Street Journal, “the Obama re-election campaign will mount…an unprecedented ‘voter protection’ effort, fielding thousands of volunteers in battleground states to help navigate new election laws, months earlier than past efforts.” Obama has already called voter protection his “big priority” and pledged that the Justice Department would scrutinize voter ID laws.  Last week in Wisconsin, the Obama team approved educational materials to counter the state new voter ID law. Read more.

October 28, 2011: The Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department

The title of this Obomination is taken from a book by J. Christian Adams, entitled.  In the pages of Injustice, you will find a staggering number of government actions Adams calls “outrageous.”  Adams recently spoke about Injustice at an event at the Heritage Foundation. Read more.

October 21, 2011: President Does Not Change Stance on Voter ID, Unlike Colleague

One of the earliest supporters of Obama, former Alabama Congressman Artur Davis, changed his mind and now supports voter ID.   This reversal, unfortunately, hasn’t seemed to influence the stance of the 44^th President.  Obama’s reluctance to change today on the issue of photo identification is an obomination. Read more.

October 14, 2011: Crony Capitalism of the White House

Solyndra.  LightSquared. The list goes on and on.   Obama’s cronies have been receiving special treatment through federal loans, grants and subsidies.  What happens if the federal government gives money to a company that fails?  When Obama has been picking the winners, the American taxpayers are the ones that lose out in the end. Read more.

October 7, 2011: President's Confidence in Attorney General Misplaced

Obama recently said of Attorney General Eric Holder, "I have complete confidence in him."  The president’s comments in support for his attorney general have come after five documents to Holder surfaced about Operation Fast and Furious, a program that the Attorney General denied knowledge of under oath. The Justice Department has tried to rectify the situation by saying that Holder doesn’t read all the memoranda he receives.  The nation’s chief law enforcement officer is guilty of perjury or is grossly incompetent.  Neither should generate a vote of confidence. Read more.

September 30, 2011: The Double Standard at Obama's DOJ

Have you been keeping count at Obama’s Department of Justice?

Leftist lawyers: 113

Moderate, non-ideological, or conservative lawyers: 0.

These numbers, as covered in a previous Obomination, are especially disturbing because career employees at the Justice Department are supposed to be selected by merit by law.  According to the Civil Service Reform Act, “All employees and applicants for employment should receive fair and equitable treatment in all aspects of personnel management without regard to political affiliation…”  Read more.

September 23, 2011: Campaigner-in-Chief Ignores House of Representatives Rules

A DNC political ad for Obama uses footage from inside the Capitol, in violation of Rules for the House of Representatives.  House Rules 5 and 11 prohibit the use of broadcasts of House proceedings for political purposes.  The RNLA has written to the Office of Congressional Ethics requesting an investigation into this matter, as DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a member of the House of Representatives. Read more.

September 16, 2011: Obama’s Disregard for Separation of Powers

For someone who taught constitutional law, Obama has forgotten (or simply chooses to ignore) one critical legal topic: separation of powers.  Our Founding Fathers created a limited form of government with three branches, but Obama seems to think he’s the only one, blatantly disregarding authority of the courts and Congress.  His approach has been to do what he wants, irrespective of what the Constitution dictates. Read more.

September 9, 2011: Taxpayers Footing the Bill for Obama's Campaigning

It wasn’t a State of Union, so what was the President doing at the Capitol?  Last night, Obama delivered a speech in the U.S. Capitol with the House chamber as the backdrop.  Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform has demanded that he reimburse taxpayers for use of the Congressional building for a political speech.  The president’s use of taxpayer-funded resources for multiple political efforts is raising concerns about whether such behavior is ethical.  Read more.

September 2, 2011: The White House's Responsibility for Judicial Vacancies

The White House has turned to the word “unprecedented” again.  This time, Obama is claiming that Senate Republicans are responsible for the supposedly “unprecedented” judicial confirmation delays.  The real reason why the current president has not had comparable numbers of confirmations as prior presidents is because nominating judges has simply not been a priority for the Obama administration.  Read more.

August 26, 2011: Obama's DOJ: Conservatives Need Not Apply

The FOIA request is in from Pajamas Media for the resumes of the attorneys hired by the Civil Rights Division since Obama took office, and the results are disturbing.  The Department of Justice has hired leftwing radicals to staff that Division’s career service attorney positions. Read more.

August 19, 2011:  Obama's NLRB Goes Rogue

This Wednesday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa wrote a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declaring that the Board’s noncompliance with a subpoena is “a violation of law and a direct act of obstruction” of the Committee’s oversight.  Issa also stated, “This refusal by NLRB to abide by the law further heightens concerns that this is a rogue agency acting improperly.”  Read more.

August 5, 2011: Donors Get Access to the Obama Administration

Obama’s re-election campaign is hosting a “Speakers Series,” which started with an event on July 21 with former White House Chief of Staff and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.  Donors who pay $1000 for one or $5000 for five can attend lectures in New York, featuring chief of staff Bill Daley, senior advisor David Plouffe, deputy senior adviser Stephanie Cutter, deputy chief of staff Alyssa Mastromonaco, deputy chief of staff Nancy-Ann DeParle, senior counselor Pete Rouse, White House director of public engagement Jon Carson, and Michelle Obama’s chief of staff Tina Tchen. Read more.

July 29, 2011: The DNC's Fundraising Headquarters at the White House

The White House has been finding lots of ways to package everything Obama does as “unprecedented.”  But on June 17, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney reversed course to call a March 7 meeting with the 44th president “totally precedented.”  White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler has claimed that Obama’s behavior was “consistent with the practices of prior Administrations from both political parties.”  There’s a reason behind the complete reversal in terminology: Obama may have violated the law.  Read more.

July 22, 2011: Investigating the Campaigner-in-Chief

Obama’s aggressive campaign efforts have led to probing questions by many prominent legal and political figures in Washington.  Is Obama breaking the law to remain in office? Read more.

July 15, 2011: Hiding War Behind An Obamism

The Obama administration is engaging in nothing short of “verbal gymnastics”  to avoid admitting that we are at war.  Instead of stating the obvious, Obama hopes that the American public will not figure out what he’s really up to – exercising war powers without Congressional approval. Read more.

July 8, 2011: The Barack Czar Life 

Numbering more than the famed Romanev Dynasty, Obama’s czars are some of the most radical people in the executive branch.   Czars are high-level White House staff selected by the President without Senate confirmation and wielding extensive power without Congressional oversight.  With official titles like “Special Advisor,” “Assistant to the President” or “Special Envoy,” these individuals live the Barack Czar life – all that power, without any of the accountability.  Read more.

July 1, 2011: Obama Thinks Campaign Laws Don't Apply to Him

At the White House, the President filmed an announcement for "Dinner with Barack," a raffle where entrants are asked to donate to Obama’s election campaign.  But there’s one problem with all this--federal law provides that the President may not solicit donations for a federal election in any room which is used for official duties.  See 18 U.S.C.  607.  Read more.