Warner Todd Huston
How Obama is bypassing democracy, Congress, and you
By Warner Todd Huston
Phil Kerpen has a warning for you, America. He wants to alert you to the fact that Barack Obama is using his powers to create regulations to undermine Congress, ignore voters, and "radically transform America." But Kerpen also has some good news. There's a way to stop this left-wing assault on our country. You can find out what that something is in his new book, Democracy Denied: How Obama is Ignoring You and Bypassing Congress to Radically Transform America — and How to Stop Him.
For this book — his first if I am not mistaken — Kerpen, the Vice President for Policy at Americans for Prosperity, has decided no less than to save the Republic. Of course, it's an uphill battle to beat back the war that has been launched against America for sure.
Why is it an uphill battle? Because the way our country is being torn down is happening in the most subtle way possible. Worse, it is all being done with such ersatz legality, a legitimacy so seemingly ironclad, that most Americans are completely unaware of what is happening. And when they are aware of it they imagine there is nothing wrong with it all.
That and the way this destruction is happening is not the sort of glamorous outrage that makes for exciting news coverage. In fact, it's quite dull. After all, the way the country is being undermined is through long-winded, legalese-filled, opaque regulatory changes. Red tape. Underhanded, jargon-heavy rules, quietly implemented without fanfare or the light of day revealing them for that matter.
Like I said, Kerpen has an uphill battle not only to alert Americans to what is happening right under their very noses, but to excite them enough to do something about it.
Through the bulk of his book Kerpen outlines the way that our Americanness is being smothered in paper with the thousands of pages of new regulations that Obama is weekly churning out from his administration.
Kerpen details the way the Obama administration, guided by a hardcore, left-wing ideology, is attempting to take control of the Internet, is trying to eliminate private property rights, is destroying the business sector in favor of big labor unionization, is using the outsized fear of global warming to ramp up a socialist-styled enlargement of government control on all fronts from the EPA to our energy sector, and more. In each case, Kerpen notes that this regulatory overreach is directly contrary to our American character and our core ideals.
Kerpen also notes that this bacchanalia of regulations and the subsequent growth of the power of the president was even something that the left was exercised about during the eight years of the George W. Bush era. Unfortunately for the veracity of the left, all their concerns of an un-American growth of executive power have been wholly forgotten merely because they like the direction of the obscene overreach implemented by Obama. No end of hypocrisy there, eh?
Kerpen also points out something I've been saying for years. Yes, it is true that presidents have for decades been slowly stealing power from the other branches of government. But our elected representatives and senators are equally at fault for not zealously protecting their privileges. They've stepped aside and allowed this all to happen. Why have they done this? In my opinion, because it is the easier road traveled. After all, if they abdicate power to the president then they have less need to make tough decisions and stand for delineated positions and that makes their re-election easier!
Anyway, the final chapter gives us a roadmap to pruning these obscene powers stolen from the Congress and the people by this most leftist president in American history. But, it too has a warning. Just "doing the right thing" and voting is not enough. We must not only vote for representatives that will endeavor to take back their power to legislate from an out of control executive branch, we must follow up and force these elected officials to follow through on the charge we've handed them.
Seems like a good idea to me.
If you are interested in the way the left — and even some on the far right — have used the presidency to steal power from we the people and our elected representatives, get this book and read it. Then go forth and make a change we really can believe in.
© Warner Todd Huston
October 11, 2011
Phil Kerpen has a warning for you, America. He wants to alert you to the fact that Barack Obama is using his powers to create regulations to undermine Congress, ignore voters, and "radically transform America." But Kerpen also has some good news. There's a way to stop this left-wing assault on our country. You can find out what that something is in his new book, Democracy Denied: How Obama is Ignoring You and Bypassing Congress to Radically Transform America — and How to Stop Him.
For this book — his first if I am not mistaken — Kerpen, the Vice President for Policy at Americans for Prosperity, has decided no less than to save the Republic. Of course, it's an uphill battle to beat back the war that has been launched against America for sure.
Why is it an uphill battle? Because the way our country is being torn down is happening in the most subtle way possible. Worse, it is all being done with such ersatz legality, a legitimacy so seemingly ironclad, that most Americans are completely unaware of what is happening. And when they are aware of it they imagine there is nothing wrong with it all.
That and the way this destruction is happening is not the sort of glamorous outrage that makes for exciting news coverage. In fact, it's quite dull. After all, the way the country is being undermined is through long-winded, legalese-filled, opaque regulatory changes. Red tape. Underhanded, jargon-heavy rules, quietly implemented without fanfare or the light of day revealing them for that matter.
Like I said, Kerpen has an uphill battle not only to alert Americans to what is happening right under their very noses, but to excite them enough to do something about it.
Through the bulk of his book Kerpen outlines the way that our Americanness is being smothered in paper with the thousands of pages of new regulations that Obama is weekly churning out from his administration.
Kerpen details the way the Obama administration, guided by a hardcore, left-wing ideology, is attempting to take control of the Internet, is trying to eliminate private property rights, is destroying the business sector in favor of big labor unionization, is using the outsized fear of global warming to ramp up a socialist-styled enlargement of government control on all fronts from the EPA to our energy sector, and more. In each case, Kerpen notes that this regulatory overreach is directly contrary to our American character and our core ideals.
Kerpen also notes that this bacchanalia of regulations and the subsequent growth of the power of the president was even something that the left was exercised about during the eight years of the George W. Bush era. Unfortunately for the veracity of the left, all their concerns of an un-American growth of executive power have been wholly forgotten merely because they like the direction of the obscene overreach implemented by Obama. No end of hypocrisy there, eh?
Kerpen also points out something I've been saying for years. Yes, it is true that presidents have for decades been slowly stealing power from the other branches of government. But our elected representatives and senators are equally at fault for not zealously protecting their privileges. They've stepped aside and allowed this all to happen. Why have they done this? In my opinion, because it is the easier road traveled. After all, if they abdicate power to the president then they have less need to make tough decisions and stand for delineated positions and that makes their re-election easier!
Anyway, the final chapter gives us a roadmap to pruning these obscene powers stolen from the Congress and the people by this most leftist president in American history. But, it too has a warning. Just "doing the right thing" and voting is not enough. We must not only vote for representatives that will endeavor to take back their power to legislate from an out of control executive branch, we must follow up and force these elected officials to follow through on the charge we've handed them.
Seems like a good idea to me.
If you are interested in the way the left — and even some on the far right — have used the presidency to steal power from we the people and our elected representatives, get this book and read it. Then go forth and make a change we really can believe in.
© Warner Todd Huston
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
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