The SCOTUS’ decision to strike down President Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB in NLRB v. Noel Canning gave us another reason to vote in November.
In a unanimous ruling, written by Justice Breyer, the Court said
For purposes of the Recess Appointments Clause, the Senate is in session when it says that it is, provided that, under its own rules, it retains the capacity to transact Senate business.
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In other words, obstructionists can manipulate the Senate rules to prevent a President from making appointments during session by obstructing the confirmation process. With this ruling, they can also prevent the President from making recess appointments. In other words, the congressional romper room who have a well established record of abusing the rules to get what they want can now hold nominations to boards, agencies and even the courts for ransom.
The immediate consequences of this ruling are twofold. First, it means the NLRB will revert to its pre Recess appointment status of lacking a quorum to function. It also means that its ruling in the case brought before the Supreme Court is void. It remains to be seen how this ruling by the Supreme Court will affect other decisions the NLRB made since regaining its quorum.
Either the House or the Senate can force the Senate to hold “pro forma” or sham sessions – solely to prevent the President from making recess appointments, just as Republicans did in 2011.
Prior to Obama’s decision to make these recess appointments, Republicans frustrated his nominations to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because they were ideologically opposed to the CPFB’s existence.
Republicans blocked Elizabeth Warren and Richard Corday’s nominations solely because Republicans were ideologically opposed to the Consumer Protection Agency’s existence. Forty-four Senate Republicans admitted it in a letter they sent to President Obama.
“We write to express our concerns about the lack of accountability in the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As presently organized, far too much power will be vested in the CFPB director without any effective checks and balances. Accordingly, we will not support the consideration of any nominee, regardless of party affiliation, to be the CFPB director until the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reformed.”
Republicans frustrated efforts to nominate members to the NLRB. Therefore, it lacked a quorum to function at the most basic level since 2007.
In other words, because the congressional romper room doesn’t like the CFPB and the NLRB, they were going to stop at nothing to prevent them from functioning at all. The reason Republicans don’t like CFPB and the NLRB is because they are mechanisms to prevent corporate interests from stomping all of over people’s rights.
From a legal standpoint, the ruling makes sense. It even makes sense when Congress is comprised of reasonable adults who have philosophical differences but are willing to compromise in the country’s best interest.
However, our congress has some members who are anything but reasonable adults. They resent Barack Obama for having the audacity to win two presidential elections and they resent the people who elected him. They don’t believe in government of the people, by the people and especially for the people. The reality is the Tea Party controlled Republicans will obstruct everything the President does simply because he is Barack Obama.
We can change this by voting the obstructionists out in November.
Image: The Red Phoenix
Former contributor.
