Obama's Dangerous Claim to Executive Power

Creators Syndicate ^ | October 8, 2013 | Betsy McCaughey

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Negotiating with Republicans has never been in Obama's playbook. Three days after his inauguration in 2009, President Barack Obama silenced Republican lawmakers who voiced concerned about the enormity of spending in his stimulus bill by uttering two brash words, "I won."

That was his governing philosophy, as he rammed through the American Reinvestment and Recovery.

But in the fall of 2010, Republicans swept into control of the House of Representatives, and since then, Obama's agenda has been stalled. With little prospect of gaining control of the House in 2014, Obama is resorting to discrediting the Constitution's limits on presidential power rather than bargain with Congressional Republicans.

Here are the president's own words, explaining why he refuses to negotiate to end the government shutdown and resolve the fast approaching debt ceiling problem.

His views on presidential power ought to alarm all Americans.

"I will not pay ransom," said Obama, for a stopgap-spending bill to open the government.

Historically, presidents have had to make concessions to Congress to secure funding. President Reagan endured eight shutdowns. Each time he negotiated with the Democratic speaker of the house, Tip O'Neill, conceding on issues from mid-range missile defense to support for Nicaraguan contras to quickly end the shutdown.

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Something that must be asked of future Republican candidates, is “Do you think the office of the president has assumed too many powers, and if so, would he work with congress to return the office to its constitutional authorities?”