Wow! With a bi-partisan vote Congress Rebukes Obama on Dictatorial Claim:
The U.S. House of Representatives on July 9 voted almost unanimously to rebuke President Barack Obama over his June 26 signing statement openly declaring that he could ignore provisions of the law he was signing.
The bipartisan 429-2 vote was a direct result of Obama's assertion that he could ignore restricitons on how the $106 billion loan guarantee to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could be used. In his signing statement, Obama claimed that “provisions of this bill within sections 1110 to 1112 of title XI, and sections 1403 and 1404 of title XIV, would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations by directing the Executive to take certain positions in negotiations or discussions with international organizations and foreign governments, or by requiring consultation with the Congress prior to such negotiations or discussions. I will not treat these provisions as limiting my ability to engage in foreign diplomacy or negotiations.”
The House vote rebuking Obama was on an amendment offered by Representative Kay Granger (R-Texas) that would add the following language to the Fiscal 2010 State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill (H.R. 3081): “None of the funds made available in this Act may be used by the Secretary of the Treasury to negotiate an agreement in contravention of [law].”
That Obama’s signing statement was a clear assertion of dictatorial powers was recognized by Republican and Democrat alike in Congress. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) stressed that “we do this not on behalf of this institution, but literally on behalf of democracy, on behalf of the process by which people get elected and deliberate and do this. And there is a kind of a unilateralism, in an undemocratic, unreachable way, to these signing statements that is the opposite of what we do here.”
When even his fellow liberal Democrats are rebuking him with such strong language, stating that his actions are a threat to free government itself, then you know Obama has really gone off the dictatorially deep end!
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Also see:
Statement on Signing the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009 (by Barack Obama)
President gets spanking for ignoring Congress NJ.com
Bush Challenges Hundreds of Laws (by Charlie Savage, Boston Globe)
