Barack Obama: President or Emperor?

“I've got a pen, and I’ve got a phone. And I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward."

Do you fully understand what your president just told you?

Regardless of your political ideology, these words uttered by any elected official, and especially by a president of these United States of America, should send a chill down your spine and sound danger sirens across this nation.

For those not sharing my conservative philosophy and seeing nothing wrong with our president's recent remarks, I ask just one question: What would be your reaction if this sentiment were expressed by a Republican president?

What would we have heard from the mainstream media had President George W. Bush uttered these same words that are in complete defiance of our Constitution and separation of powers? Can you imagine the headlines and the outrage from the left-leaning media outlets?

Instead, Governor Chris Christie's "Bridgegate," a contrived "War on Women," and the antics of Justin Bieber dominate the news. I'm certainly no fan of Governor Christie but whatever the level of dirty politics surrounded a bridge closing in New Jersey pales in comparison to a sitting president indicating that he plans to subvert Congress should he not get his way.

We are now experiencing the presidency that our Founders feared, and it provides the best example of why they were so careful in drafting our Constitution so as to avoid the concentration of power that existed in England with King George.

Perhaps the Republican members in Congress think he’s a king because pushback over these remarks is slow in coming. I imagine it’s because the GOP leadership thinks that the mainstream media won’t “like” them should they challenge his comments. But here’s a news flash – the media never has liked conservatives or the GOP and they never will.

Admittedly, I saw a Facebook post from Speaker Boehner’s office in which his staff asserted that President Obama may have a pen and a phone, but they have the Constitution; however, the use of the Constitution by the GOP-led House hasn’t been exactly a high point under Speaker Boehner’s leadership.

Conservative radio host Mark Levin was correct in his assessment of President Obama’s remarks but the mainstream media has ignored them.

“He’s just announced that he is going to assume lawmaking powers. He does not recognize the majority in the House of Representatives. I don’t know how much more clearly he can say it. You know what this is folks? This is a gradual, quiet coup. That’s what is taking place. It’s gradual. It’s quiet, in the sense that it’s non-violent. But it’s a coup!”

Levin went on to acknowledge that the constitutional crisis we are facing doesn’t involve the number of executive orders issued, but rather the content of those orders. Orders issued from the executive branch as an end-run around Congress when legislation fails to pass is in direct conflict with the constitutional manner in which our government was designed to operate. Three equal and separate branches were established to prevent the threat that our current president has now verbalized, and if our citizens on either side of the aisle cannot see this danger, we are in worse trouble than ever imagined.

The Affordable Care Act rollout was disastrous with more uncertainty to come, the IRS is poised to intrude further in our lives, the murders in Benghazi are given little more than lip service, and the United States is no longer in the top 10 ranking of the world’s freest economies*, with government spending on the rise while property rights decrease.

At the risk of repetition, I have to ask yet again: Are you willing to get involved in our political process? Will 2014 be the year for Americans to say “enough” and truly mean it by electing representation nationwide who care more about liberty than their political power? Or will we continue with the re- election of the same political ruling class and expect different results?

*2014 Index of Economic Freedom: Five Points

You Should Know, The Foundry blog, Heritage Foundation, 1/14/14.

Marcia Chambliss is the Alabama State Coordinator of Smart Girl Politics, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to the education and training of activists and candidates, and Smart Girl Politics Action, http://sgpaction.com/, a 501(c)(4) which focuses on conservative issues. She can be reached at Marcia@sgpaction.com. Her views do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Smart Girl Politics Action.