BY RUSSELL TURNER
THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER
Ever since I can remember I have heard the old expression about what is good for the goose is good for the gander. In essence the old saying means that any rule or law should be applied equally for everyone. I have noticed a trend in our country where far too many of our elected leaders prefer to selectively enforce the laws that were intended to apply to all of the citizens of this country. Being a conservative I have the belief that our system of laws should be just and applied to everyone equally. Sadly, many of our elected officials do not prescribe to that point of view. I believe that laws and regulations are our way to serve as a check and balance system for past mistakes. If a law is flawed or just wrong, we have the ability to change or repeal it. Until that happens it is our duty to abide by those laws. Recently a controversy arose about an appointment that our president made.
Our presidents have the authority to make appointments to various departments during times that our Congress is in recess, thus they are called “Recess Appointments”. These appointments can only be made when the Congress has been in recess for 3 days. President Obama used his recess appointment powers to name a head for the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a move Republican lawmakers said amounted to an unconstitutional power grab. The president acted just a day after the Senate held a session — a move that breaks with at least three different precedents. As recently as 2007 and 2008, Mr. Obama and his fellow Democrats imposed the three day rule when they were trying to block then-President George W. Bush from making recess appointments. Our president should be very aware of the three day rule because he was a senator during the time that it was used against George Bush.
I have experienced this same kind of behavior in local government. I even heard one elected official say that there are many rules and you cannot obey all of them, so do what you want to. This self important attitude is a big part of the problem that is destroying our nation. Any elected official needs to take a good look at themselves and how they are fulfilling the oath of office that they took when they started their term. Our system of government is based upon checks and balances. When any elected official takes it upon himself to ignore the laws of the land he is breaking his oath of office; his actions become more like that of a dictator instead of public servant. It is deplorable when our leaders abuse their authority, but it is equally deplorable when we the citizens start accepting it as normal.
THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER
Ever since I can remember I have heard the old expression about what is good for the goose is good for the gander. In essence the old saying means that any rule or law should be applied equally for everyone. I have noticed a trend in our country where far too many of our elected leaders prefer to selectively enforce the laws that were intended to apply to all of the citizens of this country. Being a conservative I have the belief that our system of laws should be just and applied to everyone equally. Sadly, many of our elected officials do not prescribe to that point of view. I believe that laws and regulations are our way to serve as a check and balance system for past mistakes. If a law is flawed or just wrong, we have the ability to change or repeal it. Until that happens it is our duty to abide by those laws. Recently a controversy arose about an appointment that our president made.
Our presidents have the authority to make appointments to various departments during times that our Congress is in recess, thus they are called “Recess Appointments”. These appointments can only be made when the Congress has been in recess for 3 days. President Obama used his recess appointment powers to name a head for the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a move Republican lawmakers said amounted to an unconstitutional power grab. The president acted just a day after the Senate held a session — a move that breaks with at least three different precedents. As recently as 2007 and 2008, Mr. Obama and his fellow Democrats imposed the three day rule when they were trying to block then-President George W. Bush from making recess appointments. Our president should be very aware of the three day rule because he was a senator during the time that it was used against George Bush.
I have experienced this same kind of behavior in local government. I even heard one elected official say that there are many rules and you cannot obey all of them, so do what you want to. This self important attitude is a big part of the problem that is destroying our nation. Any elected official needs to take a good look at themselves and how they are fulfilling the oath of office that they took when they started their term. Our system of government is based upon checks and balances. When any elected official takes it upon himself to ignore the laws of the land he is breaking his oath of office; his actions become more like that of a dictator instead of public servant. It is deplorable when our leaders abuse their authority, but it is equally deplorable when we the citizens start accepting it as normal.
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