Freedom Line Blog

Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation makes a compelling argument in a Fox News op-ed that conservatives in Congress must adopt a more confrontational posture in resisting President Barack Obama’s unconstitutional, non-recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

There is also no evidence that the House or Senate will take any of the other actions available, such as cutting the NLRB’s budget or passing legislation banning any federal funds from being used to enforce any orders or regulations issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau until the president voids his unconstitutional appointments. The House needs to do more than just hold hearings to enforce its constitutional decision not to consent to a Senate recess.

As for the Senate, it operates almost entirely on “unanimous consent.”

Moreover:

It would take only one senator standing up for constitutional principles and the rule of law to get the ball rolling and shame his colleagues into joining him to fight the president’s tyrannical actions.

He could hold up all of the president’s nominations and bring the Senate to a standstill through quorum calls and continuous objections to unanimous consent motions.

Challenging the President’s lawless attempts to fill powerful regulatory agencies with liberal ideologues should be a no-brainer for any Republican in Congress.  That none of von Spakovsky’s straight-forward recommendations is gaining traction shows that some GOP Members of Congress haven’t learned the Tea Party lesson yet – either defend the Constitution early and often or get ready for a primary challenge.