The Supreme Court heard argument today in the case brought by Texas and 25 other states to bar president Obama's executive action on immigration. Obama announced his plan a almost two years ago, but first a district court and then the Court of Appeals enjoined the government from going ahead with the plan. Now we have gotten to the Supreme Court. There are a number of articles describing the argument, but these are mostly equivalent to reading tea leaves. There is no way to know how a justice will vote just because he or she asked particular questions during the argument. We will just have to wait and see.
One thing is certain, however. The main issue in the case as argued is whether or not the states have standing to sue. The issue as to whether or not Obama has the power to do what he ordered is almost an afterthought. This may be a sign that the liberals on the Court are trying to find something that they can use to obtain a fifth vote for the Obama position. Alternatively, it may be because even the liberals accept the conclusion that Obama went beyond his power to act.
The sad thing is that after the death of Justice Scalia, we may end up with another 4-4 tie vote. I hope not. The constitutional concept of separate but equal branches of government is threatened by Obama's rampant expansion of the executive powers by extra-constitutional methods. No matter who is president, we need to have a chief executive who is constrained by the rule of law. If that falls, we are not far from a dictatorship.
One thing is certain, however. The main issue in the case as argued is whether or not the states have standing to sue. The issue as to whether or not Obama has the power to do what he ordered is almost an afterthought. This may be a sign that the liberals on the Court are trying to find something that they can use to obtain a fifth vote for the Obama position. Alternatively, it may be because even the liberals accept the conclusion that Obama went beyond his power to act.
The sad thing is that after the death of Justice Scalia, we may end up with another 4-4 tie vote. I hope not. The constitutional concept of separate but equal branches of government is threatened by Obama's rampant expansion of the executive powers by extra-constitutional methods. No matter who is president, we need to have a chief executive who is constrained by the rule of law. If that falls, we are not far from a dictatorship.
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