The Rule Of Law

The Obama administration has again made clear its plan to grant backdoor amnesty to illegal immigrants. The administration should enforce immigration laws, not look for ways to ignore them. Officials should remember the oath of office they took to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land. Representative Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas

In the government of this commonwealth, the legislative department shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or either of them: the executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them: the judicial shall never exercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them: to the end it may be a government of laws and not of men. Article 30 Massachusetts Constitution

Where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off; but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave, then the situation is full of promise and men enjoy all the blessings that the gods shower on a state.– Plato

“Believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting. I promise you.” Obama to the National Council of La Raza

Imagine playing a game of monopoly in which you own Park Place and Boardwalk and your sister owns New York Ave., Tennessee Ave., and St. James Place.  Now imagine your sister’s boyfriend is in charge of enforcing the rules of the game.   Things are going along well and you build hotels on the blue streets after mortgaging your railroads and some other properties to raise the cash.  Your sister, likewise has hotels on her orange streets.    You roll the dice and land on Tennessee Ave.  You mortgage some more property to pay the rent.  But, you’re in luck, on the next roll your sister lands on Broadway!  Not so fast.  Your sister’s boyfriend (a hulk-hogan look-alike) declares a moratorium on rent – she doesn’t have to pay.

How long would you continue to play the game?

While it’s true that our president looks nothing like Hulk Hogan, he does have the full power of the executive branch – the one in charge of law enforcement – behind him.  Unfortunately, we’re not playing a board game.  But like your fictitious sister’s boyfriend, Mr. Obama is not loathe to change rules arbitrarily.  In this case, it’s not to favor your sister – or even illegal aliens (who ostensibly can’t vote).  No, Mr. Obama is pandering to (what seems to be) an ever shrinking constituency – his supporters.

This is obvious.

What may not be so obvious is the damage he is doing to the institutions of American government.  If he can do this and get by with it, what else can he do?