Did You Know That The President Can Adjourn Congress ??? - Could Come In Handy...

[WillyT]

if one wanted to force a recess appointment or two.

Section. 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

United States Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

:shrug:

[KamaAina]

1. Now you tell us.

He could have threatened to do that last week. :banghead:

[WillyT]

2. Just Found Out Myself...

:shrug:

:hi:

[Tx4obama]

4. Some folks on DU were talking about it around the scheduled July 4th recess n/t

[Tx4obama]

3. It has nothing to do with last week ...

" ... in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment ... "

----

Now if the GOP in the Senate will not agree to adjournment this coming up Friday, then the President can force an adjournment (as opposed to a pro-forma session which the GOP forced the Senate into over Memorial Day break) and THEN Obama will be free to do some recess appointments of administration and federal judicial nominees :)

[KamaAina]

6. But the real damage is done.

He could have used this as leverage in the debt ceiling battle, e.g. "Take the g-dd-mn balanced budget amendment out or you're adjourned!"

[former9thward]

14. That would make no sense.

If he adjourned Congress how would he get any legislation on the debt ceiling passed?

[KamaAina]

25. If he had done it in time,

he could have reconvened in a hurry after Boner and Can'tor had caved. :(

[Liberal Veteran]

17. A media neophyte (much less a right wing corporate loudspeaker) could spin this as...

"We were trying to fix things and were close to an agreement, but the president shut us down and destroyed our economy in moment of overreach and pique."

It wouldn't take much to turn that narrative to an example of a president acting as a dictator.

There are more subtle tools in our arsenal.

[WillyT]

18. LOL !!! - Yeah... They're So Subtle, Nobody Knows What They Are, Or...

why they should give a damn.

Beware the Enthusiasm Gap.

:shrug:

[KamaAina]

26. Are there? Well, then, where were they?

While we were getting royally Boned? :cry:

[Liberal Veteran]

5. No president has ever exercised that right, what do you think the reaction might be?

Let's say he decided he wanted to do some recess appointments and exercised this option to adjourn Congress.

I'd give it less than a day before the Congress filed articles of impeachment.

Given that impeachment is a political process, it might be enough to get one removed from office because it would likely piss off members of both parties.

One could say that doing so would be a "kamikaze" maneuver.

[LaydeeBug]

7. Oh God. Well if it would piss someone off, let's never, ever do it. nt

[Liberal Veteran]

20. This has nothing to do with offending the "delicate sensibilities" of the GOP.

It's one thing to anger the opposition and a totally different thing to give the opposition the tools and legal justification to politically destroy you and your party. It would be folly, in the truest sense of the word.

[WillyT]

9. Yeah... We Mustn't Make The Republicans Mad... They Might Threaten To Shut Down The Government, And

throw our economy into chaos.

Oh... yeah... huh?

:shrug:

[Liberal Veteran]

13. Are a few recess appointments worth putting the country through impeachment proceedings?

I know you aren't exactly a fan of President Obama, but I would think even his staunchest critics would realize that it would be political suicide. Even in those circumstances, there is only so much a President can do while congress is adjourned. He cannot produce law out thin air, so essentially you are suggesting a nuclear option that offers little in the way of tactical gain.

If you are willing to burn the village to save it, I'm not sure you've thought the matter through.

I couldn't care less about pissing off republicans, I just think suggesting such a move for little in return seems either ill-advised (and that's being generous).

[WillyT]

22. A) Impeach Him On What Basis... And B) Yeah, You Bet I'd Like To See Them Try...

even the Republicans are not stupid enough to try that bullshit again. The Tea Party idiots, maybe, but not the GOP Establishment and their Wall Street backers.

Plus... they'd have to take back the Senate first. And if you're predicting that, well then we're toast anyway.

:shrug:

[Liberal Veteran]

24. Given that impeachment is a political process, attempting to seize powers reserved to congress...

....springs to mind and might be enough although I am certainly no attorney.

Certainly such an action by the executive branch would be seen as opportunity for the President's enemies as an excuse to do what they already want to do. Further, it is not inconceivable that members of our own party would be alarmed that giving that act by the executive branch a pass would set a dangerous precedent.

There is definitely historical reference that congress can move against a president's attempts to undermine the authority of another branch of government.

I offer into evidence FDR's attempt to change the Supreme Court.

[treestar]

8. Looks like it only applies if the two houses disagree about when to adjourn

Then the President is the tie breaker or the one to resolve the disagreement.

[WillyT]

11. Um... Aren't "We" In Charge Of One Of Those Houses ???

You don't think Harry Reid would play ball?

:shrug:

[saras]

10. Oh, for chrissakes - look at the powers Bush gave him - he can write his own rules.

As long as he's willing to call it an emergency.

[Jack Rabbit]

12. I remeber the late Art Hoppe making light of it during the Watergate scandal

For those too young to know, Art Hoppe was the political satirist for the San Francisco Chronicle. He was at least as good as Art Buchwald.

I believe this particular column was written in the wake of the Saturday Night Massacre and the barrage of phone calls and telegrams to congress critters calling for Nixon's impeachment (it took me an hour to get through to Western Union that night).

Anyway, Hoppe had Nixon delivering a speech in which he claimed that since he had the authority to call an emergency session of Congress, that implied he had the authority to call an emergency adjournment of Congress and that FBI agents were sealing the doors of the Capitol as he spoke.

[no_hypocrisy]

15. Sounds like the first step toward a dictatorship.

That was the premise of the plot in "Gabriel Over The White House".



When Congress impeaches him, he responds by dissolving the legislative branch, assuming the “temporary” power to make laws as he "transforms himself into an all-powerful dictator."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Over_the_White_House#Plot

[WillyT]

16. Wow... Dictatorship Is Right There In The Constitution ???

Who'd a thunk it?

:D

:shrug:

[Liberal Veteran]

19. To what end? You are politically astute enough to know it doesn't give him the power to pass law.

And I know you are prescient enough to realize that only permanent outcome would be to paint this as an attempt of the White House to seize unilateral power.

I can hardly think of anything more likely to end Obama's presidency and very likely any hope of our party being placed in power.

[WillyT]

21. Adjournment Is NOT Dissolution Of Congress... All You Would Need Is Several Days To...

make several recess appointments, and then Congress can reconvene at its own choosing.

Look, I'm not really thrilled with this as a solution, yet I'm also not willing to unilaterally disarm before my enemies.

:shrug:

[Liberal Veteran]

23. You'll have to do better than that to convince me that this would be political astute.

If I happened to be the president and this idea was brought before me by an advisor, I would ask for that advisor's resignation.

No sale.

[WillyT]

27. And That's Why The 2012 Election Is Gonna Be Waaay Closer That It Should Have Been..

He may not lose, thanks to the insanity of the Republican field, but it will be far closer than otherwise, because many will just not give a shit anymore.

:shrug:

[Liberal Veteran]

28. Adopting dictatorial "my way and fuck you sideways" tactics of republicans is a form of capitulation

This is really a moot point. I happen to agree with you that 2012 will be closer than 2008, but it will be because of the state of the economy, not recess appointments which are only tangentially related to what is going drive voters to the polls. I'd say 90% of the reason the economy is bad is because the republicans are willing to resort to scorched earth tactics to prevent a real recovery.

The way our structure is set up, the powers of the president are fairly weak without any congressional backing. He can't create law and tax code and programs needed for recovery out of thin air. Adjourning congress doesn't eliminate those hurdles.

[WillyT]

29. Well... Here's The Way It Used To Be Done:

Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1637780&mesg_id=1638141

:shrug:

[PufPuf23]

30. POTUS Obama got what he wanted / set out for.

It is naive to think POTUS Obama will follow enact New Deal policy; his role is to emphasize the status quo he inherited.

We really do not yet know the end game yet because of the Super Congress.