Monday, April 14, 2014
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Our Lawless Administration
The Obama Administration has a unique approach to law enforcement. Whether or not it enforces a law depends entirely on how it feels about that law. This is a dangerous precedent because it creates tremendous uncertainty for the public and effectively gives the executive branch near dictatorial powers ignoring laws at a whim and essentially creating new law in the process.
The evidence is undeniable: the Obama Administration has ignored laws regarding traditional marriage and immigration, and it has waived and changed Obamacare two dozen times. How would liberals react if a future conservative president decided he disagreed with major portions of the tax code and chose not to enforce it?
Here’s the latest example of the Obama Administration’s disrespect for the rule of law: Just as it has done with our immigration law, the Justice Department recently ordered U.S. attorneys to effectively ignore the nations drug laws and not object if defense attorneys seek reduced sentences.
As a result, two federal judges who sit on the U.S. Sentencing Commission blasted the administration’s arrogance and lawlessness.
During a commission meeting last week, Judge Ricardo Hinojosa, the commission’s vice chair, said:
“I have been surprised at the attorney general’s steps taken to proceed with this reduction outside of the legal system set up and established by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. As you all know, the commission in the act is given the authority to promulgate and amend guidelines on a yearly basis. And in the act itself, Congress has preserved its right to reject any potential promulgation of, or amendment to, any guidelines made by the commission itself after the commission has acted. Meaning that if Congress does not reject a guideline amendment, it will not go into effect until November 1st of this year if we vote in favor of this amendment.
“When the attorney general testified before us, he failed to mention that the night before, at around 11 pm, the department had ordered all of the assistant U.S. attorneys across the country to (and it’s not clear to me whether it was supposed to be not oppose or to argue for, in fact the U.S. attorneys in front of my court have said they’ve been asked to argue for) the two-level reduction in all drug trafficking cases before the commission has acted and before Congress has had the opportunity to vote its disapproval of the commission’s actions, if Congress is so inclined, which is certainly the right that they have preserved for themselves in the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.
“It would have been nice for us to have known and been told beforehand that this action had been taken, so any of us who would have liked to have asked the attorney general under what basis under Title 18…the courts were being asked by the Justice Department to follow this request. If it was because the attorney general had spoken in favor of this proposal, that is a dangerous precedent because attorney generals in the past have consistently expressed opinions to the commission on guideline promulgation and amendments, many times for an increase, and sometimes for a lowering of the penalties. But none have ever then asked the courts to proceed with increases or decreases simply because the attorney general has spoken in support of them before the commission has acted and before the Congress has exercised its statutory right not to act.”
Judge William Pryor of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Judge Hinojosa, saying:
“That unprecedented instruction disrespected our statutory role ‘as an independent commission in the judicial branch’ to establish sentencing policies and practices under the Sentencing Reform Act and the role of Congress, as the legislative branch, to decide whether to revise, modify, or disapprove our proposed amendment. We do not discharge our statutory duty until we vote on a proposed amendment, and Congress, by law, has until November 1st to decide whether our proposed amendment should become effective. The law provides the executive no authority to establish national sentencing policies based on speculation about how we and Congress might vote on a proposed amendment.”
Whatever one thinks about the “war on drugs,” a more important debate concerns whether America is going to follow the rule of law or the rule of men.
“Control Borders, Not Ranchers”
For several days now there has been a standoff in Nevada between a rancher and the federal government. It has left many people wondering what country we now live in.
The dispute involves a long-standing controversy in the West over grazing fees and land that had been privately owned for years. Citing eminent domain and various environmental concerns, the federal government has encroached more and more on private land owners. An endangered turtle also factors into the Nevada standoff. As a result of this government encroachment, more and more ranchers have been driven off their land and out of business.
During the 1970s, there was a big backlash in the West called the “Sagebrush Rebellion.” Ronald Reagan embraced the movement, saying, “I happen to be one who cheers and supports the Sagebrush Rebellion. Count me in as a rebel.” It helped Reagan sweep many western states in the 1980 election. During the Clinton years, the government began another major land grab by declaring various areas National Heritage sites, and the dispute has been simmering ever since. It boiled over last week when the armed federal agents with the Bureau of Land Management moved in to seize cattle owned by Cliven Bundy.Watch this video. Supporting the Bundy family, hundreds of Americans on foot, and some on horses, confronted the feds, who pulled back. No video is available, but I have read reports indicating that just a few miles away, where the government had also shut down a main road, thousands of people turned out to stand with the Bundy family.
BLM agents looked more like an army than law enforcement. Much has been written about the increasing militarization of the police, which is not a positive development in a free society. The irony is that the show of force the Obama Administration made against this Nevada rancher is exactly what the majority of Americans want the federal government to do at the border in order to prevent the continued violation of our immigration laws.
In fact, many Americans supporting Bundy were chanting “Control the borders, not our ranchers!” Our political elites are sadly unwilling to use that kind of force at the border, but perfectly willing to use it to threaten an American family whose lineage on that land goes back hundreds of years.
America is heading toward an abyss. Leftist elites are aggressively pushing to restrict more of our liberty, while GOP elites are halting and many still do not seem to fully grasp how deep and growing are the threats to our liberty.
Passover
Tonight, Jews all over the world will celebrate the miracle of Passover. The last plague that God used to free the Jews from Pharaoh and Egyptian captivity was to kill all the firstborn males. Forewarned by God, Jews marked their doors with the blood of a lamb, and, as a result, He passed over their homes. (Exodus, Chapter 12.) God told the Jewish people to mark the day as a memorial day and to observe it as a feast to the Lord forever.
Sadly, we saw yet another example of anti-Semitic violence over the weekend, as a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan is suspected of murdering a boy and his grandfather outside a Jewish community center near Kansas City, Missouri, and a woman at a nearby Jewish assisted living center. Initial evidence suggests that the gunman was an anti-Semite who regularly called for genocide against Jews. Ironically, it appears that all three of his victims were Christians.
To all of our Jewish friends, we wish you a happy Passover and all of God’s blessings.
Terry McAuliffe, Culture Warrior
Campaigning for governor of Virginia last fall, liberal money-man Terry McAuliffe promised to focus on fiscal issues. But since his narrow win over Ken Cuccinelli, McAuliffe has morphed into something of a culture warrior, promoting everything from abortion to gay marriage and vetoing two bills designed to protect religious freedom. To read more, check out my latest column at the Washington Times.
If you are interested in receiving Mr. Bauer’s daily report by e-mail, please call 703-671-9700, visit SIGN UP FOR GARY BAUER’S “END OF DAY REPORT” or simply send a reply e-mail titled “Subscribe” and include your name and address.
Visit End of Day archives to share reports on Facebook. Follow Gary On Facebook And Twitter.
To be removed from Gary Bauer’s End of Day distribution list, please reply to this message with “Remove” in the subject line.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to American Values are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. You may donate online by visiting our website or by using the following address in your web browser:https://www.ouramericanvalues.org/american-values-contribution or you may mail contributions to the following address:
American Values
2800 Shirlington Road
Suite 950
Arlington, VA 22206
Phone: 703-671-9700
Fax: 703-671-1680
