Abuse of Power That Could Impact You
BY Daria Novak, Candidate, US Congress CT-02
Abuse of Power That Could Impact You
Listening to the results of the Iowa caucuses I started thinking about this nation, our Founding Fathers, and what they might think about how their “Great Experiment” is turning out as we enter 2012.
In Iowa we have patriots and politicians running for the highest public office in our land. Sometimes, we are lucky and the candidate is both. But then it really hit me. We can’t afford to base our laws on the belief that those running for or holding such office will place the national interest before their own.
The is no guarantee that “The Good Leader” will emerge from Iowa, or Chicago, despite all the promises. We need to hold our all our officials accountable and follow Rule of Law not Presidential fiat.
The National Defense Authorization Act (the “NDAA”) that passed recently is an excellent example of what we Americans have to fear. In essence, our Bill of Rights is being repealed by legislation with the stated aim of protecting our citizens from those wishing us harm.
However, upon closer examination, Section 1021 (formerly named “Section 1031″) of the NDAAA Conference Report poses a real challenge to “due process of law” and our Fifth Amendment rights (“the Right to Remain Silent” and against “False Imprisonment”).
Our Founding Fathers wanted the federal government only to be as strong as is necessary to protect our citizenry. Yet, today, there is a provision in the NDAA lowering that bar and, in essence, repealing the very basic concept of Due Process. A “Good Leader” won’t use the powers allowed under Section 1021, but is that how our U.S. Congress should be writing law?
This President, with the vaguely defined criteria of this law, can INDEFINITELY detain any American citizen for suspected support or association with a terrorist group located anywhere in the world. This can be construed to include an American citizen making a donation to a group (church, relief group, or otherwise) that operates in areas where terrorists are active — including inside the U.S. One is forever linked to that donation and could be subject to Section 1021 of the NDAA if the government deems it so under the law.
For the first time in American history this is codified in our law! A key check on power that can be used against our citizens, is gone. The slope gets more slippery, too. It is not simply a single incident. This is what most concerns me.
On January 4, while the Senate legally was In Session, President Obama made not one, but four “recess” appointments. He named Richard Cordray the head of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB), in violation of the spirit of the law, which requires Senate confirmation of this type of appointment when the Senate is In Session. He then went on to name three additional persons, all without consent of the Senate — just as dictators do in many Third World nations without democracy. There is a reason we have Checks and Balances on our government.
Not only is the President pushing his use of Executive Power, it also raises the issue of the Administration itself, and its overstepping of its authority in an unprecedented power grab in an election year.
The new CFPB bureaucracy created costs us taxpayers $500 Million per year. It will begin to oversee mortgage companies, payday lenders, debt collectors and other financial companies faulted for the 2008 economic meltdown. This is a massive government undertaking.
It is time we American stood united behind our Constitution and Rule of Law in America before that, too, becomes illegal.
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