Obama vs. Supreme Court
The June 30 Supreme Court ruling dealt a blow to the big government policies of the Obama administration. Last week, the court ruled unanimously against Obama’s recess appointments of “political allies at a powerful federal agency (National Labor Relations Board) while the Senate was meeting regularly and without even bothering to wait for its advise and consent.” While recess appointments are provided for in the Constitution, the court ruled that a three-day break did not qualify as a recess.
In another unanimous ruling, the court ruled against warrantless searches of cell phones and the data they contain. While this case pertained to police searches of cell phones incident to arrest, it has “major ramifications towards the warrantless searches of individual’s cell phone data by the NSA, which has already been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge.”
A ruling last week sought to limit the power of the EPA to regulate some greenhouse gas emissions. According to USA Today, “The court’s conservative wing ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority by changing the emissions threshold for greenhouse gases in the Clean Air Act. That action can only be taken by Congress, Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion said.” Because the EPA can continue to regulate emissions in other ways, this ruling is being viewed as a partial victory by those who would like to restrain their destructive policies toward the coal and power plant industries.
This Monday, the court issued its long awaited ruling in the case of Sebelius vs. Hobby Lobby. The Obama Administration insisted that all companies comply with Obamacare requirements for providing certain types of birth control in their mandated health plans, while Hobby Lobby (and others) objected to those contraceptives which interfere with implantation of a fertilized egg, “which the owners contend is tantamount to abortion and violates their religious beliefs.” The court ruled 5-4 in favor of Hobby Lobby, striking a blow for those “closely held” businesses who want to operate their businesses according to their religious views.
Hopefully this ruling is part of a trend of limiting Obama’s overreach and will serve to check his continuing abuse of power and failure to live up to his pledge to uphold the Constitution. As the Capitalism Institute notes, his behavior is “a dangerous recipe for dictatorship,” not the type of leadership that preserves a free society. Thank you, Hobby Lobby, for standing firm!
