The Pox Obama

Republicans in the U.S. Senate proposed a plan to cede power to the Obama administration in an attempt to give President Obama more latitude in sequestration cuts.  The Anointed One declined by emphasizing that he’s not a dictator.

Many of us would retort that he basically is a dictator by the very nature of our bureaucratic state.  Congress actually has ceded its responsibilities.  The accumulation of power in the executive began during the Progressive Era through a series of constitutional amendments, bastardized judicial rulings, and the craven cowardice of congressmen.  We’ve come to a point where bureaucrats can churn out 700 pages of new regulations without the approval or oversight of our elected representatives.  Does anyone still believe that this is a representative republic?

The genius of Obama is he puts on the air of a dictator and yet denies he has any responsibility for what is happening in his administration.  Recently, the Department of Homeland Security released thousands of illegal aliens from prison.  Obama and his DHS secretary feigned surprise, and blamed “career bureaucrats,” essentially wiping their hands of this outrage.

 
In some ways Obama reminds of Augustus Caesar.  Augustus publicly stated that he wasn’t a dictator, yet ruled like one:

Augustus, in reality, held as much power as any absolute dictator, but wisely disguised it with traditional names so that the other Roman officials, and particularly senators, would still feel pride in their positions. The Senate was not an elected body; it drew its membership from the Roman aristocratic classes, primarily former magistrates who had served in important administrative posts. To be a senator was a matter of status, not a formal job. Under the republic, the Senate held great authority as the institution that preserved Roman knowledge and tradition and became the dominant force in religion, public policy, and foreign affairs. Senators jealously guarded the power and the wealth that resulted from their role in Roman government.

Augustus resigned the consulship in 23 BC as a gesture to satisfy senators who were anxious to receive consular honors themselves. He rarely held that title again. Augustus instead assumed the powers of a tribune, the republican official who represented the people and had the power to propose or veto legislation. The Romans heaped other honors upon him, including the office of censor, which enabled him to control the membership of the Senate. They also made him pontifex maximus, the head of the state religion, and finally pater patriae or "father of the country." These offices and titles gave Augustus no real additional power, for he already controlled every aspect of religious, civil, and military life.

The Era of Augustus Caesar was called the Pax Romana.  In the United States, the end result of decades of progressivism should be called the Pox Obama.

Source:  http://legvi.tripod.com/id27.html

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/02/27/Senate-Republicans-Draft-Bill-To-Give-Obama-Authority-To-Make-Sequester-Cuts

 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/white-house-threatens-to-veto-bill-that-gives-obama-flexibility-on-implementing-sequestration/article/2522836?custom_click=rss

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/27/politics/immigration-detainees/index.html