Obama gives the finger to the Democratic process

From Obama's "grass roots" Organizing for America:

President Obama has been saying for months he won't wait around for Congress to get middle-class families and working Americans back on their feet. He'll work with Congress when he can, but if they refuse to act -- he will. So today the President appointed former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. For months, Senate Republicans -- with Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum right behind them -- have fought this bureau every step of the way, and their latest strategy is to refuse to allow even an up-or-down vote on this nomination. The issue isn't his qualifications: Cordray has bipartisan support from elected officials across the country and a clear majority of the Senate behind him.
 They won't allow a confirmation vote on any director -- because they don't want the agency to exist at all. We can't afford to continue allowing Wall Street to write its own rules. But today's action by the President is already coming under partisan attack, which we expect to intensify in the days to come. Say you stand with President Obama and Richard Cordray today. Without a director, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is legally prevented from doing its job to protect millions of Americans -- including those of us with credit cards, mortgages, student loans, or home equity lines. But with Mr. Cordray at the helm, the agency will make sure payday lenders, private student loan providers, debt collectors, and the like have to play by the rules. That's what this campaign is all about: electing a President who makes sure everyone plays by the same rules and gets a fair shake. But Mitt Romney apparently doesn't think consumers deserve any protection at all from predatory lenders and other bad actors. His plan to fix the economy is simply to deregulate it. His proposal for the housing market is to let it "hit the bottom" so that investors can come in and make a quick buck. The President thinks we need a cop on the beat preventing the reckless behavior that helped cause the financial crisis and so many problems for middle-class families in the first place. But if the past is any guide, the GOP and Romney are not going to let this happen without a fight. They'll be doing everything they can to stand in Cordray's way. Tell President Obama and Richard Cordray that you're standing with them:

Democrats in their own words, including Obama:

Dems: Recess Appointments Are An ‘Abuse Of Power,’ ‘Troubling’

THEN-SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): Recess appointments ‘the wrong thing to do.’ “‘It’s the wrong thing to do. John Bolton is the wrong person for the job,’ said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a member of Foreign Relations Committee.” (“Officials: White House To Bypass Congress For Bolton Nomination,” The Associated Press, 7/30/05)

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OBAMA: A recess appointee is ‘damaged goods… we will have less credibility.’ “To some degree, he's damaged goods… somebody who couldn't get through a nomination in the Senate. And I think that that means that we will have less credibility...” (“Bush Sends Bolton To U.N.” The State Journal-Register [Springfield, IL], 8/2/05)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): ‘An end run around the Senate and the Constitution.’ “I will keep the Senate in pro forma session to block the President from doing an end run around the Senate and the Constitution with his controversial nominations.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.15980, 12/19/07)

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REID: ‘They are mischievous.’ “Also, understand this: We have had a difficult problem with the President now for some time. We don't let him have recess appointments because they are mischievous, and unless we have an agreement before the recess, there will be no recess. We will meet every third day pro forma, as we have done during the last series of breaks.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.7558, 7/28/08)

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REID: Recess appointments an ‘abuse of power.’ “Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) denounced the appointment as ‘the latest abuse of power by the Bush administration,’ adding that Bolton would arrive at the UN ‘with a cloud hanging over his head’ because he could not win confirmation.” (“Bush Puts Bolton In UN Post,” Chicago Tribune, 8/2/05)

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REID: A recess appointee will have ‘a cloud hanging over his head.’ “Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) denounced the appointment as ‘the latest abuse of power by the Bush administration,’ adding that Bolton would arrive at the UN ‘with a cloud hanging over his head’ because he could not win confirmation.” (“Bush Puts Bolton In UN Post,” Chicago Tribune, 8/2/05)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): ‘Troubling.’ “When you have an appointment that is this critical and this sensitive, and the president basically says he's going to ignore the will of the senate and push someone through, it really is troubling.” (“Bush Sends Bolton To U.N.” The State Journal-Register [Springfield, IL], 8/2/05)

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DURBIN: ‘Could easily be unconstitutional.’ “I agree with Senator Kennedy that Mr. Pryor's recess appointment, which occurred during a brief recess of Congress, could easily be unconstitutional. It was certainly confrontational. Recess appointments lack the permanence and independence contemplated by the Framers of the Constitution.” (Sen. Durbin, Congressional Record, S.6253, 6/9/05)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA): Recess appointments an ‘abuse [of] the power of the presidency.’ “‘It’s sad but not surprising that this White House would abuse the power of the presidency to reward a donor over the objections of the Senate,’ Kerry said in a statement ...” (“Recess Appointments Granted to ‘Swift Boat’ Donor, 2 Other Nominees,” The Washington Post, 4/5/07)

SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D-NJ): “…bends the rules and circumvents the will of Congress.” (“President Sends Bolton to U.N.; Bypasses Senate,” The New York Times, 8/2/05)

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): “Senate confirmation of presidential appointees is an essential process prescribed by the Constitution that serves as a check on executive power and protects Montanans and all Americans by ensuring that crucial questions are asked of the nominee — and answered…” (“Dem Baucus Joins GOP In Blasting Obama CMS Recess Appointment,” The Hill, 7/7/10)

Senator Richard Shelby articulates the concerns that have been voiced by Senate Republicans: Apparently a "Constitutional Lawyer" doesn't believe in the checks and balances that our founding fathers thought were important to the Democratic process.