The power of the Presidential pen only goes so far

Let's play scavenger hunt.  We'll all look through the United States Constitution to find the specific authority for the Executive Orders issued by the President to have the full force of law.  On second thought, perhaps not.  That authority is not given to the President in that way.  Over the years, the "authority" for Executive Orders comes from an interpretation of the duty laid upon the President by the Constitution to "...take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed..."

President Obama himself has been saying since 2010, on the record, that he does not have the authority to do what he has now done.  He said he isn't King or Emperor and much more.  Now he's reversed himself, and at the same time said his position on Executive Orders has not changed.  That's Presidential doublespeak at its finest.  Politifact.com has evaluated the President's claim that his position has not changed as "False."

Liberal pundits defend President Obama's action as doing nothing more than what previous Presidents from both sides of the political aisle have been doing for decades.  In fact, it was pointed out that President Ronald Reagan issued an Executive Order regarding immigration in the wake of Congress passing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.  That's true.  But what he did was in the spirit of complying with that law's intent.  In shielding millions from the threat of deportation, a choice within the purview of the Congress, they inadvertently failed to protect the children of those being shielded, from being deported without their families.  President Reagan's Executive Order fixing this error was not an attempt to contravene the authority of Congress.

That's where the problem lies with President Obama, and any other President who issues an Executive Order that is attempting an end-run around the Congress.  They are usurping the authority of the Congress to write and pass the laws of the land.

I don't disagree with what President Obama is trying to accomplish.  We need comprehensive immigration reform.  But his method is not the right way to do this.  I draw a parallel between this Executive Order and the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Roe v Wade.  This was legislating by judicial fiat and it is not the province of the Judicial branch to legislate.  Congress should have had the courage and wisdom to forever protect a woman's right to choose by passing a Freedom of Choice bill.  Both the President and the USSC were trying to do the right thing, which is good, except when you go about it in an improper way.

I'd love to be able to feed hungry people.  That doesn't give me the right to go into grocery stores and steal food for delivery to food banks and other organizations that feed the hungry.  Nor does the fact that there is a dire need for immigration reform empower the President to abrogate the authority of the Congress.