Marathon Pundit: Obama's imperiousness: Ignoring the courts

Friday, February 04, 2011

Obama's imperiousness: Ignoring the courts

Doug Ross asks a great question: What would have happened if President George W. Bush had blatantly failed to comply with two federal dourt orders?

Well, the mainstream media would have screamed bloody murder. Last week federal judge Roger Vinson ruled that ObamaCare is unconstitutional. Will the White House ignore the ruling? A constitututional crisis awaits if he does. Clearly Obama is hoping a higher course reverses Vinson's decision--but once again--a federal judge says ObamaCare is unconstitutional.

Is there a precedent for Obama to ignore a judicial ruling? Yes. His Interior Department was found in contempt yesterday for the "permatorium" preventing new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Rob Bluey reports in Big Government that the Department is blocking 103 drilling permits.

From Judge Martin Feldman's ruling on the permatorium:

There is, however, more to the story. The plaintiffs also stress that the government did not simply reimpose a blanket moratorium; rather, each step the government took following the Courts imposition of a preliminary injunction showcases its defiance: the government failed to seek a remand; it continually reaffirmed its intention and resolve to restore the moratorium; it even notified operators that though a preliminary injunction had issued, they could quickly expect a new moratorium. Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the reimposition of a second blanket and substantively identical moratorium and in light of the national importance of this case, provide this court with clear and convincing evidence of the government’s contempt of this Court's preliminary injunction Order. To the extent the plaintiff's motion asserts civil contempt based on the government's determined disregard of this Court's Order of preliminary injunction, it is GRANTED.

Meanwhile, Tom Clements continues to suffer hard ecomonic times:

BROUSSARD, LA – In response to U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman holding the Obama administration in contempt for imposing a second moratorium only four days after the court struck down the original one, local small business owner Thomas Clements made the following statement:

Thousands of Louisianians like myself have known for months about the administration’s contempt for our livelihoods. Now, the courts have validated that sentiment.

I'm happy to hear Judge Feldman is holding federal regulators accountable for the offshore drilling ban, since BP has shirked all monetary responsibility for the policy. Unfortunately, this ruling doesn’t offer help to small businesses suffering the moratorium’s economic fallout; which is help we need today.

Judge Feldman tried to overturn the moratorium back in June, before this policy created the desperate economic circumstances we now face. The Obama Administration would’ve saved us a lot of trouble if they'd listened to his legal decision back then and avoided eliminating thousands of jobs and millions in earnings.
Thomas Clements owns Oilfield CNC Machining, a small business in the Gulf region that provides specialty machine parts for drilling rigs. After the announcement of the moratorium, he saw all his orders cancelled. Since then, his annual revenue has declined by over $400,000, and he’s lost two employees. His BP claims for assistance have been denied twice because he was affected by the moratorium and not the actual oil in the water.