A Naked Power Grab

I have been reading Dan Jones’ book about The War of the Roses and it sent chills down my spine.  The parallels between fifteenth century England and today are alarming.  In both cases, naked power grabs have the potential to tear a society apart.

England during the 1400’s had just lost the Hundred Years War.  Its powerful monarch Henry V was dead and his mentally disturbed son Henry VI had inherited the throne.  This produced a power vacuum that two sides of the royal family sought to fill.

The Lancastrians (the red roses) at first sided with Henry VI, while the Yorkists (the white roses) attempted to restore order by replacing him with a more vigorous king.  Each faction was certain that it had the nation’s welfare at heart, whereas its opponents were merely greedy.

The upshot was decades of bloody combat that despoiled towns, ravaged castles, and wrecked commerce.  Whichever party seized the temporary advantage used it as an excuse to lop off the heads of its foes.  Official sounding rationales were produced, but these were window-dressing.

Each new monarch (and there were several) rolled out a dynastic chart that proved he was the rightful sovereign.  None could point to rules of succession to which all agreed.  There was, in short, no common legal ground to which they could appeal for legitimacy.

It took centuries to evolve the concept of an official Constitution.  The document produced by our Founders was a pioneering effort that succeeded because ensuing generations venerated and protected it.  Regrettably, those days are coming to an end as radical Liberals trash it for a fleeting political advantage.

Although our divided society needs common ground more than ever, Barack Obama’s executive orders countermanding congressional legislation about immigration are the equivalent of a poleax aimed squarely at the neck of our body politic.

The merits of the president’s directives are not the issue.  In officially refusing to deport migrants he was not going to deport anyway, his ukases will not make a difference.  Even allowing illegals to obtain employment will not alter the facts on the ground.

What matters is that Obama has violated the constitution and his oath of office.  He is making new legislation no matter what he and his allies call it.  This is a gross defilement he argued against mere months ago, yet somehow now no longer troubles him.

Barack offers not sound legal arguments, but smarmy sentimentality, to defend his usurpation.  We are to get out the crying towels for people who are described as our neighbors in some quarters and fellow Americans in others.  This is nonsense.  As is their wont, Liberals alter the plain meaning of words to serve their political purposes.

Even candid Democrats acknowledge that this is a distraction.  The president does not want to be irrelevant in the face of a devastating electoral loss.  He wishes to reassert his power and undermine the Republicans.  However high blown his language, it is a smokescreen for raw ambition.

Lies are nothing new for Barack Obama.  Nor are efforts to disregard the welfare of the American people.  Indeed, it is the latter who are being shunted into the shadows.  What is most distressing is that so few on the left are disturbed by Obama’s lawlessness.

Once upon a time, Democrats were up in arms when they regarded Richard Nixon as violating the constitution.  Back then, they presented themselves as honorable defenders of the nation’s traditions.  This turned out to be a pretense.  All they actually cared about was taking the reins of power.

The curtain is now being torn from in before the Wizard of Oz—no thanks to a compliant mainstream media.  The question is will Americans be appalled by what they see?  This is not sausage making.  It is nation destroying.  It is a power grab gussied up as compassion.

Who then will rally round the flag?  Who will fight to preserve our democratic heritage?

Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology

Kennesaw State University