[conservatism_IS_compassion]

. . . It would also “nail on the coffin lid” as a perpetual order to the Supreme Court that it could no longer permit such extrapolations, be they congressional acts or by judicial activism or precedent.

Yeah, but if we have learned anything from Obamanation, it is that you need self-enforcing mechanisms. The term limit on presidents is “self enforcing,” to the extent that if Obama wants to stay in office permanently, he would need to evade the fact that the actual election of the next president will occur when the ballots of the electors are counted. Simply canceling the popular election wouldn’t do it, because the states would then be positioned to execute Plan B - direct election of the Electors by the legislatures of the states.

I would favor enforcement by the people - make whoever acts under color of legitimate authority personally responsible if they obey an unconstitutional executive order. And not pardonable by the POTUS who made the unconstitutional directive. We already have “responsibility” at the top in the impeachment power - but that proves to be illusory. The only way to address it is to make people afraid to obey the president if an order is clearly unconstitutional.

Maybe the Constitution should have a presidential Recall provision - Congress can cause a snap election, but the people who vote for it have to stand for reelection along with the POTUS. Since your side could only lose seats, that wouldn’t be attractive to a party not certain of its standing with the people.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

“The only way to address it is to make people afraid to obey the president if an order is clearly unconstitutional.”

Congress has long had the power to impeach *cabinet officers*, though they have only done so once. So all it needs is an enthusiastic congress willing to do so. Importantly, they need a test case for impeaching “czars” as well.

Imagine if after she plead the 5th, congress had voted to impeach and remove Lois Lerner? With a bar to future employment by the government, or any government contractor.

I would like to see congress impeach bureaucrat after bureaucrat, immediately following a vote of contempt of congress. If they blow off testifying. If they perjure themselves while testifying. If they plead the 5th. etc. They are out of a job.