Obama gets a two-fer. Weaken the Constitution and gain more power

HURT: Gun edicts put personal liberty under fire

Where is the liberal outrage? Where is the liberal suspicion about powerful, unchecked governments? Where is the liberal unflinching devotion to individual liberty?

We have a president who has radically reshaped the landscape of American government so that it is more of a behemoth than at any time in history and more involved in every aspect of our lives. It is also more unanswerable than ever before.

Now this president is issuing 23 new edicts aimed at curbing individuals' gun rights. At the same time, his federal agencies are stockpiling more and more weapons and ammunition.

And for what, exactly? To go hunting? To shoot the Chinese when they come to collect their debts? To shoot Mexicans tumbling over the Southern border? To shoot the Canadians?

What does the Department of "Homeland Security" suddenly need 1.4 billion more rounds of ammunition at the very point the same government is making it harder for citizens to arm themselves?

There are only 300 million of us. How many bullets do you need? That's more than four bullets for every American man, woman and child. Is your aim really that bad? I mean, have you seen us lately? We are too fat to run very far.

You can say these concerns are some sort of Alex Jones, wack-nut, black helicopter paranoia or you can simply ask, "Why does the government need a billion more rounds of ammo just as it is trying to disarm citizens?"

And the lists. The lists of people who are deemed too mentally unstable to own a gun.

A principled liberal would be horrified at the notion that the government is going to keep giant lists of people who are criminals or who are deemed crazy or dangerous. And even more breathtaking is that these lists will be used to determine the degree of freedom those individuals will be granted by the government.

Do you remember the liberal outrage over the huge government list to keep people deemed dangerous from flying on airplanes? Ted Kennedy is turning over in his grave.

Now, of course, no one rightly objects to finding reasonable ways to keep criminals and wackos from getting their hands on guns. But it is shocking how easily and freely liberals have gone along with the notion of more giant government lists of crazy and bad people.

Then there is the debt-ceiling debate where we have a president who refuses to conduct an open debate over raising it. President Obama orders Congress to simply authorize the government to borrow for him a ton more money. And if they don't comply with his wishes, then he will seek to take that power away from them.

The power of the purse in the hands of Congress has always been the check that keeps the president in balance. Only a lover of tyranny — not a liberal — would want to see that check removed.

Yet, most shocking of all, we have a Senate right now that is led by a cabal that wants to do just that. Literally, they are begging Mr. Obama to take that authority away from them. And, yet, not a peep from liberals.

And so, Wednesday dawns and Obama will reveal his 23 new gun-control edicts. He will, we are told, surround himself with children for the announcement.

Where is the liberal outrage?

• Charles Hurt can be reached at charleshurt@live.com.

As important is the increasing rapidity of executive branch bureaucracy making law without the consent of Congress. Like all Communist regimes the will of the people's representatives becomes subservient to the desires of the bureaucratic elites. The Constitution was designed to prevent that from happening but unfortunately it has no allies it seems.