The only question that matters

Last night the President made his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation. Many have been focusing on either what the President said or didn't say in regards to policy prescriptions. Democrats are unhappy in part with the President because they believe his goals were not ambitious enough. Republicans are upset with the President because they saw his address as an unprecedented expansion of Executive authority.

The President essentially told the American people that the only election that matters is the one for the presidency. With statements made by Obama about going around Congress he has essentially nullified the voice of the American people. Congress is that voice. It allows the minority a seat at the federal government table. Obama has essentially decided those people no longer matter because he has granted himself the authority to go around Congress with executive orders. It started with the minimum wage hike for federal contractors and exploded from there in his SOTU speech.

At this point there is only one question that really needs to be answered, where is the limit of executive authority? The President's commitment to a "year of action" sounds good to those who agree with his policies, but to those apposed it sounds like he is shutting down the honest debate this country needs. With this new found attitude, where will he decide to draw the line and say that Congressional approval is necessary? To me it sounds like, if the President deems it necessary for the benefit of the economy he can just sign an executive order.

When the President decides to go around Congress for the sake of helping the people, he is actually doing exactly the opposite because the people elected the Congress! He is enacting his own policies based off his political ideology and desire for power, not based on what the people at large want. This is why Congress is given the authority to craft legislation, they are a more accurate representation of the nation. When one man decides to circumvent that group he becomes a dictator.