A Better Option Than Impeachment to Check Executive Overreach
Posted on August 11, 2014
"President Barack Obama" by Official White House Photo by Pete Souza - P120612PS-0463 (direct link). Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
(This originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank.)
For conservatives who are concerned that the Obama administration is out of control, there is only one real way to stop it.
And, no, it’s not impeachment.
It’s the power of the purse.
There is only one way to exercise that power: by Republicans, who already have a majority in the House of Representatives, gaining control of the U.S. Senate.
Like last year’s hurricane season, which had some stiff winds but no major storms, this year’s primary season has not blown down any Senate incumbents.
This result puts the Republican Party in a good position to recapture the upper chamber and finally be able to exercise the power granted to it in the U.S. Constitution.
With Republicans in charge of Congress, they would be able to provide a true check on executive overreach
They would be able to stop Attorney General Eric Holder’s politicization of the Justice Department. They would be able to hold the president accountable to his own health-care law. They would be able to exercise the oversight power that comes with having the appropriations process controlled by the opposition party.
This might not be as sexy as impeachment, but the power of the purse is best way to provide a check on an out-of-control White House.