[rbstern]

Originally Posted by Warfish

Unless someone stops him, the Presidient can do whatever he wants via executive order.

For example, recent Presidents have launched two major Wars and a number fo millitary strikes in a wide group of nations, almost all of it without a Declaration fo War, and in a number of cases, without congressional approval or oversight. He's also assassinated American citizens without so much as a trail in absentia.

There are important differences between what you cite as examples and the executive order gun confiscation you imagine. In the cases of our recent foreign entanglements, there were congressional resolutions (with hefty winning margins) supporting the president's actions. As for "assassinating American citizens," not sure who you are referring to. If it's citizens caught as un-uniformed combatants bearing arms against the U.S. on foreign soil, it's an awfully fuzzy area. Regardless, in "small matters" (spying, dirty tricks, etc.), no administration completely heeds the Constitution. Its frequently trampled when it can be done out of sight of the mainstream.

Issuing an order that directly challenges the 2nd Amendment for every U.S. citizen...not going to happen. It's political madness, and it would probably take less than a day for a federal hearing and an injunction against the order.

As a second example, the recent Presidential Order re: Illegal Immigration that de facto enacted the DREAM Act almost wholesale, and effectively de-criminalized being an illegal immigrant.

Admittedly, not much can be done if the executive branch decides not to enforce existing laws, but that isn't the same thing as making laws.

The day I see our Congress rise up, as one, and tell a President "no, thats beyond your Constitutional Authority, persist and you will face impeachment" then I'll believe what you claim.

Till then, the Presidient can do anything he wants via executive order IMO.

Its the courts that would hold the executive branch accountable. The rest of your comment I regard as hyperbole.