In a move that I have strongly recommended, Barack Obama appointed Rick Cordray, Elizabeth Warren’s choice, to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). He also appointed three new members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Republicans have been obstructing all of those appointments, because they want neither consumers nor labor represented federally despite laws that provide for both. Republicans are furious!

President Obama threw a gauntlet before Congressional Republicans on Wednesday, defying deep opposition to appoint Richard Cordray as director of a new consumer protection agency in a move that ignited a possible legal challenge and Constitutional fight. The decision to install Mr. Cordray without Senate approval under the Constitutional provision for making appointments when lawmakers are in recess was a provocative opening salvo in Mr. Obama’s re-election strategy of demonizing Congress. The president, announcing his decision before a political rally-like crowd of 1,300 at a high school here in Mr. Cordray’s home town, seemed to welcome a contentious second session of the 112th Congress, in which any attempts at bipartisan compromise appear in danger of being lost in all-out election-year war. “I refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer,” Mr. Obama said. He said he had looked for opportunities to work with Congress. But, he said, “I am not going to not stand by while a minority in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people we were elected to serve.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

The onslaught of republican whining was expected.

…The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, accused Obama of an unprecedented power grab that "arrogantly circumvented the American people." Added House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio: "It’s clear the president would rather trample our system of separation of powers than work with Republicans to move the country forward. This action goes beyond the president’s authority, and I expect the courts will find the appointment to be illegitimate." It was unclear who might undertake a legal fight. But people familiar with the matter said an outside private group regulated by the consumer agency might be in the best legal position. By going around the Senate, where Democrats hold an edge but Republicans can block action, Obama essentially declared that the chamber’s short off-and-on sessions are a sham intended to block him, but don’t prevent him from such an appointment…

Inserted from <AP/Google>

Let’s examine these bogus claims. How could Obama be circumventing the American people when the majority voted for Cordray’s confirmation? How could Obama be refusing to work with Republicans, when they have repeatedly stated that they will not confirm anyone to head the CFPB? They re not just whining, they are lying too, as Keith Olbermann and Policy Analyst Ian Mullhiser show.

The key is indeed that Republicans did not act in good faith.

And the Republicans have backed themselves into another corner. Their only alternative is to support a suit by financial predators against the American people.