Lawless Obama? Republicans Count the Ways

Republicans think Obama is not following the rules.

Message to Congress - "This speech will allow Congress, I think, to understand very clearly and very specifically what it is that we are doing but also what we're not doing. We're not looking at sending in 100,000 American troops," Obama said. "We are going to be as part of an international coalition, carrying out air strikes in support of work on the ground by Iraqi troops, Kurdish troops. We are going to be helping to put together a plan for them, so that they can start retaking territory that ISIL had taken over." (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

1 / 8

A Pen and a Phone - Since President Obama announced in his State of the Union address plans to use executive orders to bypass Congress, when he must, to implement parts of his agenda, Republican lawmakers have had one word for him: lawless. Here are some of the interesting ways they express their displeasure, even though a host of Republican presidents also have used the measure – including the revered late Ronald Reagan. –  Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick)(Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz - "There is a pattern of lawlessness in this administration that is breathtaking,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told radio host Glenn Beck. (Photo: REUTERS/Gary Cameron)

2 / 8

Sen. Ted Cruz - "There is a pattern of lawlessness in this administration that is breathtaking,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told radio host Glenn Beck. (Photo: REUTERS/Gary Cameron)

Sen. Marco Rubio - “The president has lawlessly decided which parts of Obamacare to implement and which parts not to implement,” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Fox News' On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.(Photo: Courtesy Fox News On the Record)

3 / 8

Sen. Marco Rubio - “The president has lawlessly decided which parts of Obamacare to implement and which parts not to implement,” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Fox News' On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.(Photo: Courtesy Fox News On the Record)

Sen. Ted Cruz - “Of all the troubling aspects of the Obama presidency, none is more dangerous than the president’s persistent pattern of lawlessness, his willingness to disregard the written law and instead enforce his own policies via executive fiat,” wrote Sen. Ted Cruz in the Wall Street Journal.(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

4 / 8

Sen. Ted Cruz - “Of all the troubling aspects of the Obama presidency, none is more dangerous than the president’s persistent pattern of lawlessness, his willingness to disregard the written law and instead enforce his own policies via executive fiat,” wrote Sen. Ted Cruz in the Wall Street Journal.(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

House Speaker John Boehner - “[Obama is] talking about his phone and his pen and he’s feeding more distrust about whether he’s committed to the rule of law. There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce the law,” House Speaker John Boehner told reporters on Feb. 6. (Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

5 / 8

House Speaker John Boehner - “[Obama is] talking about his phone and his pen and he’s feeding more distrust about whether he’s committed to the rule of law. There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce the law,” House Speaker John Boehner told reporters on Feb. 6. (Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

ADVERTISEMENT
Rep. Paul Ryan - “We have an increasingly lawless presidency where he is actually doing the job of Congress, writing new policies and new laws without going through Congress. Presidents don't write laws, Congress does,” Rep. Paul Ryan told ABC. “Executive orders are one thing, but executive orders that actually change the statute, that's totally different.” (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

6 / 8

Rep. Paul Ryan - “We have an increasingly lawless presidency where he is actually doing the job of Congress, writing new policies and new laws without going through Congress. Presidents don't write laws, Congress does,” Rep. Paul Ryan told ABC. “Executive orders are one thing, but executive orders that actually change the statute, that's totally different.” (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Rep. Michele Bachmann - "The president’s legacy will be the establishment of lawlessness in the United States,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann at a Heritage Foundation event. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

7 / 8

Rep. Michele Bachmann - "The president’s legacy will be the establishment of lawlessness in the United States,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann at a Heritage Foundation event. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

/content/dam/betcom/images/2014/02/Politics/021014-Politics-Woman-at-GOP-Town-Hall-Meeting-Says-Obama-Should-Be-Executed.jpg

8 / 8

Rep. Jim Bridenstine - "Look, everybody knows the lawlessness of this president," Rep. Jim Bridenstine told constituents at an Oklahoma town hall meeting. "He picks and chooses which laws he's going to enforce or not enforce." (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)