Ed Meese

A federal court ruled today that President Obama acted unconstitutionally when he used his recess appointment power to name three people to the National Labor Relations Board.

The court ruled that the president could only fill vacancies with the recess appointment procedure if the openings arise when Congress is in an official recess. At the time of the President’s appointments, the Senate was in session.

This ruling comes one year after Ed Meese, a Heritage Foundation legal expert who served as Ronald Reagan’s Attorney General, published an article  in The Washington Post explaining that President Obama acted unconstitutionally: Continue Reading »

The deal to raise taxes on high earners won’t solve America’s debt crisis, former Attorney General Ed Meese told Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto yesterday.

The real problem is overspending, he explained. “This administration has been absolutely derelict in fiscal responsibility,” and conservatives need to point out the facts.

Meese was a top policy advisor to President Ronald Reagan and later served as Reagan’s Attorney General.

What do you think should be done to control spending and taxes?

Talk radio host Mark Levin spoke Wednesday at The Heritage Foundation about the election’s consequences for constitutional government.

Watch the video of his conversation with Heritage’s Ed Meese:

What did you take away from Levin’s talk?

The Heritage Foundation’s 2012 President’s Club meeting got underway in Washington last night with an informal debate-watching party.

The formal agenda starts today. Some of the highlights from today’s sessions:

• Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) addresses Executive Committee members
• National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg speaks to Young President’s Club members
• Heritage President Ed Feulner explains the state of the conservative movement
• Panels of experts including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), former Attorney General Ed Meese and Heritage scholars explain next steps for conservatives
• Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer delivers the keynote address

View a full agenda of the meeting.

Be sure to follow the live discussion from the event on Twitter with hashtag #PCMeeting.

Ed Meese explains the parallels between 1980 and 2012 on Your World With Cavuto.

Thirty-two years ago, before the 1980 Republican National Convention, polls showed Ronald Reagan running at least five points behind incumbent president Jimmy Carter. Just a few months later, Reagan won a landslide victory.

Heritage Foundation scholar and former Reagan adviser Ed Meese told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto yesterday that during the convention, Reagan focused on the importance of unifying conservatives.

Watch the whole interview for Meese’s take on the parallels between 1980 and 2012.

Last week, former Attorney General and Heritage Foundation legal expert Ed Meese joined health care expert Nina Owcharenko for a teleconference with Heritage members about the consequences of the Obamacare ruling.

You can listen to the audio of the conference call here (in MP3 format).

The Heritage Foundation is running several events for Heritage members and the public after the Obamacare ruling, which is expected this morning.

Today, June 28

12:30 p.m. Eastern: Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Heritage’s David Addington offer the conservative response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the President’s health care law.

Watch live from The Heritage Foundation.

Tomorrow, June 29

10:00 a.m. Eastern: Hear the plaintiffs’ reactions of the decision, with analysis from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Karen Harned of NFIB.  They will share their perspectives on the ruling, how the decision might impact the welfare of states and small businesses, and next steps they are considering. Heritage scholars will follow with a panel discussion that examines the impact the Court’s decision will have on health care, religious liberty, and limited government.

Watch live from The Heritage Foundation.

1:00 p.m. Eastern: Heritage Foundation legal scholar Ed Meese joins Heritage’s John Fogarty for a conference call to explain the ruling’s implications to Heritage members. Meese will take your questions and offer insights about what’s next for the conservative movement.

Please register for the call online.

The Bradley Foundation awarded its prestigious Bradley Prize to Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner and Heritage legal scholar Edwin Meese at a ceremony last week in Washington.

Feulner has been essential to the growth of the conservative movement, Bradley Foundation president Michael Grebe said in a statemet. “Under his guidance, the Heritage Foundation has become a bastion of ideas that are an integral part of the national conversation and that have shaped public policy.”

He also lavished praise on Meese, who served as Ronald Reagan’s attorney general and now chairs Heritage’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies as Heritage’s Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy.“His entire career has involved upholding the rule of law and making the nation more secure,” Grebe said.

The Law of the Sea treaty is once again up for debate in the Senate, even though generations of leaders have rejected it. Today, some former critics are now lobbying on the treaty’s behalf—and incorrectly saying Ronald Reagan would have supported it too.

Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Heritage Foundation scholar Ed Meese, who served as Reagan’s Attorney General, refutes claims the Gipper would back the treaty. He also adds:

Why risk sacrificing U.S. sovereignty under the treaty if it makes us no more secure? After all, what initially established and still ensures freedom of navigation under international law is naval power. To secure navigational freedom, territorial rights and all national and international interests addressed in LOST, we must maintain the strength of theU.S. Navy, not look to an anachronistic pact that is intent on advancing a one-world agenda.

Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), who once vehemently opposed treaty ratification, has recanted his opposition and now actually lobbies on its behalf.

Continue Reading »

Ed Meese speaks at a Heritage conference on legal challenges to Obamacare. Photo: Chas Geer

Heritage Foundation scholar and former Attorney General Edwin Meese will be awarded one of this year’s four prestigious Bradley Prizes, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation announced today.

Meese, the chairman of Heritage’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, has been an outspoken advocate for a common-sense understanding of the Constitution. A close friend of Ronald Reagan’s dating from when Reagan served as California’s governor, Meese now serves as Heritage’s Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy. Continue Reading »