RUSH: Joe Biden, the vice president of the United States. Now, we were told last week that Biden was heading up a commission made up of administration officials and cabinet officials on what to do about guns and the increasing proliferation of guns. One of the things that Biden suggested was they’re looking at legislation, executive orders, so forth and so on. The Politico, a joyous Politico, I should say, has a story today: “The White House has identified 19 executive actions for President Barack Obama to move unilaterally on gun control.”

This is what Biden told a group of House Democrats yesterday. Only 19? Only 19? We were worried the Second Amendment was in trouble here. “Later this week, Obama will formally announce his proposals to reduce gun violence, which are expected to include renewal of the assault weapons ban,” which, look, I’m not trying to be a stick in the mud here, but we already did one of these once, and it didn’t matter, folks.

We’ve had an assault weapons ban before. See, the problem is there really isn’t such a thing as an “assault weapon.” It’s just a creation. It’s nothing more than a name that Democrats and people on the left created to gin up anti-gun sentiment among people. But there really is no official classification of “assault weapon.” It doesn’t exist. What gun isn’t an assault weapon? I mean, even if you’re shooting skeet you’re assaulting the skeet. So the title here is purely a psychological creation. So “renewal of the assault weapons ban, universal background checks and prohibition of high-capacity magazine clips…”

These are just some of the brilliant ideas. “But Biden spent two hours briefing a small group of sympathetic House Democrats on the road ahead in the latest White House outreach to invested groups. The focus on executive orders is the result of the White House and other Democrats acknowledging the political difficulty of enacting any new gun legislation, a topic Biden did not address in MondayÂ’s meeting.” Now, ladies and gentlemen, pardon me for a moment as I take a few minutes here — a very few precious minutes — to say something for the low-information voters in the audience. I know you’re there, and you know who you are.

I want to talk to you about executive orders. You see, there’s a thing in this country. It’s called the Constitution, and while presidents and members of Congress and mayors and others run for election every year (or every two years, or every four years, depending), the Constitution is constant. There’s not one elected official who has the power to change it. There is a way to amend the Constitution, and the Constitution spells out the procedures that must be taken to change it. Presidents cannot. Now, I know this is gonna shock many of you in the low-information community.

Many of you believe… This is what you’ve been taught. This is what you have been educated with, and many of you have been taught to actually support this kind of presidential power, that a president, if he doesn’t like something, can just “fix” it. But there is no such power granted to the president by the Constitution, and executive orders are not a way for the president to get around the Constitution. Executive orders were not established for that purpose. Executive orders are to take care of emergencies during times when Congress is not in session.

That’s one of many examples for their usage, but the executive order does not contain the power to violate the Constitution. The executive order does not give the president the authority to say, “I don’t like the Second Amendment, and I’m going to write a law that supersedes it.” No president has ever had that power. No president today has that power. Barack Obama doesn’t have it. If he acts in such a way, he is in violation of the Constitution. The Constitution is what holds this country together. The Constitution is what defines this country.

There isn’t enough knowledge, nor is there enough respect, for the Constitution in our country today, which is why I’m trying to help a little bit here. Nineteen executive orders to deal with something they are not permitted to deal with, in a way they’re not permitted to do it. But if nobody is willing to stand up and oppose the president and this usurpation of power — which does not exist and which he does not have — then, of course, he will get away with it. But I just want you to know this. I want those of you in the low-information voter community to know that executive orders do not exist so that the president can break the law. They do not exist so the president can change the law. That is not why they exist.

Executive orders do not grant authoritarian, dictatorial power.

The founders of this country never intended the chief executive to have anywhere near that kind of power, and I just want you to understand and know this.

I also want you low-information voters to know that I would never lie to you.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Once again, ladies and gentlemen, I’ll read from this joyous Politico story on the White House looking at 19 executive order actions on guns. It’s Reid Epstein doing the story. The Politico says, “The focus on executive orders is the result of the White House and other Democrats acknowledging the political difficulty of enacting any new gun legislation, a topic Biden did not address in MondayÂ’s meeting.” What this means is, this is a tantamount admission that this administration cannot muster the votes to legally create new legislation on guns.

You see, the laws of this country… Again, pardon me for a second as I address the low-information voter community. The laws in this country are written in Congress. That would be the Senate and the House. The president does not write laws. The president does not make law. Well, he’s not supposed to. Judges are not supposed to make laws. Judges are not supposed to create laws. That’s only supposed to happen in Congress. When Congress refuses to vote for a law, then it’s dead. What the administration and Biden are admitting here is that they can’t legally enact the gun laws that they prefer.

So they’re just going to do it unilaterally with the executive order.

Now, I’m not lying to you when I tell you that is not what executive orders permit. It’s not why they were created; it’s not what they’re for. Executive orders do not grant dictatorial power to presidents. They do not grant the power to the president to violate existing law. Executive orders do not grant the power to the president to write new law. The president and his team will be in violation of the Constitution if they do this. Now, there are certain things that can be done with executive orders, but they can’t write new law. But if nobody stops them, what’s the point?

They can get away with it.

There’s always a way to get away with it.

If Congress doesn’t oppose what the president does, then it’s not a political power struggle. And if the Congress is going to cede to the president the authority to write law, then he’ll get away with it. Washington Post: “White House to Announce Gun Plans Today.” They’re all excited, too. Their tongues are on the floor. “President Obama will unveil a sweeping set of gun-control proposals at midday Wednesday, including an assault weapons ban, universal background checks and limits on the number of bullets magazines can hold…” These are not plans; these are what they intend to do with executive orders.

They may go to Congress try to get some of this stuff passed.

But if they fail — legally, constitutionally — it is over at that point.