Is Obama's Cordray Appointment Unprecedented? Not by a Longshot.
Beyond the legal arguments, the statements made by Boehner and
McConnell conveniently overlook some history; for example, Teddy
Roosevelt made a series of recess appointments during a recess
of less than a day (indeed, in a matter of seconds), not the 10
days cited by McConnell. The Speaker should recognize that what
President Obama did was certainly not "unprecedented," and, as
power grabs go in Washington, seems quite tame by comparison to,
say, the Republicans making a majority vote mean 60% rather than
51% (that's so 2009) by filibustering as often as they have
breakfast. In the Senate 60 votes are required to shut off
endless debate. In all fairness, Democrats have gone filibuster-
crazy in the past too, though not as crazy as the current
Congress.  Perhaps most importantly, the entire purpose of the
recess appointments clause in article 2 cannot be defeated by
the sham of a "pro-forma session," which is designed strictly to
prevent that w