Some people are now encouragingPresident Obamato basically ignore the Supreme Court where its rulings might impede the implementation of Obamacare. And a recent Rasmussen poll showed that 26% of likely voters — a minority, but still a significant number — say the president should beable to disregard federal court rulings "if they are standing in the way of actions he feels are important for the country."
Faced with a Supreme Court order to turn over the White House tapes, President Nixoncomplied and, shortly thereafter, resigned. But if Obama were to violate a high court decision, he wouldn't be the first president to do so. President Andrew Jackson, after all, ignored the justices' decision in favor of the Cherokee Nation in Worcester v. Georgia and sent the Cherokees on the Trail of Tears. His picture is on the $20 bill today, and although there's now a move to replace him, it's motivated more by a desire to have a woman on U.S. currency than by any disgust over Jackson's lawlessness.
The only remedy for presidential lawlessness, short of a coup or a civil war, is impeachment, and only two presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, have ever been impeached. Neither was removed from office.
Of course, presidential lawlessness is a special case. Because the president controls not only the nation's law enforcement apparatus but also its military, it's pretty hard to call him to account. But what about the rest of us? If presidents can violate the law, why can't we?
Some people are now encouraging 
