GOP Candidates Slam President for Bypassing Congress

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson reacts

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," January 5, 2012. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST OF “YOUR WORLD”: One thing Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney can agree on, they really don’t like what the president is up to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has engaged and is engaging in crony capitalism. It’s happening with the National Labor Relations Board, where he is paying back the big unions that helped his campaign.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As of today, this president has proven a total willingness to violate the law and to impose an imperial presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: No matter which candidate wins New Hampshire or South Carolina, do they need to win on this issue?

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joins me right now.

Mr. Attorney General, what do you think?

ALAN WILSON (R), SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, Neil, I am just glad to hear the candidates talking about this issue. This is very important.

And I am glad to see the NLRB part of the dialogue in this primary season. One thing I have seen with this administration since I have been attorney general is that they try to have unelected bureaucrats rule by administration fiat. They have done this with the National Labor Relations Board.

I believe they will do this with the new Consumer Protection Bureau and the EPA and even the Justice Department through its Section 5 pre- clearance section with our voter I.D. laws. So, we have to have a president that understands that the voters have a right to have these type of issues vetted before elected representatives and not by unelected bureaucrats regulating by administrative fiat.

CAVUTO: What concerns me -- and I always tell people, I don’t care whether you are pro-union or anti-union -- is the sneakiness of the way it is being done.

If this is such a legitimate issue, put it before the people and let them decide, let it come up for a vote and let it be all open, because that is one thing that unions, for example, criticize when it isn’t.

WILSON: Mm-hmm.

Well, one thing I question is I question the validity of the National Labor Relations Board. What you have is, is you have the board which acts as a judge and you have as general counsel part of the same agency acting as its prosecutor. You have an executive function and a judicial function acting together.

I don’t believe we need the National Labor Relations Board to act as judge on these matters. Why can’t the Justice Department who answers to an appointment of a president prosecute these type of cases when they violate the national labor relations law?

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But when did the National Labor Relations Board...

WILSON: Again, this is just an extra layer of bureaucracy designed to protect bureaucrats.

CAVUTO: I understand. But when did the National Labor Relations Board, at least to my memory, become so blatantly pro-union? It doesn’t even hide that.

WILSON: Well, I will be frankly honest with you. When I was running for attorney general, this was not one of my top five or even top 10 issues because I barely knew what the National Labor Relations Board did.

I knew what it was and I knew about the act that created it, but it was my second week in office where I learned a lot about the National Labor Relations Board.

CAVUTO: Right.

WILSON: So, for instance, we have had a card check constitutional amendment that they threatened to sue us on. Then a month later, we had the Boeing lawsuit where they filed a complaint to the IAM against Boeing.

The National Labor Relations Board, as you know, has been around since the 1930s.

CAVUTO: Right.

WILSON: And I guess what administration is in power at that time is going to put members on the board that reflect that political philosophy. For me, what is important is, is that you have an administration that is pro-business, that promotes the ingress and the egress of capital throughout the states.

The National Labor Relations Board shouldn’t be allowed to tell a business owner or a business, whether you are Boeing or whether you are a small business, where you can and cannot locate your business.

CAVUTO: Well, I’ll tell you what, Attorney General. I have looked into this and its edict when -- in the FDR years.

It has always been seen as pro-union. The fact of matter was, it was more pro-worker. It was -- the idea of the National Labor Relations Board is that it wanted to establish a bridge early on between the workers and the bosses. And it was simply a way to protect labor, to protect the American worker.

And somehow it has gone from protecting the American worker, he and she who labor, now to he and she who are part of labor unions. I know I’m seeming arcane here, but that is a very big difference and that wasn’t its original edict.

WILSON: And I agree with you, Neil.

Like I said, it has gone far above and beyond what it was originally created to do. The National Labor Relations Board, one of the dampening things it has done with business is it has told the business owners around the country if you try to go to a union state we will control you. If you try to leave a union state we will sue you.

And thank God it was Boeing that they attacked, because Boeing had the ability to defend itself, although it was an inconvenience. I’m thinking about the millions of mom and pop businesses out there that have 100 or 200 employees that are working in their communities trying to create wealth and trying to create capital and create jobs.

The National Labor Relations Board is destroying jobs, job creation in this country. And the National Labor Relations Board has attacked South Carolina, along with other agencies under this administration over the last year, since I have been attorney general anyway.

CAVUTO: All right. All right.

General, thank you very much. Happy new year to you.

WILSON: Thank you.

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