Remember when President Obama was caught on a hot mic telling then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to be patient with him because he would have more “flexibility” in his second term when he would never again have to face American voters?

That message wasn’t just for Medvedev to relay to then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin: it was for Obama’s friends on the far left as well, who have been waiting for the “real” Barack Obama to usher in a new age of liberalism – to “fundamentally transform America,” as the president himself put it during his first campaign.

That time has come. President Obama intends to change the country in dramatic ways in his second term, no matter who controls Congress.

How will he do it?

We can certainly take a clue from the president’s first go-around. When Obama wanted to “reform” our nation’s immigration system and didn’t have the votes in Congress, what did he do? He simply implemented illegal alien amnesty through executive fiat by instructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to look the other way and not apprehend and deport most illegal alien lawbreakers.

Call it “prosecutorial discretion.” Call it “selective deportation.” Call it whatever you want. When the president refuses to enforce immigration law and allows illegal aliens to enjoy many of the benefits of citizenship or legal residence, that’s amnesty.

Here’s the truly scary part: this was only the beginning.

A recent Associated Press article entitled, “Election Over, Administration Unleashes New Rules” lays bare Obama’s plans to govern by executive fiat in his second term:

For months, federal agencies and the White House have sidetracked dozens of major regulations that cover everything from power plant pollution to workplace safety to a crackdown on Wall Street. The rules had been largely put on hold during the presidential campaign as the White House sought to quiet Republican charges that President Barack Obama was an overzealous regulator who is killing U.S. jobs. But since the election, the Obama administration has quietly reopened the regulations pipeline.

In other words, don’t expect the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to stop the Obama machine. The president, and the unelected and unconstitutional czars he has installed in power, plan to implement a host of liberal policies through red tape and excessive regulation.

And if you don’t believe me, just listen to the words of one Obama aide, who bragged to The Washington Post that bypassing our U.S. Constitution, Congress, and the will of the American people will be the “new normal” in a second Obama term.

[Obama] also plans to be more aggressive in taking actions that do not require congressional approval, as he has done during the past year with an initiative that the White House has branded “We Can’t Wait.” Among them have been programs to hire veterans, assist homeowners in refinancing their mortgages and give waivers to states seeking to boost education standards. “He does think that’s going to be the new normal,” another White House aide said.

And what will this “new normal” look like in an Obama second term?

Obama can use the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to restrict the speech of conservatives on radio and television, while shutting down free speech on the internet. He can use the Environmental Protection Agency to assault the energy and manufacturing sectors. He can use the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to attack free enterprise and mire businesses in red tape. He can continue using the Justice Department to fight election integrity, the National Labor Relations Board to bolster Big Labor, and the IRS to slap down his political opponents.

And Vice President Biden and Attorney General Holder are now conspiring on how to restrict gun rights without having to go through Congress.

Simply put, every single federal agency is now at Obama’s disposal to implement his socialist vision without “waiting” for Congress.

So with an unrestrained leftist activist in the White House and an impotent Congress, there is really only one line of defense against the tidal wave of liberalism that is coming our way – transparency. Citizens and citizen watchdog groups like Judicial Watch must ensure that the Obama administration conducts its business in the light of day – and according to the law.

Tom Fitton is President of Judicial Watch and author of the New York Times best-selling book “The Corruption Chronicles”.