FUCKING YES

Make them work. Say no. Don’t hope that someone else will stop it for you.

There’s a wonderful story from the Nixon years. This is heavily edited for clarity:

I said to Henry, “You remember what I said in my letter when I came here? Well, you have just called my bluff and my loyalties are to the American people and I’m refusing the assignment, I am leaving.”

And then Kissinger said something that I will never forget. He said, “Your views represent the cowardice of the Eastern Establishment.”

I just came up out of my chair swinging, I was so damn mad, and missed him. He ran behind his desk and said, “I am only kidding.”

I said, “Well, you don’t kid about something like this,” and just stormed out of the room.

Later:

Haig came flying out of Henry’s office. He said, “What the hell did you say to Henry? He is furious. He’s throwing books around the room and screaming and yelling.” So I told him that he said I was to be the staff coordinator and I wouldn’t do it.

At that point Haig then looked at me. He said, “You have had an order from your Commander-in-Chief and you can’t refuse.”

I looked at him and said, “Fuck you, Al, I just have.”

Edit: “Henry” is Henry Kissinger. Kissinger asked William Watts to violate the constitution, Watts said no, Kissinger insulted him for it, so he tried to punch Kissinger and cursed out the secretary of defense and quit to get a different job. Be like William Watts.