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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsObama Delivers a Middle Finger To Boehner and His Lawsuit By Acting Alone on Immigration
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/06/30/obama-delivers-big-fu-boehner-lawsuit-acting-immigration.htmlObama Delivers a Middle Finger To Boehner and His Lawsuit By Acting Alone on Immigration
By: Jason Easley
Monday, June, 30th, 2014, 4:31 pm
President Obama delivered a one-fingered salute to John Boehner and his lawsuit today by announcing that he is going to act without Congress to reform as much of the immigration system as his legal authority allows.
Video @ link:
The president said:
Now there are others in the Republican caucus in the House who are arguing that they cant act because theyre mad at me about using my executive authority too broadly. This also makes no sense. I dont prefer taking administrative action. Id rather see permanent fixes to the issue we face. Certainly, thats true on immigration. Multiple times Ive said that I would love nothing more than bipartisan legislation to pass the House, the Senate, land on my desk so I can sign it. Thats true about immigration. Its true about the minimum wage. Its true about equal pay. There are a whole bunch of things where I would greatly prefer Congress actually do something.
I take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue, and Congress chooses to do nothing. And in this situation, the failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill is bad for our security, is bad for our economy, and is bad for our future.
So while I will continue to push House Republicans to drop the excuses and act, and I hope their constituents will too, America can not wait forever for them to act. Thats why today Im beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress.
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If Congress wont do their job, at least we can do ours.
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I want to repeat what I said earlier. If House Republicans are really concerned about me taking too many executive actions, the best solution to that is passing bills. Pass a bill. Solve a problem. Dont just say no on something that everybody agrees needs to be done. Because if we pass a bill, that will supplant whatever Ive done administratively.
snip//
Obama isnt intimidated by the lawsuit. He is seizing the opportunity that it presents. What better way to get Hispanic voters engaged in the midterm than to make immigration a central issue? President Obama is baiting the House Republicans into pursuing this lawsuit. The president made it clear that he isnt acting alone because he loves executive action. If House and Senate Republicans stopped obstructing everything, the president wouldnt need to take administrative action.
The problem isnt Obama taking too many executive actions. The real problem is that congressional Republicans refuse to do anything.
It turns out that John Boehners lawsuit isnt even a good intimidation tactic. Instead of slowing down the president is doubling his efforts to do what is right for the country, with or without Congress.
3catwoman3
(24,083 posts)Go for it, Mr. President.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)neck and everything!
Tarheel_Dem
(31,246 posts)babylonsister
(171,104 posts)sheshe2
(83,984 posts)I do so hate the GOP doing what they do best and that is absolutely nothing!
Thanks bsis.
Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)Is there really any such lawsuit? Boehner is an idiot.
babylonsister
(171,104 posts)snip//
The Republican answer to the Presidents executive actions to help all Americans is suing him for doing what they refuse to do; work for the general welfare of the people. It does not matter that the President, in many cases, issued the same exact executive orders as his white predecessor, or that his orders are well within his constitutional authority; Republicans are livid President Obama is doing what they should be doing as prescribed by the Constitution; working for the people.
On Sunday, Virginia Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte told Fox News host Chris Wallace that House Republicans plan to sue President Obama is, not about our wanting to stop him from doing his job. Its our wanting to do the job that the Constitution prescribes. Republicans have had five-and-a-half years to do the job the Constitution prescribes and instead either obstructed legislation that helps the people, passed legislation taking from the people, passed legislation giving billions to the rich, or manufactured scandals at the taxpayers expense. Speaker John Boehner even boasted that Republicans job is not making laws, but abolishing laws and programs that benefit the people.
more...
treestar
(82,383 posts)You know what's funny is Republicans thought a whole lot of Executive powers when one of theirs was in the office!
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)the executive and legislative branches of government as laid out in our Constitution. In that great document, the legislative branch is charged with making the laws and the executive is charged with making sure that those laws are properly executed.
The House will assert that what President Obama is doing with respect to changing the ACA and whatever he intends to do with immigration, as well as some other matters, constitutes legislation and thus violates the separation of powers.
Whether the House has the right to sue over this issue will be a question (Boehner himself probably won't be the plaintiff), as will whether this is a "political question" of the type that the courts do not adjudicate.
Some executive orders are innocuous, like ones designating "National Tulip Week", but some gone much farther than that, particularly since FDR was in the White House.
Remember the consternation around here about Bush's "signing statements?" It's the same type of thing.
Most legal commentators have written or said that any lawsuit brought by the House on this issue will be dismissed by a court almost automatically. But I've read a couple, one by Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at George Washington University and an NBC commenter, stating that the courta may be willing to hear the case.
At any rate, the suit probably serves some of the same political purposes that an Impeachment Hearing in the House would have for the Republican base, but wouldn't take as much legislative time, and would not ultimately be dependent on a 60-vote majority in the Senate to convict the President.
The next 2.5 years in Washington could be interesting, but in the Chinese way of "may you live in interesting times."
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)Do it himself and make the courts deal with it.
madokie
(51,076 posts)To me it is about time that he takes the bull by the horns. The republican party has done everything in their power to keep the majority elected President from doing anything. I find that totally unacceptable. If it was a new car I was buying I wouldn't accept it.
In spite of all the obstruction by the republicon, teahadist house of representatives he still has a pretty good record. history will shine a pretty light on our first Black President. I'm proud to say I voted for him 3 times too. I like those three votes better than all the rest of the votes I've cast in my 40 plus years of casting votes. dm
2014 election is going to turn some heads cause there is a lot of people pissed at the way the President is treated and will be voting accordingly. It'll be a majority in the senate and house then they and the President can get some business taken care of. Business like jobs, jobs, and more jobs. infrastructure will make a big dent in the numbers of unemployed too. People around here watch too much FOX noise so I just have to keep my mouth shut to keep the peace but get away from here and people are pissed. Not at our President either you can bet on that. He's trying to help the average joe but his mistake is he's doing it while black.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)He said "darn".
Not what I would have said.