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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRepublicans are beginning to act as though Barack Obama isn’t even the president
Republicans are beginning to act as though Barack Obama isnt even the presidentBy Paul Waldman at the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/03/09/republicans-are-beginning-to-act-as-though-barack-obama-isnt-even-the-president/
"SNIP...................
The only direct precedent I can think of for this occurred in 1968, when as a presidential candidate Richard Nixon secretly communicated with the government of South Vietnam in an attempt to scuttle peace negotiations the Johnson administration was engaged in. It worked: those negotiations failed, and the war dragged on for another seven years. Many people are convinced that what Nixon did was an act of treason; at the very least it was a clear violation of the Logan Act, which prohibits American citizens from communicating with foreign governments to conduct their own foreign policy.
This move by Republicans is not quite at that level. As Dan Drezner wrote, I dont think an open letter from members of the legislative branch quite rises to Logan Act violations, but if theres ever a trolling amendment to the Logan Act, this would qualify, and at least its out in the open. But it makes clear that they believe that when they disagree with an administration policy, they can act as though Barack Obama isnt even the president of the United States.
And it isnt just in foreign affairs. In an op-ed last week in the Lexington Herald-Leader, Mitch McConnell urged states to refuse to comply with proposed rules on greenhouse gas emissions from the Environmental Protection Agency. Never mind that agency regulations like these have the force of law, and the Supreme Court has upheld the EPAs responsibility under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions if you dont like the law, just act as though it doesnt apply to you. I cant recall a majority leader calling on states to disobey the law, said Barbara Boxer, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Ive been here almost 24 years.
The American political system runs according to a whole series of norms, many of which we dont notice until theyre violated. For instance, the Speaker of the House can invite a foreign leader to address Congress for the sole purpose of criticizing the administration, and he can even do it without letting the White House know in advance. Theres no law against it. But doing so violates a norm not only of simple respect and courtesy, but one that says that the exercise of foreign policy belongs to the administration. Congress can advise, criticize, and legislate to shape it, but if they simply take it upon themselves to make their own foreign policy, theyve gone too far.
...................SNIP"
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Republicans are beginning to act as though Barack Obama isn’t even the president (Original Post)
applegrove
Mar 2015
OP
freshwest
(53,661 posts)1. They decided on that strategy in that meeting before he was inaugurated. This is just another phase.
They are willing to burn down the White House and the Constitution to get rid of the future he represents.
Baitball Blogger
(46,776 posts)2. They never respected him, or acknowledged him.
They are in a full-fledged coup attempt American style.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)3. Beginning??? They always have. n/t