Conservatives are really angry about the executive action taken by President Obama last week regarding immigration. The only problem is they are having a lot of trouble deciding exactly what they are angry about.
Some people are suggesting that by taking this action the president is acting like a King or a dictator despite the fact that Obama has actually used executive orders at lower rates than most of his predecessors.
Faced with this reality some Republicans claim that it's not how often Obama uses this power but that his actions are unconstitutional or an unprecedented overreach of his power. The reality is that every president over the last six decades have shielded groups here illegally from deportation. This order may protect more people than usual but according to legal scholars it is not illegal, unconstitutional, or unprecedented.
While some would like to pretend that Obama is the first to create a controversial executive order it should be noted that George W. Bush signed an executive order allowing the NSA to perform warrantless wire taps which was later determined to be unconstitutional. Were it not for an executive order signed by Ronald Reagan the NSA wouldn't even exist. Given the litany if issues with the NSA; its creation could clearly be considered controversial. George W. Bush also had parts of an executive order on terrorism struck down as unconstitutional.
Some of those who are aware of how really unspectacular Obama's recent executive order actually is have attempted to portray the action as something it is not. Conservative politicians and pundits alike have decided to term this order "Executive Amnesty" in spite of the fact that it isn't amnesty. It doesn't give anyone legal status. It doesn't provide a pathway to citizenship. It doesn't give those here illegally the right to vote. It doesn't give them access to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. And it doesn't give the Social Security benefits. It just gives people the opportunity to apply to work here legally without the threat of deportation.
Another group claims the president himself said he could not act on his own and this proves his order is illegal. The irony of this statement is astonishing. Apparently when the president says something they agree with he has the power to unilaterally create law but when they disagree with his actions he suddenly loses this power. Luckily the decision on whether something is constitutional or not isn't for the president to decide. This also means Obama's previous statements have absolutely no bearing on the actual legality of his order.
Imagine if we lived in a world where presidential statements automatically set legal precedent. George H.W. Bush famously stated "read my lips: no new taxes" only to turn around later and raise taxes. In his inaugural address, Ronald Regan remarked "It is time to check and reverse the growth of government" yet he not only expanded spending to unprecedented levels he also added over a 300,000 employees to the government payroll. On the campaign trail George W. Bush declared "I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say, 'This is the way it's got to be." however after a few years in Iraq he changed course when he said "There are five steps in our plan to help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom. All of these statements would have made the president’s actions that followed illegal.
Of course President Obama claims that when talking about what he can and cannot do with regards to immigration reform he was talking about enacting laws similar to that of the Senate immigration reform bill. The executive order he issued falls well short of the sweeping changes the Senate bill would have enacted. According to Obama this executive order only includes language that is within the president’s purview.
But that didn't stop John Boehner from asserting that Obama's actions "deliberately sabotage any chance of enacting bipartisan reforms". He says this despite the fact that the Senate already passed bipartisan immigration reform which the House had the votes to pass with bipartisan backing and over 80% the public supports. The reality is that Boehner is not only the one deliberately sabotaging a bipartisan reform but his refusal to bring this bill up for a vote in the House left Obama with little choice used his executive power.
In the end Republicans who are searching for some rational reason to be outraged by this executive order should be more concerned about the failure of Republican leadership to address this issue because not only did John Boehner miss out on an opportunity to mend fences with a growing Hispanic voting bloc but he has now backed himself into a corner with no clear way out.
Unfortunately rather than admit he over played his hand Boehner threatens to tear families apart as he continues to place party needs over the will of the people. It seems John Boehner is just as happy to "undermine the rule of law in our country" as he believes the president is.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Republican majority destined to fail
This past week President Obama used the power executive authority to prevent the deportation on millions of undocumented immigrants. It should come as no surprise that Republicans do not support this action and have added it to a growing list of complaints about how the president and congressional Democrats do business. Unfortunately for Republicans these complaints represent the pinnacle of hypocrisy.
Perhaps executive actions do undermine the "democratic process" as Speaker Boehner suggests, however it should be noted that Barack Obama averages just 32 executive actions per year while Republican presidents have been far more liberal in their use of this power.
George W. Bush - 36 per year
George H.W. Bush - 41 per year
Ronald Reagan - 47 per year
Gerald Ford - 56 per year
Richard Nixon - 57 per year
If this is a problem, it is a problem for all presidents not just the Democratic ones.
Beyond that Boehner feels that "President Obama has turned a deaf ear to the people that he was elected ... to serve". According to a release by Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, a Fox News poll shows that "By a 78-21 percent margin, voters favor allowing immigrants in the U.S. illegally to become citizens after they meet requirements such as passing a background check."
Given that the Senate already passed a comprehensive immigration reform act with bipartisan support that included a pathway to citizenship, that the vast majority of Americans favor, it appears that by refusing to bring this bill up for a vote in the House it is John Boehner who has turned a deaf ear to the people.
Of course the hypocrisy doesn't end with executive actions and immigration reform. For much of the past year Republicans, lead by Eric Cantor, have been portraying the Democratic controlled Senate as a place where good bills go to die. With over 300 bills passed by the House waiting for approval in the Senate such a claim seems accurate however history shows that every year around 300 House bills fail to get a vote in the Senate. 2014 is just another year in long line of political dysfunction.
Having said that the two worst years on record were 2011 and 2012 when Republican filibusters caused a total of nearly 1,300 House bills to stall in the Senate.
Again, if failing to get a vote on House bills is an issue when Republicans control the House then it should also have been a concern for Republicans when Democrats controlled the House.
Having secured majorities in both the House and the Senate Republicans who operated under the directive that "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president" are now demanding that the president and congressional Democrats focus on "bipartisan reforms".
Data shows that of the 46 "jobs bills" the House has passed that Boehner considers "bipartisan" half of them received support from less than 10% of House Democrats with 2 bills receiving zero votes and 12 others garnering under 5% support.
By contrast the Senate currently has 76 bills waiting for the House to vote on which all have the support of at least 10% of Senate Republicans. If a wave of bipartisanship is sweeping congress shouldn't that also include Senate bills stuck in the House?
Included in the list of bills being ignored by the House and Speaker Boehner are the following:
- S. 2912: Don’t Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act
- S. 2673: United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014
- S. 1691: Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014
- S. 2198: Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014
- S. 1417: Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2013
- S. 287: Helping Homeless Veterans Act of 2013
- S. 743: Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013
- S. 853: Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013
The reality is that while Republican leadership wants to depict Democrats and the president as uncompromising ideologues, such assertions from a group that have shown to be uncompromising ideologues falls on deaf ears. Americans don't want more political posturing, finger pointing and empty rhetoric. They want a government that spends more time in Washington then raising money. They want a government that acts on the wishes of voters instead of the wishes of the highest bidder. They want a government that finds common ground and rallies public support rather than constantly dividing the nation to win elections.
Unfortunately rather than leading the government in a different direction Republicans seem determined to take it further down the rabbit hole which should be disappointing no matter what your political affiliations are.
Perhaps executive actions do undermine the "democratic process" as Speaker Boehner suggests, however it should be noted that Barack Obama averages just 32 executive actions per year while Republican presidents have been far more liberal in their use of this power.
George W. Bush - 36 per year
George H.W. Bush - 41 per year
Ronald Reagan - 47 per year
Gerald Ford - 56 per year
Richard Nixon - 57 per year
If this is a problem, it is a problem for all presidents not just the Democratic ones.
Beyond that Boehner feels that "President Obama has turned a deaf ear to the people that he was elected ... to serve". According to a release by Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, a Fox News poll shows that "By a 78-21 percent margin, voters favor allowing immigrants in the U.S. illegally to become citizens after they meet requirements such as passing a background check."
Given that the Senate already passed a comprehensive immigration reform act with bipartisan support that included a pathway to citizenship, that the vast majority of Americans favor, it appears that by refusing to bring this bill up for a vote in the House it is John Boehner who has turned a deaf ear to the people.
Of course the hypocrisy doesn't end with executive actions and immigration reform. For much of the past year Republicans, lead by Eric Cantor, have been portraying the Democratic controlled Senate as a place where good bills go to die. With over 300 bills passed by the House waiting for approval in the Senate such a claim seems accurate however history shows that every year around 300 House bills fail to get a vote in the Senate. 2014 is just another year in long line of political dysfunction.
Having said that the two worst years on record were 2011 and 2012 when Republican filibusters caused a total of nearly 1,300 House bills to stall in the Senate.
Again, if failing to get a vote on House bills is an issue when Republicans control the House then it should also have been a concern for Republicans when Democrats controlled the House.
Having secured majorities in both the House and the Senate Republicans who operated under the directive that "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president" are now demanding that the president and congressional Democrats focus on "bipartisan reforms".
Data shows that of the 46 "jobs bills" the House has passed that Boehner considers "bipartisan" half of them received support from less than 10% of House Democrats with 2 bills receiving zero votes and 12 others garnering under 5% support.
By contrast the Senate currently has 76 bills waiting for the House to vote on which all have the support of at least 10% of Senate Republicans. If a wave of bipartisanship is sweeping congress shouldn't that also include Senate bills stuck in the House?
Included in the list of bills being ignored by the House and Speaker Boehner are the following:
- S. 2912: Don’t Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act
- S. 2673: United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014
- S. 1691: Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014
- S. 2198: Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014
- S. 1417: Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2013
- S. 287: Helping Homeless Veterans Act of 2013
- S. 743: Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013
- S. 853: Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013
The reality is that while Republican leadership wants to depict Democrats and the president as uncompromising ideologues, such assertions from a group that have shown to be uncompromising ideologues falls on deaf ears. Americans don't want more political posturing, finger pointing and empty rhetoric. They want a government that spends more time in Washington then raising money. They want a government that acts on the wishes of voters instead of the wishes of the highest bidder. They want a government that finds common ground and rallies public support rather than constantly dividing the nation to win elections.
Unfortunately rather than leading the government in a different direction Republicans seem determined to take it further down the rabbit hole which should be disappointing no matter what your political affiliations are.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Americans don't support the Republican agenda
Since the elections last week a number of conservative politicians and political pundits have suggested that the Republican wins were a mandate. The question is; a mandate for what?
Republican's didn't have a national issue that they rode to victory. Some Republican ran on the belief that the economy was broken and need to be fixed while others suggested the economy was flourishing under their tutelage. Many Republicans resorted to fear mongering over the faint threats of ISIS and Ebola. Essentially the only issue that Republican candidates agreed on was making this election about President Obama. While effective, this is hardly and endorsement of standard Republican policy.
The reality is that the congressional Republican agenda stands in stark contrast to the interests of the general public. For example while Republican legislators have voted over 50 times on some form of repeal of the Affordable Care Act (affectionately known as Obamacare) only 39% of Americans support a repeal. Instead 57% want to keep the law in place.
Of course Republican legislators’ views on the ACA are just one of many topics where their opinion diverges from voters.
For years Republican politicians have been looking for ways to eliminate a women's right to choose however only 22% of the public agrees with this stance. Even in deeply red states so called "personhood" measures have been soundly defeated.
Many Republican lawmakers have fought tooth and nail to keep same sex couples from enjoying the benefits of marriage in spite of the fact that such bigotry has been deemed unconstitutional by a number of courts. All told just 42% of Americans currently agree with the Republican position. But perhaps worst yet for these Republicans is the data that shows nearly 8 out of 10 adults between the age of 18 and 29 support marriage equality.
President Obama made income inequality a top concern for his administration however Republican legislators have so far stood in the way of any meaningful legislation to address what many economists see as a serious concern for economic growth. This despite the reality that 67% of Americans are dissatisfied with the current wealth distribution. In fact a minimum wage increase which is thought to be a solution to the income inequality issue not only is their strong support for an increase of the minimum wage to $10.10 but four red states voted in favor of raising their states minimum wage.
The power of the NRA to manipulate politician's, especially Republican politician's, resulted in the death of a bill that would have approved universal background checks despite the fact that 92% of voters and 92% of gun owners support such a measure.
When discussing climate change many Republican have resorted to the party approved talking point of "I'm not a scientist". Apparently they believe their lack of knowledge is a valid excuse to act in opposition to what 84% of those who are scientist agree upon. Of course being completely devoid of qualifications doesn't seem to matter to these same Republican politicians on issues like abortion, the economy or poverty. Having said that, regardless of whether people believe in the science behind climate change 74% of Americans support regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A full 81% of Americans believe we should have net neutrality instead of offering the Republican backed position of "fast lanes".
More than 8 in 10 Americans supported a Senate bill that would have given illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship. Unfortunately this bill was shelved by the Republican controlled House.
Republican politicians stand in opposition to legalizing pot despite the increasing number of states that have voted in favor of decriminalization.
Public education and teachers in particular have come under attacks by Republican politicians across the country even though 75% of parents are satisfied with their child's education. So while Republican continue to sell the idea of a crisis in education that can only be fixed by eliminating teachers unions, paying teacher less, and corporatizing students Americans believe that lack of funding is the biggest problem currently facing education. Additionally two thirds of American's say they would pay more taxes to help struggling cash strapped urban schools.
Americans also disagree with Republican politicians on the use of vouchers in public education with 56% of responding against using public funds for private schools.
This is also true of vouchers for Medicare where only 34% of Americans support such a change.
Of course these only represent a small portion of the divide that exists between Republican politicians and the general public. 80% of Americans are against the Citizen's United ruling, only 28% of Americans agree with the Republican assertion that we spend too little on the military, 83% of Americans are against an increase in student loan rates, 55% of Americans believe Capital Gains should be taxed at the same rate as other income not at a lower rate or at zero like many Republican legislators believe, just 40% of Americans support the Republican position of cutting food stamps, and 60% of Americans favor raising taxes on the rich.
In the end the best thing Republicans had going for them in this election was the fact that they weren't in the same party as President Obama. It would be a huge mistake for them to act as though this was an endorsement of their policies - a mistake they seem likely to make. A mistake that seems destined to be part of the 2016 Republican autopsy.
Republican's didn't have a national issue that they rode to victory. Some Republican ran on the belief that the economy was broken and need to be fixed while others suggested the economy was flourishing under their tutelage. Many Republicans resorted to fear mongering over the faint threats of ISIS and Ebola. Essentially the only issue that Republican candidates agreed on was making this election about President Obama. While effective, this is hardly and endorsement of standard Republican policy.
The reality is that the congressional Republican agenda stands in stark contrast to the interests of the general public. For example while Republican legislators have voted over 50 times on some form of repeal of the Affordable Care Act (affectionately known as Obamacare) only 39% of Americans support a repeal. Instead 57% want to keep the law in place.
Of course Republican legislators’ views on the ACA are just one of many topics where their opinion diverges from voters.
For years Republican politicians have been looking for ways to eliminate a women's right to choose however only 22% of the public agrees with this stance. Even in deeply red states so called "personhood" measures have been soundly defeated.
Many Republican lawmakers have fought tooth and nail to keep same sex couples from enjoying the benefits of marriage in spite of the fact that such bigotry has been deemed unconstitutional by a number of courts. All told just 42% of Americans currently agree with the Republican position. But perhaps worst yet for these Republicans is the data that shows nearly 8 out of 10 adults between the age of 18 and 29 support marriage equality.
President Obama made income inequality a top concern for his administration however Republican legislators have so far stood in the way of any meaningful legislation to address what many economists see as a serious concern for economic growth. This despite the reality that 67% of Americans are dissatisfied with the current wealth distribution. In fact a minimum wage increase which is thought to be a solution to the income inequality issue not only is their strong support for an increase of the minimum wage to $10.10 but four red states voted in favor of raising their states minimum wage.
The power of the NRA to manipulate politician's, especially Republican politician's, resulted in the death of a bill that would have approved universal background checks despite the fact that 92% of voters and 92% of gun owners support such a measure.
When discussing climate change many Republican have resorted to the party approved talking point of "I'm not a scientist". Apparently they believe their lack of knowledge is a valid excuse to act in opposition to what 84% of those who are scientist agree upon. Of course being completely devoid of qualifications doesn't seem to matter to these same Republican politicians on issues like abortion, the economy or poverty. Having said that, regardless of whether people believe in the science behind climate change 74% of Americans support regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A full 81% of Americans believe we should have net neutrality instead of offering the Republican backed position of "fast lanes".
More than 8 in 10 Americans supported a Senate bill that would have given illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship. Unfortunately this bill was shelved by the Republican controlled House.
Republican politicians stand in opposition to legalizing pot despite the increasing number of states that have voted in favor of decriminalization.
Public education and teachers in particular have come under attacks by Republican politicians across the country even though 75% of parents are satisfied with their child's education. So while Republican continue to sell the idea of a crisis in education that can only be fixed by eliminating teachers unions, paying teacher less, and corporatizing students Americans believe that lack of funding is the biggest problem currently facing education. Additionally two thirds of American's say they would pay more taxes to help struggling cash strapped urban schools.
Americans also disagree with Republican politicians on the use of vouchers in public education with 56% of responding against using public funds for private schools.
This is also true of vouchers for Medicare where only 34% of Americans support such a change.
Of course these only represent a small portion of the divide that exists between Republican politicians and the general public. 80% of Americans are against the Citizen's United ruling, only 28% of Americans agree with the Republican assertion that we spend too little on the military, 83% of Americans are against an increase in student loan rates, 55% of Americans believe Capital Gains should be taxed at the same rate as other income not at a lower rate or at zero like many Republican legislators believe, just 40% of Americans support the Republican position of cutting food stamps, and 60% of Americans favor raising taxes on the rich.
In the end the best thing Republicans had going for them in this election was the fact that they weren't in the same party as President Obama. It would be a huge mistake for them to act as though this was an endorsement of their policies - a mistake they seem likely to make. A mistake that seems destined to be part of the 2016 Republican autopsy.
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