Washington Post Warns of a President Cruz Empowered with Obama-Like Kingly Powers
It’s amusing that they’re using the specter of an UNTRAMMELED TED CRUZ! as a scare tactic — but if that’s what it takes to get through to Democrats, so be it:
DEMOCRATS URGING President Obama to “go big” in his executive order on immigration might pause to consider the following scenario:
It is 2017. Newly elected President Ted Cruz (R) insists he has won a mandate to repeal Obamacare. The Senate, narrowly back in Democratic hands, disagrees. Mr. Cruz instructs the Internal Revenue Service not to collect a fine from anyone who opts out of the individual mandate to buy health insurance, thereby neutering a key element of the program. It is a matter of prosecutorial discretion, Mr. Cruz explains; tax cheats are defrauding the government of billions, and he wants the IRS to concentrate on them. Of course, he is willing to modify his order as soon as Congress agrees to fix what he considers a “broken” health system.
That is not a perfect analogy to Mr. Obama’s proposed action on immigration. But it captures the unilateral spirit that Mr. Obama seems to have embraced since Republicans swept to victory in the midterm elections. He is vowing to go it alone on immigration. On Iran, he is reportedly designing an agreement that he need not bring to Congress. He already has gone that route on climate change with China.
I don’t agree with everything in the editorial, but it’s refreshing to see a Big Media mouthpiece come out and actually point to the damage Obama is about to do to the separation of powers. It’s also nice to see them quote Obama from the past saying he can’t do this:
Three years ago, when advocacy groups pressed him to take such a step, Mr. Obama demurred. “Believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting,” he said. “Not just on immigration reform. But that’s not how — that’s not how our system works. That’s not how our democracy functions. That’s not how our Constitution is written.”
True enough. Good on the Post for noting it.
Thanks to Ed Morrissey.
P.S. The polls are ever-so-slightly against Obama taking this breathtakingly unconstitutional action: 46-42. Yes, fully 42% of those surveyed say: make up your own law, Obama, because who needs Congress? That is a testament to Big Media silence on the sweeping implications of this action, and a further indication that the WaPo editorial is a small but critical corrective to the general lack of focus by Big Media on this issue.
Ding.
Patterico (9c670f) — 11/18/2014 @ 7:37 amPresident Cruz. That has a nice ring to it!
jorgen (6d8963) — 11/18/2014 @ 7:41 amI keep looking for the authority who said this. If not, I should take credit?
Hence the hypocrisy. But there are glimmers of reality intruding?
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 11/18/2014 @ 7:41 amRe: Big media agreeing with Patterico:
Today’s New York Times front page basically repeated a Patterico post…
https://patterico.com/2014/11/17/barack-obama-repeatedly-says-i-cannot-suspend-deportations-through-executive-order
….with some new additional information:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/us/by-using-executive-order-on-immigration-obama-would-reverse-long-held-stance.html
Of course, apparently, both the New York Times and Patterico got it from the same ultimate source:
The New York Times cites the Republican National Committee. Possibly Patterico got it from somebody who either supplied he quotes to the RNC or got them from RNC. It’s a bit viral, like the Gruber videos.
Sammy Finkelman (a248bd) — 11/18/2014 @ 7:52 amSo when Congress impeaches Obama, what will the media claim this about other than Abuse of Office. The race card is worn to pieces. Legal immigrants will be enraged at this free pass. Many black will realize who importing all these illegals is going to hurt. Obama’s support on the left and in the media – I repeat myself – has blinded him to who incredibly unpopular this amnesty really is. Hasn’t he noticed that the Comprehensive Immigration Reform guys have quietly backed away? The videos of thousands bum rushing our Southern Border irritated a lot of people, especially during an era of high unemployment.
Mike Giles (b8b724) — 11/18/2014 @ 7:58 amThe added information in the New York Times today is Obama’s claim that, in fact, he has been consistent, and that Attornery General Eric Holder – well you have to look at the words carefully. Holder may or may not have quite declared this legal. (I’ll hunt up the transcript of his Sunday press conference in Australia later)
What did Ralph Waldo Emerson say:
Sammy Finkelman (a248bd) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:02 amAnother quote from the New York Times article:
The news articles then goes on to give reasons for saying he has in fact NOT been consistent.
In other related news, some Senate Democrats, led by Harry Reid and Charles Schumer have sent aletter urging the White House to go ahead.
These letters, I think, are sent to the White House uipon request.
Sammy Finkelman (a248bd) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:04 amYou said it, Simon. Don’t be so modest. https://patterico.com/2013/12/21/ken-white-on-free-speech/#comment-1399179
nk (dbc370) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:13 amhmm, seems to be push back from the MSM on various fronts against the so-called
seeRpea (09793f) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:14 am“Executive Orders” plan. Was the leak a trial balloon to see how far the liberal Democraticic party media would bend?
Also, “Smokin” Joe Freeper (nope, no idea who he is) and some guy named Rick Gaber (him neither). Close paraphrases.
“Little did I know at the time that I was witnessing the death throes of the Republic.” — Decius Cecilius Metellus — may be the more appropriate quote, though.
nk (dbc370) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:23 amBut the Republic died on April 12, 1861, anyway. A republic that needs 500,000 men to die in a civil war to keep it together is not a republic.
nk (dbc370) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:29 amAnd Turley is representing the House against Obama’s health plan edicts. Very good news.
The article illustrates the most persuasive argument for conservatism. Here is the difference between liberals and Democrats. Liberals look at Obama’s actions and say, well, this is really needed, it’s such a good cause to make sure everyone has health insurance. Conservatives look at it and say, that’s not the issue; the issue is whether you would want to permit any president any time to take these actions. Because some other president will. Our founders said that power wants more power and will get it any way it can. So, it’s better to go to a private solution, which is surely available and doable, than to endanger the freedom of those who follow us.
Also can be applied to the DEA search of the NFL teams. That was a warrantless search, right? Which means, the DEA can search your place of business to whenever it wants to.
Patricia (5fc097) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:32 amA republic that needs 500,000 men to die in a civil war to keep it together is not a republic.
A republic is just a country that doesn’t have a monarch. So, still a republic, but wavering.
Kevin M (d91a9f) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:44 amA foolish Barack Obama is the result of little minds.
FIFY.
Kevin M (d91a9f) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:46 amSo when Congress impeaches Obama, what will the media claim this about other than Abuse of Office
Not yet. The ground is not adequately prepared. First a joint committee granted Congress’ powers of subpoena and civil contempt to investigate the IRS matter and its coverup. Get people under oath down below the political level. Someone will talk and it will all unravel. Then, when everyone knows he’s a crook and his support is in the 20s, you impeach.
Kevin M (d91a9f) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:50 amObama will not be impeached and he knows it. He is daring the GOP to even threaten this and the riots will follow. Both sides know this. Ferguson, MO is just a preview.
Mike K (90dfdc) — 11/18/2014 @ 9:09 amKevin M –
mg (31009b) — 11/18/2014 @ 9:19 amThose 20% need to be deported!!!
Link to those “polls”, please.
Without it, I call BS.
creeper (02bde1) — 11/18/2014 @ 9:58 am@Kevin M: Actually, a republic is a very specific political structure, and does not necessarily include all non-monarchial states. For example, a theocratic state might not be a republic (power is vested in the priesthood, not in the people). The nation of Israel during Moses’ and Joshua’s and the Judges’ time did not have a republican form of governance, but it didn’t have a monarch either (and it’s iffy to call it theocratic). Burma was run by a military junta for ages and by Heaven, I won’t have called it a republic even if its official name contains the word.
The UAE, in theory, has a President… who is chosen from the hereditary sheikhs of the 7 emirates that form the federation. He’s not a king – and certainly not monarch over the *whole* UAE, precisely, but I sure as heck won’t call the UAE a republic either.
Gregory Kong (dfcef0) — 11/18/2014 @ 10:19 amLiberals always reveal who or what they fear the most.
President Ted Cruz
I LIKE that idea.
(and the part about some unilateral payback)
jakee308 (d409c2) — 11/18/2014 @ 10:47 amIt’s agreeable that the Post, which has retained a tincture of professionalism the Times disposed of a half-generation ago and always had a much more engaging editorial and op-ed page, does not maintain a completely sectarian conception of political ethics. Sadly, most partisan Democrats do.
Art Deco (ee8de5) — 11/18/2014 @ 11:11 amThose Kingly powers are not really something to worry about. Should anyone but a dem choose to use them the Times and the WAPO will along with all the other BM outlets be all over it.
f1guyus (647d76) — 11/18/2014 @ 12:12 pmKevin M @ 14
That sounds like something Dan Quayle might have said.
(d91a9f) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:46 am
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dan_Quayle
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 11/18/2014 @ 12:15 pmPatterico:
That won’t happen, because Congress will do it befroe, and if not, Obama will beat him to the bunch.
Yes, Obama will do that.
It would not be asafe bet to say he will not.
Of course, only one year at a time.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 11/18/2014 @ 12:17 pmAnd yet, Saddam’s Iraq was a republic, and so was the USSR (or at least the individual elements thereof). It need not have to do with voting (although that is 1 modern definiton), just that the rulers are not hereditary.
Dictionary.com:
“1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
2. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.
3. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.”
If there are only 10 electors choosing a president, and it purports to be a commonwealth, it is a republic by all three definitions. Were it not for the seemingly hereditary outcomes, North Korea would be a Republic.
Kevin M (d91a9f) — 11/18/2014 @ 12:54 pmSammy, a Spoonerism is sometimes intentional.
Kevin M (d91a9f) — 11/18/2014 @ 12:56 pmIf there are only 10 electors choosing a president that’s called an oligarchy. Some more, an aristocracy.
If no one inherits positions, and in principle everybody is equal, it is a republic, I think.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 11/18/2014 @ 12:58 pmit’s scary not knowing what obama’s gonna do with his hitler-like powers on any given day
there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself and your family
you just have to hope you’ll be ok
happyfeet (a037ad) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:04 pmwell no, pikachu it’s more like Darth Helmet, from the spaceball films,
narciso (ee1f88) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:10 pmeither way it’s terrifying and exhausting living under siege like this
Christmas can’t come soon enough
happyfeet (a037ad) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:14 pmThe problem with the Post’s editorial is that we all know there is no symmetry between the parties. The Dems are shameless, but the Republicans are not. Democrats don’t need to fear tit-for-tat from the Republicans, because such behavior is simply not in the GOP playbook. Republicans have neither the principles nor the strategic sense to stand up for the interests of their constituents and fight the good fight. Obama and the Democrats wouldn’t be acting the way they are if there was any concern about such a reversal.
Just as Obama’s weakness in foreign affairs has emboldened our enemies abroad, the ongoing weakness of the Republican Party has emboldened the President. It seems there is no ethical breach the President can commit that is sufficient for the Republican congress to slow down the ongoing funding of the government, let alone impeach the man. If it is fair to blame the ascendancy of our enemies on the fecklessness of our President – and, surely it is – it is equally fair to blame the lawlessness of Obama on the fecklessness of our party, the Republican Party, and its leadership. There is a reason that the Post used Senator Cruz in their hypothetical: he is the only Republican presidential contender with the good judgment to give the Democrats a taste of their own medicine.
ThOR (130453) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:18 pmWhat State of siege you in, happyfeet?
mg (31009b) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:28 pmSammy, after Richard Pryor and Michael Jackson set their heads on fire, a new organization sprang up. The Ignited Negro College Fund. Its motto was “A mind is a terrible thing to baste”.
I know how happyfeet feels. It’s mildly cool in Chicago, around 10 below zero windchill this morning, and it kind of makes you want to stay indoors.
nk (dbc370) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:38 pm10 below is mildly cool? Crikey, here in AZ that’s unthinkable.
Gazzer (cb9ee2) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:44 pmit’s very brisk
i need to find a costco and stock the bunker
happyfeet (a037ad) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:51 pmStraight South on Damen to Clybourn (at Diversey just before the river) slight left on Clybourn, Costco is half(?) a mile down on Clybourn on your right.
nk (dbc370) — 11/18/2014 @ 1:59 pmhttps://www.google.com/maps/place/Costco/@41.929146,-87.677367,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xbeb052cbbbd4fcc9
nk (dbc370) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:01 pmthat’s definitely do-able thank you
happyfeet (a037ad) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:11 pmIs there an ‘impeachment’ equivalent for congresscritters, specifically Senators? Isn’t it basically violation of their oath of office to uphold the Constitution to send the Preezy a letter saying “please please steal our duty under the separation of powers?”
Or does that all fall to the administration to prosecute? In which case, there’s a bit of a hole in the whole rock-paper-scissors routine.
rtrski (336865) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:15 pmThis is where I warm up when passing through Chicago, happyfeet.
mg (31009b) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:25 pmhttp://www.smoquebbq.com/
it’s mid-80’s here today…
again. 😎
redc1c4 (4db2c8) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:28 pm“10 below is mildly cool? Crikey, here in AZ that’s unthinkable.”
The year I spent in New Hampshire, it was 26 below Thanksgiving morning. No wind chill.
They have been lucky enough to have Democrats running things and now have a crisis in energy.
Jennifer Horn said Tuesday she made the right-to-know request to determine how much the governor knew about the potential crisis, while the governor’s campaign called the request “a blatant political stunt.”
Recently the Public Utilities Commission approved a rate increase for Liberty Utilities that will result in a $42 to $50 increase in the average monthly residential bill. Requests for two other substantial increases in winter electric rates are pending.
due to the region’s dependence on natural gas to generate electricity.
Guess what party the governor is.
Mike K (90dfdc) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:35 pm==Guess what party the governor is.==
Communist?
elissa (846912) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:46 pmTime to break out the Chicago Temperature Conversion Chart again:
THE WINDY CITY TEMPERATURE CONVERSION CHART
60° F: Arizonans shiver uncontrollably; people in Chicago are still sunbathing.
50° F: Californians try to turn on the heat; people in Chicago plant gardens.
40° F: Italian sports cars won’t start; people in Chicago drive with the windows down.
32° F: Distilled water freezes; Lake Michigan water gets thicker.
20° F: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats; people in Chicago throw on a light jacket.
15° F: People in Chicago have the last cookout before it gets cold.
0° F: All the people in Phoenix die. Chicagoans close the windows.
10° below zero: Californians fly away to Mexico . The Girl Scouts in Chicago are selling cookies door to door.
25° below zero: Hollywood disintegrates; people in Chicago get out their winter coats.
40° below zero: Washington, DC runs out of hot air; people in Chicago let the dogs sleep indoors.
100° below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Chicagoans get frustrated because they can’t start ‘da car.’
460° below zero: All atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale); people in Chicago start saying, ‘cold ’nuff for ya?’
500° below zero: Hell freezes over. The Cubs win the World Series.
nk (dbc370) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:53 pmPlease allow me to introduce myself
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 11/18/2014 @ 2:55 pmI’m a man of stealth and haste
I’ve been around for six long years
Stole many a man’s cash and faith
And I was ’round when Chief Justice John
Had his moment of doubt and shame
Made damn sure that Biden
Washed his hairs, clear-sealed his pate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what’s bumfuzzeling you
Is where to place the blame
I stuck around Jakarta
When my ma thought it time for a change
Ate a dog and his testicles
not a scrap went down the drain
I smoked some boo
teachers had no clue
was head of my class
smoke blown up my ass
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my fame
that’s not too far Mr. mg
though you never know about parking i guess
but I’m bookmarking
happyfeet (a037ad) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:01 pmnk that is funny because our new snowbird neighbors (here in AZ)from Wisconsin were sitting poolside in 65 degree weather while all our neighbors were donning the fleece.
Gazzer (cb9ee2) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:09 pmWell the Schumer Pelosi Reid Obama clique never did understand that what goes around comes around.
And if you have an incumbent President who acts like Louis XIV of France–well set the precedent–and see what happens.
That’s not a good idea. Good King Obozo should wake up, slap himself in the face, and say, “Hey, I’m a con law professor and I respect the Constituion. What was I thinking?”
Well that scene and the tooth fairy will arrive anytime now.
Skeptical Voter (12e67d) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:27 pmkeystone xl pipeline fails in Senate. Will Mary Landrieu fit under a bus?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:29 pm“40° F: Italian sports cars won’t start; people in Chicago drive with the windows down.”
Mine start just fine with temps in the 20s.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:31 pmHave you seen a chart of votes on Keystone, Col.? I’m curious who the Senate Dem “aye” votes were.
elissa (846912) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:35 pmMine too Colonel, not that we get down that low very often, though.
Gazzer (cb9ee2) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:37 pmIf not under a bus, in a section of pipe.
mg (31009b) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:38 pmThis is how it was supposed to shake out. If it failed 59-41 then the votes should have been as predicted in articles like this.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/18/politics/senate-keystone-vote-tuesday/index.html
Steve57 (c4b0b3) — 11/18/2014 @ 3:39 pmWhere is Holder?
mg (31009b) — 11/18/2014 @ 4:16 pmhttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pants-up-don-t-loot-ferguson-billboard
Via David Freddoso, the full list of Democrat ayes on Keystone…
Begich (gone in January)
Bennet
Carper
Casey
Donnelly
Landrieu (almost certainly gone in January)
Hagan (gone in January)
Heidkamp
Manchin
McCaskill
Pryor (gone in January)
Tester
Warner
Walsh (gone in January)
It will be interesting to see if all the surviving Dems on this list will vote the same way again when the new Congress is sworn in and Keystone comes up for another vote with an R majority.
elissa (846912) — 11/18/2014 @ 4:24 pm“Congress is not — nor should it be — in the business of legislating the approval or disapproval of a construction project,” King said in a statement.
oh mercy he’s even dumber than the bimbos before him
happyfeet (831175) — 11/18/2014 @ 5:04 pmLast time I checked, Cruz was born in Canada and is therefore ineligible to be President.
Brian (6a917d) — 11/18/2014 @ 5:34 pmthanks, elissa, no I hadn’t seen the list. Saw when the final count was made and then some yahoos up in the nosebleed section went all apey.
re: #53… funny stuff, mg!. But it would have to be re-inforced pipe.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 11/18/2014 @ 5:39 pmTough luck:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-18/brooklyn-woman-ebola-monitoring-list-drops-dead-bleeding-face-mouth-nose
DNF (3b2963) — 11/18/2014 @ 8:35 pmP.S. The polls are ever-so-slightly against Obama taking this breathtakingly unconstitutional action: 46-42.
That’s the form of “I’m-okay-you’re-okay” stupidity that I think will eventually sink this nation, in which we increasingly take on the characteristics of a society in Central or South America. But not so much just in regards to changing demographics observed indifferently (or even enthusiastically) by much of that 42%, but a tolerance of the philosophical-political decrepitude and corruption that plague nations like Mexico and Argentina.
Mark (c160ec) — 11/18/2014 @ 9:58 pm11. Jefferson,
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
500K is not the rosiest scenario.
DNF (3b2963) — 11/19/2014 @ 5:55 amAnimals on this side, racists on the other:
http://ninetymilesfromtyranny.blogspot.com/2014/11/will-obama-announce-amnesty-during.html
Martial law on the doorstep.
DNF (3b2963) — 11/19/2014 @ 6:16 amNot if at least one parent is American, Brian. Doesn’t matter where you’re born as long as at least one parent is American so are you. If not, then every kid born to a service member over seas would not be American.
Hoagie (4dfb34) — 11/19/2014 @ 6:17 am