Obama and the Constitution

William A. Jacobson, clinical professor at Cornell Law School:

Obama announced executive action to extend legalization for up to 5 million more immigrants, focusing on those who were in the country illegally but whose children were U.S. citizens by virtue of their birth here. Nearly two dozen times in the past Obama had stated publicly that he could not constitutionally undertake such actions, but he did it anyway.

This immigration end-run creates a class of people who effectively are exempt from the immigration laws, without Congress ever having recognized such an exemption. It is not prosecutorial discretion but a usurpation of legislative power.

Obama's attitude seems to be "I don't need no steenkin' Constitution."

There also have been dozens of unilateral actions as to Obamacare legislative requirements, including individual and employer mandate delays, and waivers of certain fees for unions. Of particular note, the IRS passed rules allowing purchasers on the federal exchanges to obtain subsidies the legislation reserves for state exchanges.

The Constitution is soooo 18th century.

As to the environment, EPA regulatory authority has been used expansively to scale-back the coal industry and shutter coal burning power plants. Those regulations have cost Democrats politically in states like West Virginia and Kentucky, but the damage to the coal industry may be irreversible.

Well, now, that was the point, wasn't it? Obama is willing to spend political capital in order to fundamentally transform America, and he is succeeding.

What ought to scare his supporters: Once he has continued the trend to a government of men instead of laws, the Other Side can and probably will do the same thing, in ways which may be far more egregious, and far from benign to Democrats. Execute American citizens overseas? Why not here as well? Use the IRS to harass Tea Partiers? Why not ramp that up and go for wholesale prosecutions of Democratic politicians? Cyber-spying on opponents? Well, that can be used for all sorts of things.

Anyone who thinks that the Republicans will never again control all three branches of government, and that they will feel restrained by the Constitution in ways the Democrats clearly do not, is naive. Those who demand to rule by decree shall eventually find out what it is like to be ruled by decree. When the Democrats hold, as they have with great success for decades, that the 2nd Amendment's "shall not be infringed" clearly means "of course we can make it a felony", imagine what government could do by applying that attitude toward the 1st Amendment and all of the others as well.

As the saying goes, "Payback is a bitch", and the Democrats are begging with all their hearts, and minds, and souls for payback. The whole country will be the worse for it.

Catalist: How Democrats Beat Republicans

It's all about better data which allows them to target unmotivated fellow travelers in order to get them to bother voting, while Republicans try to persuade moderates at great expense.

Brilliant, and for Republicans, not easy to mimic successfully.

The Charge of the Lightly Vetted

This is the second nasty Maureen Dowd column about Obama I have seen in two days.

I wonder if she is off some meds.

Who knew the NY Times is filled with vicious racists?

Now, with apologies to Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and the Charge of the Light Brigade:

Half a course, half a course,
Half a course onward,
All in the Sand Trap
Rode the UnVetted.
"Forward, the UnVetted!
"Charge for the greens" he said:
Into the Sand Trap
Rode the Obama.

"Forward, the UnVetted!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the crony knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to subsidize and cry:
Into the Valley of Racism
Rode the Obama.

Racists to right of Him,
Racists to left of Him,
Racists in front of Him
Sputter'd and spew'd;
Storm'd at with snarl and sneer,
Boldly He rode and well,
Into the jaws of Racism,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the Obama.

Flash'd all their subsidies bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the capitalists there,
Charging a year's spending, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the Dowd's estimation
Right thro' the par they broke;
Ex-Assistant Chef and battery maker
Reel'd from the golf cart
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the Obama.

Racists to right of them,
Racists to left of them,
Racists behind them
Sputter'd and spew'd;
Storm'd at with snarl and sneer,
While Carney and Van Jones fell,
They that had fought so well
they drove the audits of IRS
Down the the mouth of Teabag'd,
All that was left of them,
Left of Obama.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charges they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the Obama,
Noble Obama.

TTB

Senator Ted Cruz Questions FBI Director James Comey on IRS Investigation of the IRS Scandal

Director Comey gives the appearance of stonewalling. He won't even say if the FBI has interviewed more or fewer tha 10 of the alleged victims.

Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio Questions ATF Director B. Todd Jones

Why can't more reporters ask questions like these?

Oh....Yeah...Nothing to see here. Move along.

Is America Over?

Could well be, all but the whimpering.

I think one of the foundation stones of the Republic was removed when the 17th Amendment ended the state legislatures power to select US Senators to represent the state governments. Almost ignored today, it was a foundational change in the power structure, and highly unlikely to be reversed.

The Tea Party, Nazis, and Maoists

“You can see gradations of the ‘polarized mind’ at work in virtually all destructive political movements from Nazi Germany to Maoist China to our very own Tea Party. In fact, it is the pervasive malady of the 20 and 21st Centuries,” says (psychologist Kirk J.) Schneider.

At least Herr Doktor seems to think the Maoists were destructive. I will give him points for that.