Charles Krauthammer, wise and articulate Krauthammer brilliantly summed up the Senate’s latest power grab in a way that only he could in his latest op-ed. “To get three judges onto a coveted court frustrated Democrats abolished the filibuster for executive appointments and (non-Supreme Court) judicial nominations.” Krauthammer gives his reasoning. “If a bare majority can change the fundamental rules that govern an institution, then there are no rules. Senate rules today are whatever the majority decides they are that morning. What distinguishes an institution from a flash mob is that its rules endure. They can be changed, of course. But only by significant supermajorities. That’s why constitutional changes require two-thirds of both houses plus three-quarters of the states. If we could make constitutional changes by majority vote, there would be no Constitution. As of today, the Senate effectively has no rules. Congratulations, Harry Reid. Finally, something you will be remembered for.” And then Krauthammer transitions into the aftermath of Obama’s broken promise and his apparent self-appointed authority to alter the law that was at one time trumpeted by Democrats as an unalterable “Law of the Land.” “We’ve now reached a point where a flailing president, desperate to deflect the opprobrium heaped upon him for the false promise that you could keep your health plan if you wanted to, calls a hasty news conference urging both insurers and states to reinstate millions of such plans. Except that he is asking them to break the law. His own law. Under Obamacare, no insurer may issue a policy after 2013 that does not meet the law’s minimum coverage requirements. These plans were canceled because they do not. That’s banana republic stuff, except that there the dictator proclaims from the presidential balcony. Remember how for months Democrats denounced Republicans for daring to vote to defund or postpone Obamacare? Saboteurs! Terrorists! How dare you alter “the law of the land.” Krauthammer then explains the difference between a democratically elected constitutional government and a kingdom with its leader on a throne. “This was nonsense from the beginning. Every law is subject to revision and abolition if the people think it turned out to be a bad idea. Even constitutional amendments can be repealed — and have been (see Prohibition). After indignant denunciation of Republicans for trying to amend “the law of the land” constitutionally (i.e. in Congress assembled), Democrats turn utterly silent when the president lawlessly tries to do so by executive fiat.” And for the Grand Finale… “A Senate with no rules. A president without boundaries. One day, when a few bottled-up judicial nominees and a malfunctioning health-care Web site are barely a memory, we will still be dealing with the toxic residue of this outbreak of authoritative lawlessness.” Nailed it.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 00:54:29 +0000
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