Rep. Alcee L. Hastings on Speaker Boehners lawsuit against President Obama: Rep. Hastings is correct when he points out that this is an election year political stunt. But hes wrong in his analysis of why. Proof that this is empty politics by the GOP is not in the fifty votes to repeal the ACA, doomed to failure in the Democrat controlled Senate. It is found in the LACK of action by the Republican House of Representatives to obstruct the implementation of that law by means that do not require consent by the other branches, or even the other part of the same branch. Means, by the way, which were granted to it EXACTLY for the purposes of interfering with legislation that it couldnt yet repeal. (Thats what checks and balances means...) The GOP House has the authority and responsibility to fight with everything at its disposal (including the control of the purse strings) to stop a law to which they object. There is no escaping the fact that this lawsuit is meant to compel (or pretend to compel) the Judicial Branch to check an Executive Branch that the House of Representatives didnt have the courage to oppose on its own. Another charge by Democrats (including by Obama, himself) is that Republicans are hypocrites to challenge Executive Branch alterations to a law they claim to oppose. Even if those alterations were temporary and for the purposes of transition to compliance (which is Constitutional), the waivers and delays by the administration smack of selective enforcement and political gamesmanship (which are not). There is nothing inconsistent in an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act entirely and force its full implementation at the same time. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.” But again, the GOP falls short in consistency. To embark on the advanced strategy of exposing the public to all of the flaws in an obnoxious law, the Republicans must also demonstrate an unwavering commitment to also fighting with the basic tools against that same law. The problem for the Republicans is that there is no defense against the self-serving accusations by Democrats that this is political theater... because it is. The GOP leadership has an undeniable track record of loud barking followed by a quick scamper under the porch. By refusing to fight when victory is unlikely, Republicans demonstrate that it is the outcome of battle, and not the principle for which it was fought, that they cherish. What the political establishment doesnt realize is that it is precisely BECAUSE a battle is hopeless, that credibility for its cause is earned - which then, paradoxically, gains support and turns the hopeless cause into a righteous one.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 15:55:05 +0000
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