Last week, President Obama extended protection from deportation to approximately 5 million illegal immigrants who met certain criteria.  It is the most aggressive use of his “pen and phone” that we’ve seen so far, and I fear that by the time his tenure in the White House is over it will be eclipsed a few times.  His opponents are howling at the injustice of it, while his supporters praise him for cutting through the Gordian Knot of Congressional opposition.

But I fear that Mr. Obama’s ever-escalating use of executive orders to do what Congress will not leads us down a dangerous road.  At what point will it flip from being a legal way for a president to use the powers that the Constitution and the Congress give him to do something he wants to being a way for a president to do anything he wants?  Like I’ve said before, Obama could be a philosopher king, with a pure heart and the best of intentions, but the precedent he sets for other presidents will lead them to expand and abuse any power or prerogative he claims.

Consider this example:  Let’s assume that in 2016 a conservative, pro-gun rights Republican wins the White House.  What would be the reaction if the president sits down at her desk the day after the inauguration and signs the following executive order?

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, it shall be the policy of this administration that all federal gun control laws are unconstitutional.  I direct the Attorney General to not defend these laws in the courts, to drop any investigations and prosecutions for alleged crimes based on them, and to not initiate any new investigations or prosecutions under them.  This administration shall provide to my office within 60 days a list of those who have been convicted or have pleaded guilty to offenses under these laws, but have no other convictions, so that pardons may be offered to them.

This is the box of demons that President Obama is opening. Imagine if the next president came out with something like this, or if it dealt with labor laws, or income taxes, or whatever other conservative trigger topic you want.  There are things that executive orders are an appropriate tool for, and there are things for which they are inappropriate.  This seems, to me, to cross into the inappropriate area.

Do you all really want future presidents to feel comfortable going this far? That’s how far President Obama has gone.

OK, so if our Republican brothers and sisters could finish up their victory lap and have a seat, I’d appreciate it.  We need to talk.  Seriously, put down the champagne and get that young lady on the chandelier to come down.

Yesterday, you did good.  You took back the Senate, widened your majority in the House, and took a bunch of governor’s mansions away from the Democrats.  Congratulations.

But please keep this in mind:  A two to six vote majority isn’t a mandate, and you don’t have a big enough majority in either chamber to override a presidential veto.  Please act accordingly.

What this means is that anything you do to stick your thumb in the President’s eye for the next two years is going to be symbolic, at best.  Yes, you can pass bills every other Thursday repealing Obamacare, and he can veto them every other Friday.  So, get that out of your systems, go through the kabuki dance of “Hey, we tried, and the big meanie up the street messed everything up”, and then get on with the people’s business.

The first thing that ought to be on your plate come January is to pass a budget.  Not another continuing resolution, a budget.  We’ve gone far too long with the drama of the money running out because you all can’t do the one thing that the Constitution says you have to do, and I, for one, am sick of it.  Get the administration to make a commitment on what it wants and what it needs, craft budget resolutions, and then get them passed through both houses. Make the President to commit one way or another with his veto.  For the good of the country, I ask that you make this as ideologically neutral as possible.

The time for sticking it to the President will come.  It will come with joint commissions to look into Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the IRS, the NSA, and whatever else you want to work on.  It will come with the inevitable nominations for judges, cabinet secretaries, and Supreme Court justices.  It will come as you build a base of support, both in your party’s electorate and in that big squishy middle that gave you your majorities.

That last one is what your goal for the next two years should be, because if you go off the deep end and do something incredibly stupid, we will lose in 2016.  I have no doubt that government shutdowns and impeachment would whip up the base quite a bit for about six weeks, but you have 104 weeks to worry about.  Grandstand a bit, put somebody more photogenic and well-spoken than Mitch McConnell in front of the cameras, but don’t take your eyes off of the goal of putting a conservative in the White House.

Once that’s done, we can talk about repealing ObamaCare and all of the other things you want to do.  For now, remember why we put you back into power:  to keep the President from doing further damage to the country, to recover lost ground where feasible, and to lay the base for further victories in 2016.

What you have been given can and will evaporate in 2016 if the opposition can goad you into doing something stupid in the next 24 months, and if that happens, you will have nobody to blame but yourself. I hope you all remember that, because we will be watching and we won’t forget.

Remember, remember,
The 4th of November
Midterm election night
I know of no reason
Short of RINO treason
Why we should give up the fight!

When something is as opaque as the Obama administration, you have to watch for things to happen beyond the veil of its control.  When you see what they do in public, you can try to make educated guesses as to what they do in private and what motivates them.

Today, Attorney General Holder will be announcing his resignation.  Holder is one of the last advisors that President Obama brought with him in 2008 that still draws a government paycheck.   He’s been a fixer and hatchetman for the administration for years, but has decided it’s time to go.  News sources say that he plans to stay in his position until a replacement can be confirmed by the Senate.

The timing is interesting.  The fact that it comes now, when the Senate is up for grabs, indicates that the President and his staff do not feel confident that Harry Reid and the Democrats will be able to keep a majority or even a 50/50 split (Vice-President Biden would vote in a tie vote on a nominee, and one would assume that he would side with his own party).  Since the filibuster rules for presidential nominees have been gutted by Mr. Reid, all they need is 51 votes to get the nomination through.  So, if the President wants to get a nominee for AG through with the current rules and the current Senate make-up, he has to do it before the next crop of Senators is sworn in come January.

Now, a lame-duck Senate can confirm a nominee, but that might mean that the new AG would take a gut shot when it comes to credibility afterward.  If it’s perceived that a nominee was confirmed by people who had already lost their seat, he or she might be hamstrung in dealing with the Congress.  My guess is that the President will push for the Senate to come back and confirm his nominee prior to the election in November.

That, of course, would complicate things for Senators in tight elections, especially Democrats.  One of the tactics the party has chosen this election cycle is for candidates in tight races to distance themselves from the President.  Now, while they are in a political bar brawl, they will need to return to Washington for a few weeks, at the call of the President, to go through confirmation.   That will give their opponents a lot of unchallenged face time with voters, and will give them more targets to shoot at as Senators, especially in committee hearings and during floor discussion, make statements in favor of or against the nominee.

Could forcing through a confirmation fight now, so close to a heavily disputed election, hurt the President’s party as it tries to maintain control of the Senate?  I guess we’ll have to see, but it can’t be a good thing, unless he’s playing the long con and will nominate someone so off the wall that the Democrats in the Senate can safely fight him on it and then show that they’re not lapdogs to the President.

I’m interested in seeing how many federal judges and justices, who were appointed by the Carter and Clinton administrations, go the same way.  The more of that we see, the more we can assume that the Obama administration doesn’t think it’s going to hold the whip hand with the Senate much longer.

So, to AG Holder, thank you for your service these six years, no matter how much we have disagreed.  I look forward to the civil suits from those you have harmed, and I look forward to your appearance in front of multiple Senate and House committees without the cloak of office protecting you.

As for the rest of you, it’s time to pay attention again.  This is going to be interesting.

OK, yesterday’s entry finished up what I would like to hear from my elected officials before I go into the voting booth.

Was there anything I missed?

Update – As requested by Freiheit, here are links to all of the segments:

I

II

III

IV

V

Other Issues

1. In your opinion, is it appropriate for police, federal, state, or local, armed with more than their sidearms, to monitor or disrupt peaceful demonstrations or gatherings?
2. In your opinion, is it appropriate for the government, at any level, to gather information on the day-to-day business and communications of citizens, in or out of the country, without a warrant?
3. Please select one of the following sentences that best describes your stance on the death penalty:
   1. It should be abolished.
   2. The rare use of it right now is about right.
   3. The number of crimes for which a person can be sentenced to death should be expanded, and executions should happen more quickly after conviction.
4. In your opinion, is it appropriate for the government, at any level, to use eminent domain in order to take property from one citizen in order to give it to another private citizen so that it can be used commercially?
5. In your opinion, is it the business of the government, at any level, to regulate which intoxicating substances, such as marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, and heroin, adults over the age of 21 consume, assuming that they cause no harm to others by so doing?
6. In your opinion, is it the appropriate for the federal government to dictate to states which intoxicating substances the state wishes to regulate within its borders?
7. In your opinion, is appropriate to require possession of a valid, government issued photo ID in order to vote?  If so, would you support spending programs to provide these ID’s to people who cannot afford to get one on their own?
8. In your opinion, is it appropriate for the government to get involved in the business dealings of any private-sector company, for any purpose?
9. In 50 words or less, please describe the powers and responsibilities of the office you are seeking.
10. In 50 words or less, please describe the powers of the executive branch of the government.
11. In 50 words or less, please describe the powers of the legislative branch of government.
12. In 50 words or less, please describe the powers of the judicial branch of government.
13. In 50 words or less, please describe the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, including where you think the limits to this power should be.
14. Do you feel it is appropriate for the executive branch to issue orders that further a goal when the legislative branch does not act toward that goal?
15. Do you feel it is appropriate for the government to dictate whom a citizen can marry?
16. In 50 words or less, please describe a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that you disagree with and why.
17. In 50 words or less, please describe a federal statute that you would most like to see repealed, and why.  Please do not re-use a statute that was previously discussed in this survey.
18. In 50 words or less, please describe a federal executive order that you would most like to see rescinded, and why.
19. In 50 words or less, please define “social justice”.
20. Please select one of the following sentences that most closely resembles your opinion of what should be done about illegal immigration:
    1. Seal the border, enforce current laws, send illegal immigrants home.
    2. Loosen legal immigration standards, provide a path to legalization for those who are currently here illegally.
    3. Legalize those who are already here, welcome those who want to come.
21. Do you support lifetime limits on the amount of government support a citizen can receive through programs such as SNAP and WIC?
22. Do you believe it is within the government’s power to restrict the amount of money a person or organization can give to a political candidate or cause?  If not, do you support efforts to amend the Constitution to allow it?
23. Do you believe that it is appropriate for police agencies to seize the property of a citizen based on suspicion of a crime, even if no crime is proven?

Military Issues

1. Please select the sentence that best fits your stance on military spending:
   1. We have gone too far in cutting back on the military.
   2. We are on a good course as things stand right now.
   3. We have not cut deeply enough.
2. Please select the sentence that best fits your stance on military personnel numbers:
   1. Our current numbers and our projected strength over the next five years are appropriate.
   2. We are cutting too deeply into our talent pool already.
   3. We have not cut deeply enough.
3. Please select the sentence that best represents your stance on the mission of our military:
   1. Kill people and break stuff
   2. Defend the borders of our country and our national interests overseas
   3. Bringing stability to critical regions of the world.
   4. Carrying out humanitarian relief, in addition to helping our friends and allies around the world.
4. In your opinion, is it worthwhile to fund research into leaps in military technology, or is it better to fund evolutionary change in existing military technology?
5. In 50 words or less, please tell us about the overseas military activity that you would most like to see eliminated and why:
6. In 50 words or less, please tell us about the domestic military activity that you would most like to see eliminated and why:
7. In your opinion, is it better for all of the military services to use common equipment (trucks, airplanes, helicopters, uniforms, firearms) in order to maximize efficiency, or to have each service develop and purchase their own equipment in order to maximize effectiveness for their particular mission?
8. In your opinion, does the Department of Veteran’s Affairs require top to bottom reform, understanding the cost of doing so, in order to improve its service to veterans?
9. In your opinion, should the Department of Veteran’s Affairs be moved under the Department of Defense?
10. Do you believe that military retirements should be reformed so that retirees do not receive payments until after they reach a certain age?

I really appreciate the White House sending this to me today.  I needed a catharsis.  As always, my comments are in italics.

President Obama spoke to service men and women at MacDill Air Force Base yesterday about the U.S. strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL — a terrorist organization that is killing innocent, unarmed civilians in both Iraq and Syria. ISIL, also known as ISIS or the Islamic State, is also responsible for the brutal murders of American journalists Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.

Yep, nothing like using service-members as a backdrop.  I didn’t like it when Clinton did it, or Bush, but this administration must have a duty roster for who gets to be Photogenic Military Guy #37 this week.

Here are the key points the President made yesterday regarding ISIL and our strategy to defeat their forces:

1. ISIL is threatening America and our allies.

Our intelligence community has not yet detected specific plots from ISIL against our homeland, but they have repeatedly threatened our core interests, including our personnel, our embassies, our consulates, and our facilities in Iraq, Syria, and in the broader Middle East. “If left unchecked, they could pose a growing threat to the United States,” he said.

Yes, they’re making Internet videos of threats and beheadings, and have found a few useful idiots to take pictures of American landmarks.   Booga Booga.  But let’s be honest here.  I’ve seen true threats to America.  They usually come from real governments who have, you know, nuclear weapons and stuff.  These doofuses are, at best, as much of a threat as a jackal has to a bull elephant.   Annoying, maybe even able to inflict some damage, but not a threat. 

Oh, and if you’re looking to avenge the two Americans who were murdered by these trolls, how about we turn the tables on them and go all Carthage on their butts?  Nothing says “Don’t mess with us” like a graveyard full of the other side’s people and shattered cities.   Of course, that would require you admitting that Americans’ lives are worth more than the lives of cavedwellers and goatherds, so I won’t hold my breath.

2. The U.S. continues to conduct targeted airstrikes against ISIL.

The U.S. Air Force has conducted more than 160 airstrikes against ISIL, successfully protecting our personnel and facilities, killing ISIL fighters, and giving space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. “They’ve helped our partners on the ground break ISIL sieges; helped rescue civilians cornered on a mountain; helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children,” the President said.

Yes, we’ve given the Iraqi’s space to reclaim territory they abandoned right after they dropped their rifles, left their artillery pieces, and took off their uniforms.  As allies, we’d have been better off if we enlisted the Brownie Scouts.  They at least know how to march.

3. American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission.

“As your Commander-in-Chief, I will not commit you, and the rest of our Armed Forces, to fighting another ground war in Iraq,” the President told servicemembers. Along with our airstrikes, U.S. forces will train, equip, advise, and assist local partners on the ground “so that they can secure their own countries’ futures.”

Just like our advisors in Vietnam didn’t have a combat role.  Tell that to Tom Davis, who died in Vietnam four years before the Tonkin Gulf incident.  Oh, and we spent the better part of a decade training and equipping those local ‘partners’, and look what we have to show for it.  Training the local yokels will accomplish about as much as setting the money and equipment it takes to do it on fire.

4. This is not and will not be America’s fight alone.

The U.S. will lead a broad coalition of countries who have a stake in this fight. France and the UK are already flying with us over Iraq, and other countries have committed to join this effort. Saudi Arabia has agreed to host American efforts to train and equip Syrian opposition forces. Australia and Canada are going to send military advisors to Iraq, while Germany is sending paratroopers to help offer training. Arab nations have agreed to strengthen their support for Iraq’s new government, a key ally in our strategy to defeat ISIL.

Ahahahahahahaahaha!  Wait, you’re serious?  Come on, Sparky, be honest.  Our allies, outside of the Anglosphere, have been as worthless as tits on a boar hog since about 1945.  The French and Italians couldn’t even sustain bombing in your unauthorized war in Libya without our help, and you can almost spit from their southern most points and hit Benghazi. 

Giving guns and basic combat training to the wogs in Iraq is going to do nothing but make us look foolish when we start noticing that some of our dead are shot with 5.56×45 instead of 7.26×39 in a couple of months.   The easiest way to equip ISIS in December is to equip the ‘moderate’ forces in the region in October.

International partners will help us cut off ISIL funding, gather intelligence, and prevent foreign fighters from entering — or leaving — the Middle East. And nearly 30 nations have joined American humanitarian relief to help civilians, including Sunni, Shia, Christian, Yezidi, or other religious minorities, that ISIL has driven from their homes.

International partners are the main source of ISIS funding, you dolt.  The biggest mistake Bush made on September 12, 2001, was to not cut off all relations with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and declare a moratorium on trade with anyone who did trade with them.  And if you want to stop foreign fighters from getting into the Middle East, maybe you ought to be talking to the British and the French.   It appears that a lot of their civilized young men have decided to grow their beards out, hop a flight, and get their jihad on.  I guess you can ask RyanAir to stop offering cheap flights to Ankara, but then again, it’s only a couple of days drive from London to Damascus.

As for giving aid to true refugees, yeah, I can get behind that.  Just as long as they don’t do it in Arkansas.

5. Congress should provide the authorities and resources the U.S. military needs to succeed.

The President has called on Congress to support our military with the necessary resources to train and equip Syrian opposition fighters. As he has said, America’s leadership position is strongest when the President and Congress work together and show a united front.

Training and equipping the Syrian opposition is the wrong thing to do.  Let me make this clear:  Assad is going nowhere, and even if, by some miracle, he was deposed, whatever replaces him is going to hate our guts.  There is no benefit to the American people by getting involved.  Quit diddling around in other people’s wars.

“Sending our servicemembers into harm’s way is not a decision I ever take lightly,” the President said. “It is the hardest decision I make as President. Nothing else comes close.”

Actually, I’m not convinced that figuring out whether to use a 9 Iron or not on the 13th hole isn’t a bigger decision for you.  You obviously didn’t have to think too long before detailing 3000 servicemembers to spend Christmas in either West Africa or quarantine to make sure they don’t bring Ebola back with them.

But this strategy will require the best military force in the world:

Frankly, there just aren’t a lot of other folks who can perform in the same ways — in fact, there are none. And there are some things only we can do. There are some capabilities only we have. That’s because of you — your dedication, your skill, your work, your families supporting you, your training, your command structure. Our Armed Forces are unparalleled and unique. And so when we’ve got a big problem somewhere around the world, it falls on our shoulders. And sometimes that’s tough. But that’s what sets us apart. That’s why we’re America. That’s what the stars and stripes are all about.

“In an uncertain world full of breathtaking change, the one constant is American leadership.”

Actually, the only constant we’ve had in our military since January 2009 has been either politicized social experimentation or distractions from whatever it is you’ve been up to.  Guess which one this falls into?

And, because of the strength and dedication of America’s military, the President made clear that we will send an unmistakable message to ISIL:

Whether in Iraq or in Syria, these terrorists will learn the same thing that the leaders of al Qaeda already know: We mean what we say; our reach is long; if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven. We will find you eventually.

Tough talk. If only he had a track record of crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war, instead of sniveling loudly and jerking our chain to back it up.