Obama Flies to Vegas to Mock Republican Criticism

Essentially, what President Obama told Congress - the GOP led House of Representatives specifically - that they took too long to act on his cause du jour.  He decided to scuttle any hopes of changing course when the new Republican led Congress takes office in January.  He has now made it perfectly clear that he is going it alone. If his agenda is not moving quickly enough, he'll just amp up his use of executive orders (or in the case of immigration policy, a memo) and that will be that.

Remember, this is the man who ran for president calling himself a constitutional scholar.

The next Republican president could do an Obama move and move unilaterally on an issue important to that White House for political gain. It is amazing that Democrats seem to forget that Republicans remember bad behavior and what is to stop going forward unilaterally then?

The polls show the American people are uneasy about Mr. Obama’s unilateral law-making, and liberals should be too. Mr. Obama is setting a precedent that Republican Presidents could also use to overcome a Democratic majority. How about an order to the IRS not to collect capital-gains taxes on inflated gains from property held for more than a decade? That policy would be broadly popular and also address a basic lack of fairness. Mr. Obama’s rule-by-regulation has already been rebuked more than once by the Supreme Court. His “I, Barack” immigration decree is another abuse that will roil American politics and erode public confidence in the basic precepts of self-government.

How about a general gutting of the IRS code and substituting it with whatever the idea of the month was at that time?  Would that happen without a squawk from the tax crazy Democrats?

It is time for a calm, studious course of action against the executive memo President Obama announced Thursday night.  Most importantly, Republicans have to ignore the impulse to take the bait - don't cry impeachment or government shutdown.  Instead, Republicans have to get to work and coordinate between the House and Senate for bills to be voted on taking apart the action, even if it is piece by piece. The media and Democrats (some would argue that it is redundant) are chomping at the bit to claim Republican divisions.  The party has to pull together and remain unified in order to do the work necessary now.

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a moderate from the Philadelphia exurbs, said the leadership is asking his colleagues to “not play into the president’s hands.”“The president wants to see an angry and intemperate response, thinking the Republicans will do something that leads to a shutdown,” Dent said. “Don’t take the bait, and don’t have a hysterical reaction. We can be strong, rational and measured.”

President Obama flew to Las Vegas Friday morning to rally with Harry Reid and union supporters. Predictably, he was full of himself in his speech and mocked Republicans, as is his habit.

Nothing new policy-wise there. A predictably warm reception for the president’s big rollout speech for immigration reform.

• The president reassured the crowd he was not backing down despite talk of his having overstepped his executive powers or accusations that he had sabotaged the democracy. “I will never give up,” he said.
• The president borderline mocked Republicans for not advancing immigration legislation. “Pass a bill,” he repeated. “Pass a bill!” He said he had been willing to wash House speaker John Boehner’s car or walk his dog if he would bring a vote on the Senate immigration bill.

Let's be strong, rational and measured. It won't be easy. Long hours and hard work will be necessary from our elected officials.  Let's encourage them to work together and just do it. We can't give up, either.