Thursday, December 4, 2014
From: Gary L. Bauer
“Unprecedented” & “Indefensible”
You know something is wrong when a liberal president is at odds with the liberal Washington Post. White House aides were undoubtedly reaching for the Maalox when they read today’s lead editorial criticizing President Obama’s executive amnesty on immigration as “unprecedented.”
But the Post’s editorial board didn’t stop there. It condemned the White House’s deceptive sales pitch as “indefensible.” Consider these excerpts:
“The White House has defended President Obama’s unilateral decision to legalize the presence of nearly 4 million undocumented immigrants as consistent . . . with the executive actions of previous presidents. In fact, it is increasingly clear that the sweeping magnitude of Mr. Obama’s order is unprecedented. . . .
“This is not a game of gotcha; facts matter — even in Washington — and so do the numbers. Under close scrutiny it is plain that the White House’s numbers are indefensible. It is similarly plain that the scale of Mr. Obama’s move goes far beyond anything his predecessors attempted. . . .
“Unlike Mr. Bush in 1990, whose much more modest order was in step with legislation recently and subsequently enacted by Congress, Mr. Obama’s move flies in the face of congressional intent. . .”
The House Responds
During a press conference Tuesday, Speaker John Boehner blasted Obama’s amnesty as “a serious breach of our Constitution. It is a serious threat to our system of government.” Boehner also recognized that he had “limited options and limited abilities to deal with it directly.”
Today the House of Representatives took a first step toward addressing this abuse of power by passing the Executive Amnesty Prevention Act, which declares Obama’s executive order “null and void and without legal effect.” Unfortunately, this bill is dead on arrival in Harry Reid’s Senate, which is why I emphasize that this is only a first step.
That said, this was not a meaningless vote. Every member of the House of Representatives just went on the record today regarding Obama’s amnesty. The American people will know how their representatives voted and it will be an issue in future elections.
Speaker Boehner is right — options for resisting Obama’s overreach are limited, especially while Harry Reid controls the Senate. But Republicans can continue the fight once Reid is out of the way. The president is claiming authority that he repeatedly said he did not have. Members of Congress should be passive in the face of this unprecedented abuse of power.
By the way, it is worth noting that while some Republicans are running from values issues and seeking to compromise on immigration reform, polling suggests the American people are moving to the right. For example, a recent Pew poll found that support for same-sex marriage had fallen below 50%.
Now new polling shows that support for a so-called “pathway to citizenship” has also fallen to a record low. According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, only 48 percent of voters believe illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country with “a path to citizenship.” That’s down from 57 percent a year ago.
Obama’s Record
Obama’s record speaks for itself — America is in decline. This week the national debt officially exceeded $18 trillion — up 70 percent or $7.4 trillion, since he took office.
Responding to this news, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said, “President Obama once said it was ‘unpatriotic’ and ‘irresponsible’ to add $4 trillion to the debt. By his own reasoning then, he has reached a new level of irresponsibility.”
Meanwhile, there is news today that China has overtaken the United States as the world’s largest economy. There’s no question that China’s growing middle class is a force to be reckoned with.
But there also no question that left-wing economic policies — like a failed stimulus plan, green energy boondoggles, blocking the Keystone pipeline, massive tax hikes and Obamacare — have held back growth here.
Congress Stands With Israel
While most of the rest of the world may be lining up against Israel, the House voted unanimously yesterday to approve legislation designating Israel as “a major strategic partner of the United States.” The bill was also passed unanimously by the Senate in September. It is now headed to Obama’s desk for his signature.
The measure, supported by Christians United for Israel, is being hailed by Israeli media as “a significant achievement for the pro-Israel groups that pushed for its passage.” Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), who co-sponsored the bill, said that the legislation reasserts “Congress’ commitment to Israel’s security and deepen our country’s defense relationship with our ally.”
One critical component of the legislation authorizes additional stockpiles of weapons which Israel can use in the event of an emergency — like this summer’s war with Hamas. This is important because the Obama Administration held up delivery of critical weapons supplies, such as Hellfire missiles, in an attempt to pressure Israel to back down.
Ebola Update
While Ebola isn’t making headlines right now, the issue hasn’t gone away. The World Health Organization announced yesterday that more than 6,000 people in three West African countries have been killed by the virus.
There are reports that another American health worker possibly infected with Ebola arrived this morning at Emory University Hospital near Atlanta, Georgia. The patient will be in good hands there — Emory is one of four hospitals in America with specialized biocontainment facilities.
But here’s something you may not know: Investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson writes that “more than 1,400 people in 44 states in the U.S. are being actively monitored [for Ebola] by state and local health departments.” That’s how many people the Obama Administration has allowed to enter the country from West African nations ravaged by the disease.
Why is this important to know? Well, for starters those four specialized hospitals like Emory are equipped to treat only 11 people. And the costs are tremendous.
The city of Dallas spent $27,000 to quarantine a dog. Nebraska Medical Center said it spent more than $1,000,000 to treat two Ebola patients. And Senator Charles Schumer is demanding that taxpayers reimburse New York City for the $20 million it spent treating Dr. Craig Spencer.
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