Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
Grendel ·
Jul 25, 2011 at 1:50pm
All discussion about the uninspiring GOP presidential field accepts that we MUST remove BHO in January 2012. Do we?
- According to the fundraising e-mails I get from the DSCC, the republic--excuse me, the People's Republic of the United States--is exposed to the dire threat of a Republican take-over of the Senate. Four seats would do it.
- On the latest Left Coast-Right Coast, Mrs Rubin and Mr. Kaus segue from Chris Christie's reluctance to the competition he might face in 2016: an embarrassment of riches, even without a more seasoned Bachmann and more learned Palin.
So maybe Plan B should be to take over the Senate. I won't waste hyperbole on how the Republican majority would have to deal with Schumer, Wassermann-Schultz, etc. Suffice it to say that an emphasis on collegiality would be a mistake (mistletoe and wolfsbane would be a better start). A Republican Congress could put bills on BHO's desk. When he got over the shock of seeing an actual budget, he would have to make a decision about it. In any event, the political fight could go on.
A lot but not all would be lost if Obama is re-elected, but it would be easier to minimize the damage if we held Congress.
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Aug '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
If the text book definition of the US government having three branches was still reality I would agree we should take the senate and focus on 2016 but the most powerful branch of US government is the 4th, the bureaucracy.
The FDA, EPA, HHS, DoE, ect will continue to destroy this country via regulation if Obama is not defeated in 2012.
Apr '11
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
I agree. The power of the Executive branch is outsize, and the regulatory agencies are independent of the President. Executive orders are another example. The task of the Republican Congress would be to defund the agencies and make subverting the Constitution by the Executive politically untenable.
Jul '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
Much of the current economic catastrophe arises from legislation by executive fiat, an abuse that Congress has created and that Congress can and should reform. That will not be possible with this man in office.
Edited on Jul 25, 2011 at 12:57amSep '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
The plan is to take over the Republican Party! If that fails a third party will do.
Dec '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
I absolutely agree the federal agencies have been strengthened beyond any constitutional restraint to become a 4th branch under Obama. It would be nice if a GOP majority Congress could get that genie back in the bottle, but Obama has shown an eagerness to "work around" all obstacles to achieve his ends. Winning the Senate will not be enough.
Also, the long view must take into account the SCOTUS. If Obama gets a crack at any of the conservative seats, God forbid, we'll be living with a generation of leftist "interpretation" on the Court.
We don't need to tap the brakes on this guy's leftist transformation of our country. We need to throw the emergency and otherwise put up every barrier we can find. Winning the Senate and the presidency are only the first steps.
May '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
We MUST recapture the White House...without it, Obamacare goes into effect and the European States of America is created.
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
Don't forget the Supreme Court. Anything is possible with another Obama pick or two.
And don't count on the Republicans to put up much of a fight in preventing confirmation.
We simply must elect a solid conservative as president next year.
Edited on Jul 25, 2011 at 2:48pmApr '11
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
Don't forget that ObamaCare goes into full effect if he's re-elected. The only chance for repeal is to take everything. They could try to defund agencies, etc, but I'd rather see the whole thing thrown out and more free market solution put in its place.
Additionally, 4 seats will be enough for a majority in the Senate, but the GOP needs to get to 55+ to be able to move the ball significantly on conservative issues. There are R's too many on the fence. Just look at how hard it was for Obama to get things done when he had 59. The nice part is that many things will be able to be done in budget reconciliation since we're primarily talking about fiscal issues.
Feb '11
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
Obama is toast. Why should Republicans sell themselves short? Yes, take over the Senate, but send Obama to write his memoirs, and become President of the University of Chicago. He will be a great fund raiser for the school. He'll have no one to disagree with him about anything.
Aug '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
George Savage: Don't forget the Supreme Court. Anything is possible with another Obama pick or two.
And don't count on the Republicans to put up much of a fight in preventing confirmation.
We simply must elect a solid conservative as president next year. · Jul 25 at 2:47pm
Edited on Jul 25 at 02:48 pm
"And don't count on the Republicans to put up much of a fight in preventing confirmation."
So sad. So true.
May '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
If Republicans have not already defunded executive agencies, why should we expect them to do so in 2013?
One might argue that they are waiting so as not to jeopardize next year's elections, but why assume they wouldn't similarly avoid that risk before the 2014 elections?
Jun '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
Sisyphus: Much of the current economic catastrophe arises from legislation by executive fiat, an abuse that Congress has created and that Congress can and should reform. That will not be possible with this man in office. · Jul 25 at 12:55am
Edited on Jul 25 at 12:57 am
I'm not sure it will be possible whomever is in office with a Congress that shows no desire to reform. Everywhere I look I see politicians of every stripe grabbing every ounce of power they can without regard to the damage done to America. Their mantra, "we can't change anything until we have more power" doesn't ring true.
Maybe it's time to give up on our current crop of political leadership and focus on growing a new generation of Republican leaders. I think damage control is the best we can do right now.
Mar '11
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
With Mr Obama longing to run the government on his own, stopped only by that pesky constitution with its negative rights, I don't think we can wait for 2016.
Mr Perry or Mrs Bachmann will be fine. Mr Ryan would be better, but he ain't running - maybe he will be ready by 2020.
Aug '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
If Obama gets reelected in 2012 you can kiss this country goodbye. Look, we're already in bad enough shape as it is - if we get any closer to the event horizon of the socialist black hole it will suck us in like so many light particles.
Obama can do plenty of damage without congress' help. His administration recently expanded the definition of a disability under the ADA so that virtually anyone can claim a disability, which spells huge costs for business. Add that to the mischief the EPA has been up to recently and Obama will crush American business like a grape.
Not to mention Obama Care, Supreme court nominees, foreign policy, etc. I'm afraid it's now or never...
Dec '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
Not a chance. As mentioned by others, SCOTUS, the full implementation of Obamacare, and regulation run amock are all Executive issues, especially with a weak Senate, even if we manage a slim majority in the Senate.
Dec '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
I won't make it to 2016 if the current trajectory is maintained.
If things don't loosen up a little bit so that people can breath again and spend just a little bit on frivolous things (like say, the stuff I build), I'm boned, regardless of who is president.
We know for sure that with Jugears in charge, things will get worse, not better.
That means, for me, 2012 is the proverbial hill to die on, cause what happens after will only matter if Obama is defeated (and at least four or five dems in the Senate too).
My business simply cannot continue for five and a half more years as it has for the past two and a half.
Mar '11
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
I'm unconvinced that the formulation "If Obama is elected in 2012, Obamacare goes into affect" is necessarily correct. There are a number of court challenges to the bill which still open the door to a Supreme Court slapdown a la FDR of this legislation.
Moreover, I don't see any of the Supreme Court justices on the Right stepping down in the next 4 years--but someone could develop a serious health problem and so that is always a concern.
I think the greatest danger, as has been mentioned already, is the expansion of the President's prerogative on domestic matters in the Executive Branch and its attendant bureaucracy.
The other trouble is that Obama will not face another election in 2016. He'll still have to take politics into account, but he will be able to wield the veto pen fairly freely.
Thus, the notion that we get fundamental kinds of reform of the welfare state is significantly diminished if Obama is re-elected. We're much more likely to enact something like Bowles-Simpson or the Ryan plan with a Republican--even a moderate--in office.
Retaking the Senate should absolutely be a top priority. And statehouses.
Oct '10
Re: Maybe We Just Need to Hang Tough Til 2016
I hate this post because I've been thinking about something like this for a couple of weeks and I sat on it. But I love it because I think it's a very plausible idea. Congrats on the book.
I was thinking it may be a good thing the GOP doesn't win the White House because they've been pretty effective this year while not controlling much. Obama is on the verge of irrelevance and has made some major concessions on the budget, the debt ceiling, and is now trying to portray himself as a deficit hawk. We know the Republicans are going to screw up when they get control so maybe if they're not quite there they'll have an incentive to work harder. It would be a game of teasing them with power.