It was the issue of Obama's refusing to enforce a federal law because he didn't agree with it. We're talking about DOMA.
My response to Prager's above comment is, "One did, and yes, he was called a dictator." I can't tell you how many times I heard Bush called a dictator, though I would have to say the number and degree of his usurpations of power were fewer and lesser than Obama's. Nah, I'm not going to dig up a list of either man's purported offenses; I haven't been keeping a list so I can't count the crimes. But let me just say, I don't recall Bush ever telling the press, "I won. Get over it."
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He did, in fact say essentially that. After winning in 2004, he said "I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. That is my style."
ReplyDeleteThat was Bush's style. You may have forgotten. It's not just that quote, it was other actions, and it was the style of the GOP Congress, particularly Tom Delay's House.
It's not Obama's style, despite all the rhetoric about him. He is in fact a centrist.
Regarding DOMA, I'm no constitutional scholar but I suspect the conservatives are exaggerating as usual. I hear Gingrich calling it impeachable. Then again, his credibility on the use of impeachment is somewhat lacking...
Spending political capital (popularity) isn't the same as "I won, deal with it" (translation: pretty much "Shut up." Obama played a trump card and informed the congressional leaders present that he wasn't going to worry about what the other side said. With his absolutist language he was letting Sen. John Kyl (who was challenging the president over his absolute demand to be conceded everything) know that he wasn't worried about debate, discussion, or compromise because he had Louis XIV's right to have everything he wanted. That's hardly the same as "I've built up some popularity and I'm going to get stuff done my way while I can.
ReplyDeleteYou do realize, you are proving Prager's point? The comments were several degrees, Obama's being much more emphatic and absolutist than Bush's. Yet the milder comment from the Republican registers in your mind as equal to the absolutist one. Thus, "If a Republican president did this he'd be called a dictator."
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