boloboffin
Unregistered
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2006
- Messages
- 4,986
If you don't know, I'm a live voice writer in real life. I use voice recognition software to caption live tv. So this morning I was captioning a local television station that was talking to their "exclusive Washington bureau" -- a bureau they share with several other locals around the country. Anyway, they all seem to be marveling at the idea that Barack Obama was actually thinking about countermanding several of Bush's executive orders. The transition team is already identifying several that Barack can just reverse, just outright reverse!
My amazement is that they think this is so novel (or are pretending it to be novel for the sake of their viewers). It actually is standard operating procedure. Bush II did it, Clinton did it, and I daresay that Bush I even did it to Reagan's executive orders. That's the point. That's why they are called executive orders. The executive issues them, and when there's a change in executives, there's a review of orders.
For example, a couple of instances are gag orders on information about abortions and stem-cell research restrictions. Both of these are not matter of legislative law. They are restrictions Bush himself placed on how his administration was to carry out the law. This was his prerogative! I disagreed strongly with his decision in both matters, but I never questioned the authority of the President to make those judgment calls. Now it's Barack's turn and bam! He's going to change them. That's all it takes.
But judging by this faux mystification I heard today, I'm sure it will be all over the talk radio shows about how Barack is "legislating from the executive branch." And FSM forbid that Barack actually start hiring new attorneys for the Justice Department. "Wasn't that what the liberals were all up in arms about when Bush fired his own attorneys???" the hue and cry will go. No, of course, is the answer -- the problem is the politicization of the hiring process that the DOJ employed. You can be danged sure that Obama won't be able to try to do the same thing. And of course, I doubt that he would try.)
So keep your eyes open. Every time President Obama acts like, well, like the President of the United States, I expect the same simple-minded "OMG, what is he doing, he can't do that, can he, AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!111!!!!111??" from the right wing sounding boards. I just am dismayed to find that I will be hearing in the media as well.
My amazement is that they think this is so novel (or are pretending it to be novel for the sake of their viewers). It actually is standard operating procedure. Bush II did it, Clinton did it, and I daresay that Bush I even did it to Reagan's executive orders. That's the point. That's why they are called executive orders. The executive issues them, and when there's a change in executives, there's a review of orders.
For example, a couple of instances are gag orders on information about abortions and stem-cell research restrictions. Both of these are not matter of legislative law. They are restrictions Bush himself placed on how his administration was to carry out the law. This was his prerogative! I disagreed strongly with his decision in both matters, but I never questioned the authority of the President to make those judgment calls. Now it's Barack's turn and bam! He's going to change them. That's all it takes.
But judging by this faux mystification I heard today, I'm sure it will be all over the talk radio shows about how Barack is "legislating from the executive branch." And FSM forbid that Barack actually start hiring new attorneys for the Justice Department. "Wasn't that what the liberals were all up in arms about when Bush fired his own attorneys???" the hue and cry will go. No, of course, is the answer -- the problem is the politicization of the hiring process that the DOJ employed. You can be danged sure that Obama won't be able to try to do the same thing. And of course, I doubt that he would try.)
So keep your eyes open. Every time President Obama acts like, well, like the President of the United States, I expect the same simple-minded "OMG, what is he doing, he can't do that, can he, AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!111!!!!111??" from the right wing sounding boards. I just am dismayed to find that I will be hearing in the media as well.
