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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsShift on executive power lets Obama bypass rivals
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But increasingly in recent months, the administration has been seeking ways to act without Congress. Branding its unilateral efforts We Cant Wait, a slogan that aides said Mr. Obama coined at that strategy meeting, the White House has rolled out dozens of new policies on creating jobs for veterans, preventing drug shortages, raising fuel economy standards, curbing domestic violence and more.
Each time, Mr. Obama has emphasized the fact that he is bypassing lawmakers. When he announced a cut in refinancing fees for federally insured mortgages last month, for example, he said: If Congress refuses to act, Ive said that Ill continue to do everything in my power to act without them.
Aides say many more such moves are coming. Not just a short-term shift in governing style and a re-election strategy, Mr. Obamas increasingly assertive use of executive action could foreshadow pitched battles over the separation of powers in his second term, should he win and Republicans consolidate their power in Congress.
Many conservatives have denounced Mr. Obamas new approach. But William G. Howell, a University of Chicago political science professor and author of Power Without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action, said Mr. Obamas use of executive power to advance domestic policies that could not pass Congress was not new historically. Still, he said, because of Mr. Obamas past as a critic of executive unilateralism, his transformation is remarkable.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47138446/ns/politics-the_new_york_times/#.T5WHDuBOG3k
polichick
(37,152 posts)It's far better than "reaching out" to sociopathic hostage takers.
Lawlbringer
(550 posts)but it sets a dangerous precedent. (Although, I'm sure it's been set already lol)
It's an ambiguous territory that does go against the principles the gov't was founded on. That being said, the constitution doesn't take into account that an entire political party would act like Goddamn babies and deadlock to get their way.
phleshdef
(11,936 posts)As the article in the OP points out. This is nothing new. Precedent implies something that hasn't been done before.
I did say that it's probably been set. But it does point out that it's being done more and more under this admin.