Phil Kerpen:
What if Mitt Romney had won the election, and proceeded to disregard sections of Obamacare in precisely the manner President Obama is presently doing? It would go something like this:
WASHINGTON – The Romney administration faces a political and legal crisis as blowback from its controversial decision to unilaterally suspend central elements of the Affordable Care Act continues to intensify.
Under pressure from large corporations, the Treasury Department quietly announced the provisions of the law requiring employers to provide health insurance coverage will not be enforced. The law contains no language granting Treasury discretion for such a move and has a clear effective date of January 1, 2014. Nonetheless, Treasury official Mark Mazur announced in a blog post that penalties for employers who fail to meet the law’s requirements will simply not be enforced in 2014.
“President Romney is openly defying the laws of the United States that he swore an oath to faithfully execute,” said the leader of an umbrella liberal interest group that was formed to promote the Affordable Care Act. “Arbitrarily letting employers off the hook for providing health care is not just illegal, but it’s deadly for Americans who are counting that coverage.”
That umbrella advocacy group, several major national labor unions, and 14 smaller advocacy groups filed a lawsuit last week in the D.C. Circuit seeking an emergency injunction forcing the Romney administration to enforce the law. The groups are also staging a 24-7 protest in Lafayette Square across from the White House under a large banner reading: “Romney Is Not Above the Law.” A significant number of protesters are calling for the president’s impeachment over the issue.
Democrats have not only allowed Obama to ignore enforcing the laws of the land, they have applauded it. They seem to have forgotten that what comes around, goes around.
Thanks to Obama’s imperialistic example, the next Republican presidential administration can use the agencies under him to spy on the opposition and disseminate the gathered information in ways to destroy their opponents or to blackmail contrary opinionated Pentagon and other agency heads into resigning, this administration can create red-tape road blocks for those things the far-left hold most dear, even use the Justice Department as a legalistic goons. And he can use emergency spending reduction “sequesters” to hurt or even abolish funding for select purposes, (with the option of “sequester” there is no longer any need for a “line Item Veto” power) The Prez. can just send a Presidential Directive ordering the agencies not to spend funds on those things the hold of our executive office deems unnecessary.
If this future Republican President is a woman or minority, then every time Democrats complain, Republicans can shut up the conversation by calling the complainer “sexist” or “racists”. After all, we all know that’s why they really hate Palin, Cruz, West & Jindal now isn’t it? They are conservatives of the wrong sex or color so they have to be attacked by those bigoted lefties.
And now, whole pieces of laws can be tossed aside willy-nilly by Presidential fiat, ordering the agencies under them not to enforce the law. The EPA can have it’s workers furloughed, the Clean Air Act gutted, OSHA ordered to focus it’s investigations only as the Administration wills. And Democrats have no more room to argue because they allowed their chosen “Won” to get away with murder (literally, in Benghazi by not sending in rescue forces).
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
I just read this whole thing.
Mr. Kerpen forgot how the media works.
He left out the bleeding heart example of the people who fell through the safety net.
Most of the newspaper articles calling for more funding or stronger enforcement of a program start and finish with some sad example.
Even Obama put a motherless boy by his side when he signed ObamaCare.
The boy’s mom would be just as dead under ObamaCare as without it, however.
SHE refused to come and get medical care until it was too late.
@Nan G:
Speaking of Obamacare: Obamacare Ad Buy Marks Collapse Between Party and State
The Justice Department has also gotten into the business of funding political messages organizing Zimmerman trial protests:Docs: DOJ Provided Support for Trayvon Rallies
Perhaps a later Republican administration could re-politicize the ATF, completely changing it’s current direction into a pro-gun agency. With ads and video campaigns touting responsible gun ownership, even subsidizing the Eddie Eagle program. Democrats long ago opened the door in favor for using taxpayer generated funds to deliver political propaganda messages. How would they like it if conservative politicians used agency funds to do the same?