Forty three House Republicans are sponsoring a bill that if passed would force the House to sue President Obama for behaving like a president.
According to The Hill, “Forty-three Republicans have cosponsored the resolution since Obama’s State of the Union address, where he threatened to enact policies if Congress didn’t act. The “Stop This Overreaching Presidency (STOP)” measure, introduced by Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.), now has 104 co-sponsors, including Senate GOP hopeful Reps. Jack Kingston (Ga.), James Lankford (Okla.), Steve Stockman (Texas), Paul Broun (Ga.), Steve Daines (Mont.) and Phil Gingrey (Ga.).”
The House Republicans are upset because Barack Obama had the nerve to act like a president. They are angry that he delayed the employer mandate, implemented the DREAM Act for the executive branch, let people keep their substandard health insurance policies, and ended work requirements for welfare recipients.
Courts have ruled for decades that presidents have the constitutional power to delay the implementation of a law. Like all presidents, Obama’s executive orders only cover the executive branch. President Obama didn’t implement the DREAM Act for all of the country, just for the executive branch.
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The great hypocrisy is that Republicans demanded the extension of the substandard health insurance. They made a big deal in the media about people losing health insurance plans that they liked. The president didn’t end work requirements for welfare recipients. He gave states the option of ending the requirements if they chose to do so.
House Republicans are trying to sue the president for exercising his constitutionally granted powers. This is another attempt to delegitimize this president. Republicans are upset that the president is working around their obstruction, so they are taking him to court to try to get him to stop behaving like a president.
This is a desperate tactic from a party with no positive agenda. As their campaign of obstruction is melting away, House Republicans are hoping that courts will tell the president to stop being presidential.
Mark this gambit down as another election year stunt that House Republicans are using to attack and delegitimize the presidency of Barack Obama.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
