When there is no convenient emergency to take advantage of, the Left will be motivated further and further into creating it out of whole cloth. What they cannot take advantage of, they will generate all on their own.

In more ‘normal’ times a President who goes too far has to be concerned that the Congress will overlook their party differences to defend their branch of the government from encroachment. When there were more moderate members holding the center this was a likely and natural response to an aggressive President.

When the Congress can’t find common ground to take care of obvious problems in dire need of some action – as we have now – it is tempting for the President to take action via EO pathway, and to the extent he is seen as fixing some obvious problem facing a divided paralyzed Congress he might well find significant public backing.

And as for the Supreme Court acting as a check – we’ve already seen Roberts in the face of a divided country and Congress attempt to create a common ground ignoring the Constitution – somewhat – on the ObamaCare issues before the court. IMO Roberts wasn’t so much attempting to interpret the Constitution as he was trying to fashion a least disruptive compromise which he then justified after the fact.

This is extremely dangerous and as Congress and the President fail to deal with the debt accumulation/spending problems and a shutdown gets closer look for the President to apply some imaginative interpretations of e.g. the 14th amendment. We’ve already gotten a taste with EO moves on immigration and Biden is threatening unilateral moves to impose the leftist worldview solution on gun violence on the country. It’s a bit scary how the left can find the right to privacy in the Constitution and fight to the death to protect it, but can’t seem to find the provision regarding the right bear arms.

“@Brinster: No, you will not get real healthcare. All that money will fund a massive, intrusive, bureaucratic machine that will get in the way of real healthcare.”

Yeah; it will end up that way I have no doubt (ah la the public school path). But it will take a few years to get fubar. Maybe enough to find an exit… since as of now there is not one in place.

Re: Guns. Far more people are killed by drunk drivers than by guns. Should the Government outlaw alcohol? Oh, it did, and we all know how that worked out. It’s not the gun nuts we have to worry about; its the nuts with guns. If Obama wants to lose the Senate in 2014, he should go ahead with heavy gun regulation. If he was serious about stopping gun violence he’d work on mental health issues and gang violence. But we know he won’t do that.

I wrote this post before I saw your comment right above.

But not only are we linking to the same article in Pravda, but we use the same phrase to describe it: the voice of experience.

This well armed population was what allowed the various White factions to rise up, no matter how disorganized politically and militarily they were in 1918 and wage a savage civil war against the Reds. It should be noted that many of these armies were armed peasants, villagers, farmers and merchants, protecting their own. If it had not

Washington’s clandestine support of and for the Reds, history would have gone quite differently – Pravda

“I would add that we should demand that Diane Feinstein, Andrew Cuomo, Rahm Emmanuel, and Nanny Bloomberg”

Drudge Dred came to mind. Here; take this volume of our laws and go for a walk beyond the wall. 🙂

“As an aside, the Affordable Care Act has caused a $4000.00 per year per employee premium increase for my employer. That’s only a $6500 differential compared to what was promised by dear leader.”

While grumbling myself I would like to make one point (and no; I mean it / it is not spin or sarc). At least this huge expense implies we will still get real healthcare (unlike what people get in the UK, France, et cetera).

My biggest fear, all along, was that once healthcare was made ‘democratic’ (left spin for not someone you could make choices about) that the majority (who are not ill) would decide saving money was better than treating the sick (as in what has happened in almost all of Europe.. a couple countries will oil aside). I want real insurance that I paid for; not for the majority to decide whether I’m worth the expense.

“Cutting down a tree is easy; cutting every blade of grass, one by one, is hard.”

I love the metaphor for another reason. The Yamamoto quote. Its multi leveled!