Recently, Republicans in the US House of Representatives have been threatening to sue Obama for many of the executive actions he has taken (For example: Changing the Obama care law without the vote of Congress) and for not faithfully fulfilling the duties of his office, which is unprecedented in the US government. Normally when a president sends out an executive order that tries to tackle controversial issues the system of checks and balances kicks in, however a lawsuit has never been done in order to limit the President's power. Boehner it trying to pass a bill that will allow the House to sue Obama. Many are calling this a stunt however Boehner is insisting that this is not a stunt and that he is actually trying to sue Obama for these actions. I am posting this event because this whole political stunt has created a lot of controversy and debates in recent weeks about the Republican stunts and whether they are going too far this time or just trying to distract America from the fact that they aren't focusing on other important issues. Also I am curious to see what my fellow classmates think about this issue.
Here are some questions to discuss:
Are Republicans going too far to stop the President's executive orders?
If Republicans decide to go through with this plan, will the lawsuit actually work or will the case be thrown out?
Is this just a stunt to distract America from the fact that the House isn't focusing of other important issues?
Here are some links to be updated on the issue.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boehner-v-obama-house-lawsuit-brings-new-twist-to-familiar-conflict/
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/us/politics/boehner-says-obama-lawsuit-will-focus-on-health-law.html?_r=0
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28201956
While I agree this is drastic, I can definitely see where the Republicans are coming from, and understand what might necessitate this, and I think drastic measures should be taken. The fact that Obama is doing things without the consent of Congress, such as changing Obamacare, is outrageous, and gives him a dangerous edge in the political system. Where does the power end, if he is violating these simple practices? Is there anything else he has done that we as citizens don't know about? If the Republicans decide to go through with this, or even, perhaps, attempting the impeachment that has been discussed by a few conservatives including Sarah Palin, I think there would be a sustainable case that might actually have the results Republicans are aiming for. However, I feel that impeachment, while justified, is not necessarily what our country needs-it would just be is a source of turmoil. I don't think this is a stunt- there are serious faults in what Obama has been doing, and taking this type of action may be a catalyst for an increased focus and productivity in working on other relevant issues. Ultimately, I think the Republicans can make a case for taking action against Obama in the form of a lawsuit or even something more, but I believe impeachment is not the best idea for our country.
ReplyDeleteLet me start off by saying I have never been a big fan of Obama and I will try my best to not be completely bias in my response. I think that Obama is completely stepping over the line and the fact that he is creating laws without the Congress’s consent is absolute ludicrous. Our government is created based off the idea that people will have in say. If one man is calling all the shots, single handily, then our government is not living up to its expectations. Also, by Obama doing this is gives future presidents the idea that they will have the same power and think it’s okay to do this, where as this shouldn’t be happening. We have to stop it now. Although I strongly believe something has to be done, I think a impeachment is a little too far when considering what is the best for our country. I completely agree with Lauren that it could potentially be a huge source of turmoil for our country. Not only would an impeachment scare citizens, especially those who aren’t completely familiarized with politics but it also might make us look weak to surrounding countries. An impeachment could potentially be the downfall to the U.S. What if it does happen and the new president is even worse? Conclusively, I don’t think that impeachment is the golden problem solver, although I do strongly agree that something else must be done to keep Obama from abusing his power and force him to start including congress, who virtually represent the people.
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