Obama's legacy lies in tatters

Political Ref ^ | 11/15/16

[TheRef]

11/15/16

Obama's policy legacy lies in tatters

The president's supporters have little recourse left but to shout in the streets

One attempting to analyze this election might fall to the temptation to underestimate the significance of it. That person would err. This election holds broad and lasting implications for Obama's legacy and the future of America. I will outline briefly below the profound and lasting nature of the 2016 election. I will lay out Obama's most significant accomplishments and outline the prospects of those achievements lasting beyond Trump's first one hundred days.

Obama Achievement	Fate of that Achievement
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (Obamacare) - Obama's signature achievement was the passage of what was considered universal healthcare, although it actually left millions without insurance.	Virtually all of Obamacare is certain to fade into history. Because the funding provisions were passed through reconciliation requiring only a simple majority in the Senate, the GOP can starve the law if they can't perform a full repeal. But considering that the law is unpopular and the Democrats are defending over twenty US Senate seats in 2018, they may be able to fully repeal the law. But either way, the law will die.
SUPREME COURT LEGACY - When Obama took office conservatives held the majority on the Court by five seats to four, although Kennedy is not conservative on some issues. When Scalia died the conservative majority disappeared for the first time since 1971. Obama held two seats for liberals by appointing Sotomayor to replace David Souter and Elena Kagan to replace John Paul Stevens.	Obama never achieved a majority in the Court. Trump will appoint Scalia's replacement and reclaim the conservative majority, likely before officially taking office. That appointee faces very good prospects for confirmation. The reasons include that it is Scalia's replacement, so liberals can tell constituents it is a status quo appointment. Beyond that, the Democrats are already likely to lose Senate seats in 2018 and a prolonged battle would likely make that a certainty considering Democrat voters' propensity to skip midterm elections.
WALL STREET REFORM - Obama passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill. The bill increased capital requirements for banks, requires living wills for large banks to avoid destructive bankruptcies, limits banks' abilities to use customer money in trading and creates a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau intended to limit abusive lending practices.	Trump seems likely to appoint Jeb Hensarling, or at least Hensarling will impact the legislation that reforms Dodd-Frank, and he wants to deregulate the industry and "put the market in charge." Hensarling would rely primarily on the increased capital requirements of Dodd-Frank, and probably increase them, to provide stability to the economy. Regulations would then be reduced, thereby allowing the mass of small community banks to lend more freely, aiding in the creation of small business jobs. It seems virtually certain that Dodd-Frank will be stripped. Again, the Democrats in the Senate will be gun-shy here, easily accused of depriving Trump of the means to improve the economy, an issue the public trusts Trump on.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS - Many of Obama's accomplishments came through executive orders. Some of the most significant are listed here. Climate Change - EPA regulations, Clean Power Plan, The Paris Agreement Immigration - Obama signed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program National Security - Obama tightened rules around interrogations and Iran sanctions Trade - There were orders in support of continuing/ starting NAFTA and the TPP Obamacare - There were orders that support Obamacare Gender Identity - Obama signed "guidance" for the implementation of Title IX equating gender identity with biological sex. Some schools have been punished by the DOJ and Dept. of Education for insisting on separate bathrooms, locker rooms and showers for boys and girls Executive Amnesty - Obama exempted some aliens from deportation. Although a court has limited this, Trump will need to rescind it. Life and Religious Liberty - Obama has increased taxpayer funding of abortions and mandated the insurance coverage of abortion inducing drugs, contraception and gender reassignment surgeries and therapies.	These executive orders, and likely a good number of others, probably won't last through Trump's first week.
FOREIGN POLICY: Obama has promoted a policy of a relatively weak American role in the world. This is one of the weak points of Obama's legacy.	Although Trump has committed to not getting the US into dumb wars, he is certain to take a firmer approach than Obama has.
Follow me on Twitter	Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 -First two http://politicalref.com/Images were modified and merged

[Chaguito]

Obama’s legacy *of* lies...

[353FMG]

....and erased from America’s memory. And no more Kenyan’s in the WH.

[WayneS]

Well, he’s the greatest gun salesman in the history of the world — so he’s got that going for him...

[TigersEye]

Nicely done! I predict that with every year that passes 0bama’s ‘legacy’ will look worse and worse.

[Battle Axe]

All I want to see left is a row of books on the shelves in every public library. This was the 0bambi presidency. See how terrible it was and how he destroyed the American family and ruined lives. This is what to look for in the future, and this is how to fix it back to making American Great Again.

[Impala64ssa]

Well, Jimmah Carter is no longer the worst president in history.

[Oatka]