They can.
But they’ve already said they won’t.
doesn’t matter. They are a bunch of spineless castrated dolts.
Congress has always had the power of the purse, but the challenge is whether they have the will to use it.
Congress has sole constitutional authority to direct spending should they choose to use it. The law, however, would have to be specifically written to prohibit the president from spending any government funds on his immigration amnesty. Congress traditionally gives the executive branch fairly broad discretion on a range of issues. That’s why the EPA is now regulating CO2 as a pollutant for example.
That said, the president retains veto authority over anything passed by Congress, including changes to existing law. If the Republicans are not willing to confront the president on spending—shutting down the government if necessary—then they surrender their trump card, and if Republicans think the president will give up or cooperate, they are sadly mistaken. Holding up the president’s appointments, while important, isn’t going to stop him.
I don’t think moderates like McCain still understand the president is not going to negotiate or cooperate in good faith. We’ve had six years of hope and change, and I think the president sees this as his last chance to wreak havoc on the country. Just like Obamacare, implement as much as possible, and then dare Republicans to try and roll it back. History is on Obama’s side in that regard, because we have no evidence that moderate Republicans have the will to undo it. They like much of what Obama does!
Boehner and McConnell have financed ALL of Obamas’s doings.. ON PURPOSE...
The whole federal behemoth COULD BE stripped.. easily..
one by one quite quickly too..
Makes you think “somebody” controls BOTH PARTYS..
Playing “good guy” “bad guy” in a scripted PLAY..
Like a childs birthday party.. with a Pinata and clowns..
And the “voters” are the children...
And the adults are wolves with sheep.. there are no children..
BUT the metaphors stand..
I only “WISH” this was hyperbole... it isn’t..
One day soon...... somebody might get ANGRY!....
Grizzly Bears to the rescue, Hallelujah!
Seems to me a few bold and principled leaders in Congress could get the job done. Actual integrity ultimately defeats feigned integrity.
Remember, RINOs are not leaders. They are merely elected officials who have compromised themselves for the sake of securing personal gain. This moral compromise is a severe weakness.
On the other hand, the greatest kind of strength is moral strength. Members of Congress still serious about principle—those who haven’t sold their souls—have an overwhelming advantage over the rest of them.
If you complement a solid moral foundation with the right strategy you can’t lose.
“White House could legally thumb its nose at Congress by self-funding the agency.”
HogWash,
Congress can, with the stroke of a pen Order All revenues to be deposited to the Treasury Dept. No Agency in Government can spend a single Dime without ‘Approval” from CONgress.
The Main reason they won’t do this is because, if they did, they would no longer have a Valid Excuse for Reigning in Big Government as their “Constituents Demand”.
They can defund IRS and EPA to stop the regulations. But the Republican House has been funding Obama for the last two years. Obama isn’t the problem, the Republicans who give him the money are the problem.
Naturalization Act of 1986 says that anything involving employers and aliens and new social security rules MUST return to Congress for hearings of up to 2 years long.
Why is no one mentioning this?
Excellent post and excellent comments.
Another key to this: PRECEDENCE
Boehner/Congress/American Sheeples: all future presidents are watching what happens.
Example: The vote on convicting Clinton, and the public reaction to it, erased a check on presidential power indefinitely.
Of course Congress can defund the program. They’ve always had that right. The problem is that the gop wing of the uniparty wants amnesty as much as the rat wing. So the question from their perspective is how much kabuki theatre they need to engage in until they just go ahead and knuckle under. Which has been the plan all along.
The unfortunate part for us is that the kabuki theatre will involve the “regrettable” increase of various taxes because a “failure to agree” among the parties. So for the uniparty its pretty much a two-fer: they get amnesty AND tax hikes.
Our involvement in this little melodrama is a waste of time and resources. Once the decision has been made, and it has, all that remains is the choreography.
State and local is where its at.