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White House: When Obama said he changed the law on immigration, he was speaking “colloquially”
Hot Air.com ^ | December 2, 2014 | ALLAHPUNDIT

Posted on 12/02/2014 5:39:38 PM PST by Kaslin

After this, the word “colloquially” should be added to the definition of “Kinsleyan gaffe” — i.e. when a politician accidentally tells the truth … colloquially. That’s what Obama did last week when he shooed away a heckler by casually reassuring him that he had changed the law on immigration — which was true. With Congress unwilling to impeach and the next president unlikely for political reasons to cancel Obama’s order, his amnesty will survive as the de facto law of the land until either conservatives win the White House and a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate or the two parties pass a terrible comprehensive immigration reform bill. If O’s order hadn’t effectively changed the law for millions of people, Latinos wouldn’t be so excited about it. But lackeys like Josh Earnest here and Jeh Johnson can’t say that. They need to spin this as an application of the law, not a change to it, for the simple reason that only in a banana republic does the president actually set broad national policy without the legislature’s approval. And certainly, certainly we don’t live in one of those.

There’s an obvious follow-up question for Earnest that goes unspoken: What about the change made by this order to the way the executive branch operates constitutionally? O’s immigration policy might disappear in time — as noted, a Republican wave might wash it away or a bipartisan deal might supersede it. The fact that Obama’s set this precedent for bold action, though, won’t escape the attention of his successors. So long as the demographics of midterm congressional elections continue to favor the GOP, future Democratic presidents will be eager to exploit executive action to avoid Congress and implement their agenda. And Republican presidents will be tempted by the fact that liberals, in blessing Obama’s power grab, will have no ground to stand on if/when conservatives try one of their own in some other policy area. A change in “the law,” by which we mean statutory law on immigration, is actually the venial sin here. The mortal sin is the change made to constitutional law in blurring the separation of powers. Until Congress figures out a way to challenge the president that won’t blow up in their faces politically, we’re stuck with that one.

Josh Earnest says Obama was "speaking colloquially" when he said he changed immigration law


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: 0bama; aliens; amnesty; changed; colloquially; executive; gaffe; immigration; jehjohnson; law; obama; randnesty; whitehouse
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To: UCANSEE2
Colloquially. Does that mean he’s lying, or telling the truth ?

******

Obama is full of it. Of course, I'm speaking "colloquially."

However, if I were writing the statement using formal language, I would say this:

"Obama is full of sh*t."

41 posted on 12/02/2014 10:14:10 PM PST by john mirse
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To: UCANSEE2
Colloquially. Does that mean he’s lying, or telling the truth ?

He meant colo rectally. He was talking out his a$$

42 posted on 12/02/2014 10:23:49 PM PST by going hot (Happiness is a momma deuce)
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To: Kaslin

When obama speaks there needs to be an interpreter, because what he said is not what he means if he is telling the truth and if he is telling a lie what he means is not what he said.

He has many standing by to explain...because as his minions are fond of saying Americans are stupid.


43 posted on 12/02/2014 10:55:49 PM PST by PoloSec ( Believe the Gospel: how that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again)
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To: GOPJ; sickoflibs; Jane Long; no-to-illegals; Tennessee Nana; AuntB; TADSLOS; notted; SgtBob
WH says Obama was "speaking colloquially" when "he said" he changed immigration law....

Mmmmmmm.......sounds a lot like Madoff's tactics---to shrug off the suckers he was ripping off......

REALITY CHECK The WH con artist screwed-up---and is resorting to Chicago gangland parlance to cover his ***.

He backed himself into a corner, so he did what any practiced conman would do.......he blamed his victims.

We just "heard wrong."

44 posted on 12/03/2014 2:40:31 AM PST by Liz
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