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How Obama's power plays set the stage for Trump
Washington Post ^ | December 13, 2015 | Jonathan Turley

Posted on 12/13/2015 12:24:54 PM PST by Kaslin

Donald Trump has spent years cultivating a reputation as someone who won't accept "no" for an answer, and he's made clear that's exactly the sort of president he would be. Never mind if there's bipartisan opposition to barring Muslims from entering the United States or to building a wall along the Mexican border (and making Mexico pay for it). Trump doesn't see a need to defer to Congress, which he dismisses as "grossly incompetent" and "pathetically weak." Instead, he heralds instances of past presidents acting unilaterally, particularly Franklin D. Roosevelt's executive order that led to Japanese American internment and Dwight Eisenhower's deportation of millions under "Operation Wetback ."

These comments have understandably energized the Stop Trump movement. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Trump's proposal for barring Muslims "disqualifies him" from office. Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin rallied supporters with the message, "We have to be ready to stop him."

But if Democrats are alarmed by this glimpse into a Trump administration, they are in part to blame. They have supported President Obama's claims of unchecked authority in a variety of areas, particularly immigration. And the Obama model will be attractive to successors who, although they may have a different agenda, have the same appetite for unilateral decisions.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections; US: New York; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2016election; democrat; election2016; elections; immigration; tedcruz; texas; trump; trumpwasright
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1 posted on 12/13/2015 12:24:54 PM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

So basically, it was incompetence and failure that made Trump’s presidential bid possible.


2 posted on 12/13/2015 12:28:02 PM PST by Hoodat (Article 4, Section 4)
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To: Kaslin

“Stroke of the pen. Law of the land. Kinda cool.” - Paul Begala.


3 posted on 12/13/2015 12:34:49 PM PST by kennedy (No relation to those other Kennedys.)
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To: kennedy

The Forehead, haven’t heard or seen much of him for while?


4 posted on 12/13/2015 12:37:35 PM PST by TruthWillWin (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money.)
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To: Hoodat

Here is Turley letting us know nothing Obama has done is impeachable.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-impeachment/2014/08/01/1f00f4ea-1808-11e4-9e3b-7f2f110c6265_story.html


5 posted on 12/13/2015 12:37:55 PM PST by Eddie01
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To: Kaslin

Trump doing a thing which is perfectly within the legitimate scope of presidential power compares somehow with the illegal power grabs bozo The Clown pulled off? D on think it’s gonna work this time around.


6 posted on 12/13/2015 12:42:05 PM PST by TalBlack (Evil doesn't have a day job...)
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To: TruthWillWin

I went to the University of Texas back in the early 1980s when Begala did. He ran for student body president unopposed, but came in second. He lost to a write in campaign for Hank the Hallucination, a comic strip character in the student newspaper.


7 posted on 12/13/2015 12:45:31 PM PST by kennedy (No relation to those other Kennedys.)
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To: kennedy

Unapposed and finished 2nd....LOL


8 posted on 12/13/2015 12:49:53 PM PST by TruthWillWin (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money.)
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To: kennedy
He lost to a write in campaign for Hank the Hallucination, a comic strip character in the student newspaper.

Ha! I was there at the time. I remember Hank's victory, but I didn't remember Begala.

Come to think of it, I would gladly vote for Hank over many of the GOP candidates.

9 posted on 12/13/2015 12:51:39 PM PST by Constitutionalist Conservative (I'm a constitutionalist, not a libertarian. Huge difference.)
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To: kennedy

Is that true?

Great story.


10 posted on 12/13/2015 12:52:23 PM PST by bajabaja (Too ugly to be scanned at the airports.)
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To: TruthWillWin
--The Forehead, haven't heard or seen much of him for while?


11 posted on 12/13/2015 12:53:21 PM PST by JPG (What's the difference between the Rats and the GOPe? Nothing.)
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To: Eddie01

Well, that is his opinion and we disagree with that, don’t we/


12 posted on 12/13/2015 12:53:40 PM PST by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: JPG

Wasn’t he in “This Island Earth”?


13 posted on 12/13/2015 12:59:27 PM PST by sheik yerbouty ( Make America and the world a jihad free zone!)
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To: JPG

OK, now I’ve seen him, enough!


14 posted on 12/13/2015 1:00:06 PM PST by TruthWillWin (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money.)
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To: kennedy

We ran a buddy of ours for student body president as a communist making absurd promises using updated Chinese Mao posters.

He won.

The principal called us into his office and congratulated us on our campaign before letting us know the second place actual real candidate would be getting the gig.


15 posted on 12/13/2015 1:04:13 PM PST by Eddie01
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To: JPG

LOL, the pic! Reminiscent of *How to Serve Man*
with a bit more hairs.


16 posted on 12/13/2015 1:04:40 PM PST by V K Lee (u TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP to TRIUMPH Follow the lead MAKE AMERICA GREAT)
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To: Eddie01

That was not fair.


17 posted on 12/13/2015 1:05:18 PM PST by samtheman (I support Trump.)
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To: Kaslin

Funny how he traces its true origins back to Bush, then says it would be “deeply unfortunate more so under Cruz than Clinton. Nauseating.


18 posted on 12/13/2015 1:05:34 PM PST by cld51860 (Volo pro veritas)
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To: Eddie01

Turley’s article, while infested with bias, is actually pretty good.


19 posted on 12/13/2015 1:06:06 PM PST by Lazamataz (It has gotten to the point where any report from standard news outlets must be fact-checked.)
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To: Lazamataz

I agree, not a bad read.

Differentiates between how the constitution was intended to work vs. how we the people would like it to or even think it should work.

Really our frustration is more appropriately directed at how our legislative and judicial branches have completely abdigated their responsibility.


20 posted on 12/13/2015 1:10:38 PM PST by Eddie01
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