Thursday, February 4, 2016

Elizabeth Warren: It Matters Greatly Who the Democratic President Is

An unfortunate fact of political debate is that one often feels compelled to state and re-state what one thinks should be obvious, because a bunch of folks are apparently having success at pretending that something which seems obviously true is not true.


Right now, a bunch of people seem to be saying - and to all appearances, believing - that it doesn't really matter for policy outcomes if Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton is elected President. The rough claim seems to be: Republicans are going to control the House anyway, if not the Senate, so a Democratic President won't be able to do anything anyway.

Of course, people can't be prevented from saying whatever they want. They can say that green is red and night is day. It's a free country. But the same people who are saying it doesn't matter for policy if Bernie or Hillary wins are not saying that green is red and night is day. So presumably, even if they themselves don't believe what they are saying, they must believe that saying it will work, that they won't be laughed out of the saloon, and therefore it must likely be the case that a bunch of folks could benefit from a quick civics refresher on the fact that it does indeed matter greatly who the Democratic President of the United States is.

Here's the aspect Elizabeth Warren focused on: the massive, unilateral power of the President of the United States, in the absence of new Congressional legislation, to shape government policy through executive branch agency rules, executive actions and enforcement decisions.

Here's her opening paragraph:
While presidential candidates from both parties feverishly pitch their legislative agendas, voters should also consider what presidents can do without Congress. Agency rules, executive actions and decisions about how vigorously to enforce certain laws will have an impact on every American, without a single new bill introduced in Congress.

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