The “it” I’m referring to is amnesty. Or as some have begun referring to it, executive amnesty. Yes, I’m afraid he probably will. And thus ignite a firestorm that ends; well, no one knows where it will end.
It’s likely that some will call for his impeachment. Interestingly, to date, the majority of Members of Congress (both House and Senate) who have raised the possibility of impeachment, have been Democrats. Why would that be? Well, they apparently felt that getting the press to do stories on impeachment might energize a Democrat base which was unenthusiastic about turning out in the recently held elections. Neither Republicans, nor most members of the press, took the bait, so impeachment never became a big story, and the Democrat base stayed home.
Taking executive action on amnesty would fly in the face of previous statements Barack Obama has made on the topic. For example, when pressed by pro-amnesty advocates back in 2011, he said
Thus by the President’s own admission, he is about to act outside the way our system is supposed to work, outside the way our democracy is supposed to function, and in violation of our Constitution. It would completely ignore the sentiment of the American people as expressed quite clearly just two weeks ago.
The President himself had declared that even though his name wasn’t on the ballot, his “policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them.” And one of those policies was potentially bending the law for millions of people illegally in this country, and doing so by executive order. This was one of the issues most discussed in the elections. And the American people just two weeks ago said resoundingly, NO.
Well it appears he’s about to do so anyway. Mr. President, don’t wave a red flag before a bull, as Mitch McConnell put it. Don’t poison the well, as Speaker Boehner put it. Don’t ignore the will of the American people. For once, act like a President.
