Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are glad to see an end to Chuck Hagel’s tenure at the Pentagon. They also hammer President Obama for saying his executive orders on immigration were perfectly legal while future GOP presidents could not take similar action. And they wonder why there’s such glowing coverage of the disastrous political career of former Washington Mayor Marion Barry in the wake of his death.
Three Martini Lunch 11/21/14
Should the GOP be pleased that President Obama’s executive action does not offer a path to citizenship? Is the President daring republicans to impeach him? The Associated Press, the Washington Post and even Jay Carney fact check the President.
‘You Cannot Repeal 30 Million People’
As President Obama announces the details of his executive action to grant legal status to millions of people in the United States illegally, acclaimed documentary filmmaker Dennis Michael Lynch says this is the one Obama policy that will permanently damage America, and he says the only way to save the country is through steps no Republicans seem willing to take.
Lynch is the creator of the border documentaries “They Come to America” and “They Come to America II”. In response to reports that Obama will grant legal status to some five to six million illegal immigrants (and possibly many more), Lynch says he’s devastated that this day has come but not at all surprised.
“It’s one of those things where you always knew it was coming. You just never thought it would arrive. It’s sort of disheartening knowing that it’s here. It’s disheartening because I know that the impact of this is going to be far greater than any sound bite can explain,” said Lynch.
Nonetheless, Lynch tried to put into words what Obama’s actions will mean for the U.S. in the near and long term.
“Americans are screwed. I mean we are screwed with what’s going on right now,” he said, suggesting the implementation of what he considers amnesty has a far different impact than even Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment.
“Obamacare can be repealed. You’re watching it break down. I knew this would happen a year ago that it wouldnever last. It was just a house of cards waiting for a big gust of wind and the wind is coming. But you cannot repeal 30 million people. You can’t repeal 20 million people. You can deport them…You can’t repeal them. You can’t give them amnesty and then take the amnesty away. It’s literally impossible and that’s what fundamentally transforms a country,” said Lynch.
Lynch also believes this priority dwarfs all others from Obama’s perspective.
“This is the one thing that stains America and you can’t get the stain out. To him, this puts his face on Mount Rushmore, so he’s going to fight to the death for this. This is his baby,” said Lynch. “He doesn’t give a damn what happened in the election two weeks ago. You think he gives a damn? He doesn’t give a damn at all. He doesn’t care if this hurts Hillary in 2016. He doesn’t care about anybody but himself.”
For Lynch, the permanent damage to the country comes in two major ways, far worse job opportunities for Americans and much weaker national security. He says an already sluggish job market for American citizens will get far more depressing.
“If that (illegal immigrant) was hanging sheet rock illegally and now they’ve got a work permit, they could start going for the jobs they otherwise were not able to get last time, ones that need a driver’s license, one where you have to be on a payroll correctly. They’re going to start applying for jobs like UPS and the postal service and security guards and at the TSA. You name it, they’re going to start going for those jobs, and they’re going to get them,” said Lynch, who says that trend will only lead to many more American citizens relying on government assistance because they cannot find work.
As for his national security concerns, Lynch says he is stunned at how soon the lessons of 9/11 have been forgotten.
“This is devastating. It totally ignores everything written in the 9/11 Commission report. It’s as if the president took a match to it and just lit up the 9/11 Commission report as if there was no report and as if there was no 9/11. We’re going to be giving legal documentation to illegal aliens in this country. And it’s not going to be five million by the way. It’s going to be far more than that,” said Lynch.
While Lynch is thoroughly exasperated with Obama, he also has little patience for most Republicans. He believes the full-throated opposition of the GOP to Obama’s executive orders is an example of “too little, too late”.
“They’re half the problem. They were closing their eyes for years and years and years as they were taking campaign donations from big lobbyists who were supporting big businesses. They too were in it for the cheap labor. They’re just as guilty as anybody else,” said Lynch.
The filmmaker is livid with both mainstream Republicans and staunch conservatives. Lynch savaged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for appearing on the Fox News Channel Wednesday night and vowing to use every constitutional tool available to stop Obama actions. While Cruz voted against the 2013 Gang of Eight bill in the Senate, Lynch says the senator offered an amendment that would have increased the number of hi-tech work visas by 500 percent.
Lynch says there are only two things Republicans can do to slow the impact of the executive orders, but he admits even those would have limited impact. The first is the much-discussed strategy to defund government effort’s to enforce the new orders.
“They will have to fight him through the purse and even that is not going to completely do it because Obama has already planned for this. He knows what steps they’re going to take and he obviously has his counter plan to that. You don’t go on national television. You don’t make this sort of move like he’s making if you don’t have a full script written out,” he said.
The most effective tool, he says, would be electing a president fully committed to uprooting these executive orders upon taking office. Still, he says that won’t erase all the damage.
“The next president would have to override his amnesty. Even then, if you override his amnesty, you’re still never going to be able to put all the sand back in the bottle,” said Lynch.
He also says this approach requires a Republican nominee who understands the severity of the issue.
“It’s such a Herculean effort that it would take an amazing, amazing human being to stay the course and be able to do that,” he said. “None of the guys in the GOP have the guts to do it. Half the guys in the GOP want to give amnesty. You think Jeb Bush, if he gets in, he’s going to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to reverse the amnesty?’ He’s going to say, ‘It’s an act of love. Let’s give out more work permits,'” said Lynch.
Lynch himself has publicly stated he’s considering a presidential bid in 2016, mentioning the idea just weeks ago to Fox News Channel host Megyn Kelly. Does this new scenario push him into the race?
“After today, I’m almost ready to call up Megyn Kelly and say I’m doing it,” he said.
Lynch believes his candidacy would be a long shot due to the GOP and the media being disinterested in him. He says a massive grassroots army would be needed to make such a bid worthwhile.
Three Martini Lunch 11/20/14
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review cheer a new NBC poll showing very limited support for President Obama’s unilateral action on immigration. They also groan as Obama plows ahead anyway, saying he’s waited long enough for Congress to act. And we scratch our heads as former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb forms an exploratory committee for 2016.
Dershowitz Slams Obama’s ‘Moral Equivalence’ on Synagogue Murders
Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz is unloading on President Obama’s “moral equivalence” in the wake of Tuesday’s shocking terrorist attacks at a Jerusalem synagogue that left five people dead, three of whom were Americans.
The acclaimed defense attorney also accuses Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of inciting the bloodshed.
On Tuesday, terrorists stormed the synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood in West Jerusalem. Using axes, knives and guns, the terrorists savagely interrupted morning prayers, killing three rabbis, another worshiper and a police officer. Police eventually killed the two terrorists.
In his statement, President Obama condemned the attacks and said the deaths of three Americans meant shared grief between the U.S. and Israel. However, he was quick to urge all sides to renounce violence.
“Tragically, this is not the first loss of life that we have seen in recent months. Too many Israelis have died. Too many Palestinians have died,” said Obama, who urged both sides to work together to “lower tensions.”
Dershowitz says that was exactly the wrong thing to say.
“It was moral equivalence. It was the wrong statement. It had all the wrong tone. It had all the wrong content. At this point in time, you unilaterally condemn only the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for incentivizing and inciting this kind of thing. You don’t bring it together with how many Palestinians may have died because they were being used as human shields,” he said, noting that the terrorist groups are fine the U.S. and others in the world equating their actions with those of Israel.
“Hamas is happy with moral equivalence. It gives them a kind of legitimacy that they don’t deserve, the kind of legitimacy that Bishop (Desmond) Tutu and Jimmy Carter had given them but I would expect more of our president,” said Dershowitz.
President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were quick to point to point out that Abbas condemned the attack. Dershowitz says that condemnation came after great pressure from the U.S. and that Abbas deserves the lion’s share of the blame for the attacks themelves.
“Abbas is largely responsible for this. He talked about Jews ‘infecting’ the Temple Mount. He called for Muslims to protect the Temple Mount. He basically incited this. Did he intend it? Probably not, but his words carry very great power,” said Dershowitz.
While the denunciation of the attacks by Abbas may have been grudging, Dershowitz points out that Hamas and Palestinians in the street made it clear they enthusiastically support such barbarism.
“After this horrible, horrible massacre, immediately there was dancing in the streets in Gaza, in Ramallah, in Bethlehem and Nablus and celebration of these murders,” he said.
“Although the great tragedy occurred in the synagogue, the most important events occurred before – the incitement – and after – the glee. How did the world respond? Spain unilaterally voted in parliament to recognize the Palestinian State without asking them even to stop terrorism,” said Dershowitz.
However, he says the most common reaction worldwide was indifference.
“United Nations? Silence. Most of the Arab states? Silence. We’re not seeing condemnation. We’re not seeing outrage from many of the European leaders,” he said.
Dershowitz praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for forcefully denouncing the attacks but also for imploring Israeli citizens not to seek vengeance on their own. The international response to the murders was so tepid that Netanyahu implored world leaders to speak out. Dershowitz says if the roles were reversed, it would be a much different story.
“Can you imagine if an Israeli soldier had walked into a mosque and had murdered four imams at prayer? The entire world would be aflame about this. We see very little condemnation (about Tuesday’s terrorist attacks). You see the usual ritual, formalistic condemnation, but you don’t see the kind of outrage that one would expect. And you don’t see the kind of outrage that one gets when Israel builds an extra bathroom or living room somewhere on the West Bank,” said Dershowitz.
The Middle East has long been viewed in the West as a problem that cannot be solved. Dershowitz says the Palestinians are undertaking a strategy to make sure it never does.
“The Palestinians are trying to turn this into a religious dispute, not a political dispute. Political disputes can be resolved by compromise, but if you think your god has told you not to allow Jews to have a nation-state of their own…it’s very hard to compromise with that situation,” he said.
Dershowitz says what’s worse than grisly acts of terrorism is the fact that it’s working to turn world opinion to the side of the Palestinians and others.
“Why are the Palestinians so popular today on academic campuses, at the UN and in European capitals? Because they have used terrorism over and over and over again. Nobody’s heard of the Kurds because they haven’t used terrorism to a great extent. The Kurds, there are much more of them and they are much more worthy of a state than the Palestinians and the Tibetans. But they’re getting nowhere because terrorism works and it brings groups to the attention of the world. If we don’t stop terrorism in the Middle East, it’s coming to a theater near you because it’s an effective tactic today, unfortunately,” said Dershowitz.
World opinion has long tilted heavily against Israel, even when American presidents have vigorously defended it. Dershowitz admits the U.S. can only do so much to reverse that, but he says there’s one thing the Obama administration can do in the coming days to prevent terrorists from scoring a major victory.
“They have to make a good deal with Iran or no deal. You can’t make a bad deal with Iran. Iran is the greatest exporter of terrorism in the world. They’re dancing in the streets too. If you think it’s bad to have a few terrorists with axes and guns and knives walk into a synagogue, just wait until terrorists begin to have nuclear weapons. That will happen if Iran has a decent deal that will allow it to become a threshold nuclear state,” said Dershowitz.
Three Martini Lunch 11/19/14
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review enjoy the Democratic tension as President Obama bulls ahead on hugely unpopular priorities, leaving Hillary Clinton trying to oppose the policies while uniting the party. They also react as the Senate fails to approve the Keystone XL pipeline but effectively dooms Mary Landrieu’s re-election hopes. And they react to a Daily Beast column suggesting blacks, Hispanics, women and gays were all shut out of the first Obama presidential campaign until Valerie Jarrett took charge.
‘Sword of Damocles’ Hangs Over Amnesty Fight
Iowa Rep. Steve King says the unconstitutional granting of amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants is one promise President Obama actually intends to keep and he says the Republican Congress must be ready to do what it takes to stop it from happening.
The day after major Republican wins in the midterm elections, Obama reiterated his vow to act alone on immigration policy. While not detailing what his executive orders would entail at that time, subsequent reports indicate the centerpiece of Obama’s initiative would grant legal status and issue work permits to the parents of U.S. citizens and children already legalized in some way. Estimates suggest that would legalize anywhere from 4.5 to six million illegal immigrants.
While immigration has been a divisive issue among Republicans over the past couple of years, King says GOP lawmakers are virtually unanimous in fighting what they see as an unconstitutional power grab. He’s less certain Republicans are willing to to whatever it takes to win the fight.
“I think we’re really solid. Those on the Republican side that would give the president a pass for usurping constitutional authority are very few. But how far are they willing to go to block this president?” asked King.
King has been a leading voice of opposition to granting legal status to people in the country illegally. He says he can remember where he was and the disappointment he felt when President Ronald Reagan signed the 1986 amnesty into law.
The congressman says Obama’s agenda is infinitely worse and he fears the president is dead set on taking action on his own.
“The president has a very long string of broken promises but this, I think, is going to be the promise he actually keeps. He is poised to violate the Constitution and create his own immigration law out of thin air. He has no constitutional authority to do this,” said King, who believes Obama’s insistence on this issue boils down to one thing.
“He thinks a high percentage of them are just undocumented Democrats and the next phase would be to document them so that they can vote,” he said.
How does King conclude the president’s actions would be unconstitutional?
“Not only does Article I set aside all legislative power to the United States Congress, but also an enumerated power is to provide a uniform rule of naturalization. That’s Congress’ authority and there are multiple court cases that identify that Congress sets immigration policy,” said King, who says Obama has already flagrantly violated his authority on other decisions on immigration policy.
“He didn’t have legal authority to issue the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DREAMers) memo,” said King. “And he didn’t have the authority to do the Morton memos, which waive prosecution for those whom the president considers not to be a violent threat to society,” said King.
Obama defenders accuse critics of the impending executive orders of employing selective outrage. They say many previous presidents have effectively removed the threat of deportation for some illegal immigrants. King admits there is some legal discretion granted to the president on immigration matters but Obama’s apparent course of action takes things to a completely different level.
“The president has authority to manage asylum and to manage refugee status. That target of refugee status is something like 75,000 a year. (That’s) nowhere near the five to six…million that we would end up with. I don’t think there’s any comparable precedent anywhere,” he said.
King suggests out very system of government is at stake in this debate.
“What he’s poised to do is step up in front of a press conference someday in the near future, take the Constitution, separate out Article I, the legislative authority (and) all the things that set up the United States Congress, look at us all and tear Article I out of the Constitution, fold it up, put it in his shirt pocket and say, ‘I’m also the legislative branch of government.’ That’s what he’s doing,” said King.
“This is a constitutional crisis that is hanging over our heads like the Sword of Damocles. Congress must block this president. It is our duty to do so,” he said.
“The president is holding a right hostage to an ultimatum. We have a right to secure borders, a right to expect an demand that our president enforce the law. But he’s giving us an ultimatum. Congress can either pass amnesty or he’s going to commit it by a constitutional violation,” said King.
So what will the Republicans do to stop it? One thing House and Senate GOP leaders have ruled out is any sort of government funding showdown. That’s a promise King wishes they hadn’t made.
“We’ve had some leadership say there’s not going to be a government shutdown. I don’t know how they can declare that. It was the president that shut the government down a little over a year ago. So they can’t make a promise that the president would be in charge of keeping,” said King.
King isn’t eager for another showdown over appropriations but he also isn’t very impressed by some of the ideas floated by GOP leaders either. One is simply to extend current funding levels in all areas of government until the end of the fiscal year on September, 30, 2015.
“That would give all the funding to the president and would take away our tool to restrain him by cutting off the funding to implement or enforce his unconstitutional act,” said King.
Another possibility is passing government funding at existing levels but revisit funding for immigration enforcement in the new Congress and take it out through a process known as recision.
“After money is appropriated, we can go in and claw it back so to speak. That proposal overlooked the idea that a recisions bill would have to have a presidential signature,” said King.
King has already drafted a bill that would automatically cut out funding for unconstitutional immigration actions by the president, both past and future.
“It’s a bill that self-enacts. If the president violates the Constitution or issues a policy that reduces immigration enforcement, it requires that he certify that it’s constitutional and that it doesn’t diminish enforcement. Otherwise, it automatically shuts off the funding, not only for his policy going forward, but retroactively to the DACA component and the Morton memos that are part of the beginning of this immigration constitutional crisis,” said King.
Beyond that, King is ready for whatever it takes to win the political fight.
“That might be cutting off the funding. That could be effective. Another one that we might have to do is censure the president. That’s happened once before in the history of this country. That doesn’t take us down the full route that Bill Clinton experienced. That would be the last resort,” said King.
The congressman stressed again the fight over executive authority vs. enumerated powers for the Congress will determine the fate of our form of government.
“This constitutional republic cannot survive if we have a president who is going to defy the constitution and his own oath to it. Every member of Congress takes an oath to uphold the Constitution, House and Senate. We have a duty too. That duty is to defend the Constitution,” said King.
Three Martini Lunch 11/18/14
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review enjoy hearing Jonathan Gruber explain how President Obama was directly involved in the creation of the Cadillac Tax inside Obamacare and they react to National Journal’s Ron Fournier saying Obama has destroyed trust between the public and government. They also rip media and rabble rousers for ginning up the riot atmosphere in Ferguson. And they rip Mary Landrieu and Louisiana Democrats for a new radio ad accusing Bill Cassidy and Bobby Jindal of race-baiting against Obama and lying about basic economic facts.
‘They Were Just Being Deceitful’
President Obama says Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber was “some adviser who never worked on our staff” and said the lengthy debate over the law proves there was compete transparency with the American people, but Georgia Rep. Tom Price calls the president’s characterization of events as “fiction” and “deceitful.”
A political firestorm erupted last week when a frustrated American citizen began posting videos of M.I.T economist and Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber boldly explaining how the law was passed due to a lack of transparency on key issues. In the videos, Gruber said the administration deliberately hid the fact the individual mandate amounted to a tax and that young and healthy people would pay higher premiums to cover the cost of care for older, less healthy people. Most damaging was Gruber’s assertion that the “stupidity of the American voters” allowed the sleight of hand to work.
This past weekend, President Obama addressed the controversy during a press conference at the G-20 Summit in Australia. In response to a question from Ed Henry of the Fox News Channel about whether his administration misled the American people, Obama quickly distanced himself from Gruber.
“The fact that some adviser, who never worked on our staff, expressed an opinion that I completely disagree with in terms of the voters, is no reflection on the actual process that was run,” said Obama.
Price says Obama is vigorously trying to rewrite history. He says Gruber was “instrumental” in the drafting and marketing of Obamacare.
“This wasn’t a peripheral actor. I’ve shared the stage with Jonathan Gruber when we were debating this piece of legislation in 2009 and 2010,” said Price, who asserts all key players at the time knew Gruber was at the forefront of the Obamacare effort.
“He was a principal adviser, paid over $400,000 by this administration. He wasn’t on the White House staff but he was a contract employee to the administration for this piece of legislation. We would make these accusations that, ‘You weren’t being honest, weren’t being truthful with the American people. You’re trying to say the taxes won’t be increased when we know that they will.’ They were just being deceitful,” he said.
Price says Obama’s attempt to deny the obvious following Gruber’s admissions is especially infuriating.
“The president then continues this fiction that he didn’t know who this guy was. That’s nonsense. Jonathan Gruber has been to the White House on over a dozen occasions over the past couple of years and the White House knows exactly who he is. He was their individual, who helped be the architect for Obamacare. It’s just so sad that the president, again, believes that the American people are naive and aren’t able to handle the truth,” said Price.
In Australia, Obama insisted there was no way the health care debate, which lasted more than a year, was anything less then completely transparent.
“We had a yearlong debate,” said Obama. “Go back and look at your stories. The one thing we can’t say is that we did not have a lengthy debate.”
Price says Obama is right about the drawn-out debate but not much else.
“Well, it was a long debate. The problem is that one side of it, his side, the president’s side wasn’t telling the truth,” said Price.
“When one side isn’t bound by the truth, they can say anything they want. That’s exactly what the president did. That’s exactly what his administration did, and that’s why it was able to pass the House of Representatives. They were not transparent and the American people were hoodwinked and I believe many in Congress didn’t know what they were voting on and should be held accountable,” added Price.
Come January, Republicans will have a commanding majority in the House and either a six or eight-seat majority in the Senate. Price wants to see the whole law scrapped but says there are many things the Republicans will look to peel away from the law as long as Obama is in office, including the employer mandate and the medical device tax. He says he’s an eternal optimist about Obama conceding to some changes in the bill ultimately isn’t sure if Obama will show any cooperation on the issue.
As for the overall GOP strategy, some party leaders say a full repeal effort is a waste of time because they cannot muster the votes to override a presidential veto. Others, including Price, believe a vote on full repeal is essential towards keeping the promise of Republicans to repeal the law, in addition to efforts to remove individual components of the law.
“I think you’ve got to pass a full repeal piece of legislation though both the House and the Senate so the American people know who the good guys are on this issue and who’s standing in the way of what the American people want. The American people want this law repealed,” said Price.
The congressman is the leader of the effort to draft legislation designed to replace Obamacare when and if the current law is repealed.
“We call it the ‘Empowering Patients First Act’. We’re currently working on the next iteration of that, that we will introduce shortly after the first of the year. So there are ways to solve the challenges of health coverage, health costs, the insurance difficulties that people have and we can decrease the costs significantly in the health care arena. We can do all of that without putting Washington in charge of a doggone thing,” he said.
Three Martini Lunch 11/17/14
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review like a new Gallup poll showing Obamacare with it’s lowest approval and highest disapproval numbers ever. They also shudder as ISIS beheads another American. And they marvel at President Obama trying to distance himself from Jonathan Gruber by saying the process was transparent there was a long debate.