What will President Obama do next?
President Obama seems to have turned the page on dealing with a dysfunctional Congress. With the exception of his first six months in office, he has had to deal with obstructionist Republicans who would block, or attempt to block, any efforts on his part to deal with the problems facing the nation. Illegal immigration is an excellent example of an obvious problem the Republican-led Congress is unable to sort out. Insulting President Obama serves to provide a smoke screen to hide their own ineptness, while simultaneously expressing the contempt some Republicans feel for our first black president.
Rather than dealing with real issues, Republican lawmakers are now focused on creating fake “scandals” and an upcoming lawsuit/campaign stunt, though they have yet to find any legal problem to support their efforts. If, after six years, Obama is tired of waiting for a Congress that cannot function, who can blame him for using his executive authority on everything from global warming, to discrimination, to the minimum wage.
President Obama’s willingness to keep governing without them has only enraged congressional Republicans. They were already angry and confused by their loss of the presidency “to a liberal senator from Chicago,” six years ago. His consistent, successful efforts at dealing with America’s problems, in spite of a near useless Congress, have not endeared him to Republicans.
Consider the president’s remarks, in July of last year, in advance of a cabinet meeting,
“We’ve already seen the power of some of our executive actions in making a real difference for ordinary families. But what I’m going to be urging all of you to do, and what I’m going to be continually pushing throughout this year and for the next couple of years is that if Congress can’t act on core issues that would actually make a difference in helping middle-class families get ahead, then we’re going to have to be creative about how we can make real progress.
“If Congress is unable to do it, then all of our Cabinet members here – and the head of big agencies that touch people’s live in all sorts of ways – and I’m going to be continuing looking for ways in which we can show some real progress.”
Republican leaders won’t budge, won’t compromise, won’t cooperate, and won’t work in good faith toward “any” common goal. After years of trying to negotiate with GOP lawmakers, of trying to get them to actually legislate, President Obama has given up wasting his time and energy. And who can blame him?
It is predictable, with a little over a year of his presidency left, President Obama and his team will continue to work without Congress. At this point, Republican lawmakers are focused on re-election issues, and have become even more dysfunctional.
Featured image via Flickr
