Obama Arctic Drilling Ban
While the Left panics over President-elect Donald Trump and the erosion of democratic norms  President Barack Obama went ahead and issued another decree without any regard for the nationâs legislative process.
Imagine the scene: For the good of the nation and the future of energy independence  a lame-duck President  Trump  dusts off an obscure law to open Arctic and Atlantic drilling indefinitely. And to further impede the agenda of the incoming government   Trump  signs an agreement with Russia â without any debate in the Senate â to ensure itâs even more difficult to reverse.
But the outgoing president is merely âimplementing new environmental protectionsâ that stand âto thwartâ  Trump âs agenda (by which I assume reporters mean the Republican agenda  as in the people who were just elected to run Washington  D.C.).
#related#Your moral certitude on environmental issues (or immigration or gun laws) does not excuse abuse any more than  Trump âs beliefs excuse his attacks on ânorms.â Everyone has moral certitude about the issues that matter to him. And if the unifying governing principle of an entire party is achieving policy goals  then stop pretending you care about the erosion of democratic norms. To be taken seriously as a defender of constitutional governance  you might have to stand up for the process when itâs inconvenient from time to time. That might mean defending the Electoral College or pointing out that legalizing millions of illegal immigrants without Congress is an abuse of power.
Democrats have failed on this front  so their overwrought grievances about  Trump âs disposition smack of hypocrisy. In fact  as one disastrous presidency ends  itâs more obvious than ever that  Trump  has every reason to be emboldened by Obamaâs actions and the rampant partisan hypocrisy that infects America.
While the Left panics over President-elect  [TGT]  and the erosion of democratic norms  President Barack Obama went ahead and issued another decree without any regard for the nationâs legislative process.
Imagine the scene: For the good of the nation and the future of energy independence  a lame-duck President  Trump  dusts off an obscure law to open Arctic and Atlantic drilling indefinitely. And to further impede the agenda of the incoming government   Trump  signs an agreement with Russia â without any debate in the Senate â to ensure itâs even more difficult to reverse.
But the outgoing president is merely âimplementing new environmental protectionsâ that stand âto thwartâ  Trump âs agenda (by which I assume reporters mean the Republican agenda  as in the people who were just elected to run Washington  D.C.).
#related#Your moral certitude on environmental issues (or immigration or gun laws) does not excuse abuse any more than  Trump âs beliefs excuse his attacks on ânorms.â Everyone has moral certitude about the issues that matter to him. And if the unifying governing principle of an entire party is achieving policy goals  then stop pretending you care about the erosion of democratic norms. To be taken seriously as a defender of constitutional governance  you might have to stand up for the process when itâs inconvenient from time to time. That might mean defending the Electoral College or pointing out that legalizing millions of illegal immigrants without Congress is an abuse of power.
Democrats have failed on this front  so their overwrought grievances about  Trump âs disposition smack of hypocrisy. In fact  as one disastrous presidency ends  itâs more obvious than ever that  Trump  has every reason to be emboldened by Obamaâs actions and the rampant partisan hypocrisy that infects America.