“Pen and Phone” is the new “Congress”

A pen and a phone. That’s what President Obama recently said he had which could circumvent Congress on policy topics he wanted to get moving. Conservatives, like me, compared him to a king, giving orders and expecting everyone to jump. The Left took this opportunity to show that the number of executive orders that have been issued by Obama was less than any President in at least the last half-century. True enough, but as is usual, it’s a cherry-picked data point. There is more than one way to dictate.

Hollywood, that bastion of liberalism, is now trying to get lower taxes to bring business back to California. Turns out that high tax rates have been pushing filmmakers out of the Golden State, into other states that don’t take as much of your gold.

Mentioned links:

President Obama Has Issued Fewer Executive Orders Than Any President in Over 100 Years

All the Major Lawless Changes to Obamacare Explained in One Infographic

The Presidency Goes to Pot

Ted Cruz: The Imperial Presidency of Barack Obama

Oh, the Irony: Hollywood Liberals Plead With State of California to Lower Their Taxes

Call to Action: State Leaders Must Reclaim Film & Television Production Jobs & Keep California Competitive [Film Works petition]

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Show transcript

A pen and a phone. That’s what President Obama recently said he had which could circumvent Congress on policy topics he wanted to get moving. Conservatives, like me, compared him to a king, giving orders and expecting everyone to jump. The Left took this opportunity to show that the number of executive orders that have been issued by Obama was less than any President in at least the last half-century. True enough, but as is usual, it’s a cherry-picked data point. There is more than one way to dictate.

Take ObamaCare, please. [rimshot] The number of times Obama has delayed, changed, or outright repealed parts of the law is staggering. If the law has that many problems, fix the law. Instead, he’s doing the very thing he campaigned against when running for President. He said that George Bush had taken too much power into the executive branch.

[Obama audio, see video above]

And now, with his pen and with his phone, he’s changing laws that he has no Constitutional powers to change.

Lately, he’s been doing the same thing with marijuana laws. John P. Walters, writing at the Weekly Standard, observes:

First, the administration made a unilateral decision to curtail enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in states where smoked marijuana has been defined as medicine (the only “medicine†that cannot meet modern medical standards). Next, the administration announced it would not enforce the federal law when the states of Colorado and Washington sought to permit the open sale of marijuana.

Ted Cruz, in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, had more examples:

When Mr. Obama disagreed with federal immigration laws, he instructed the Justice Department to cease enforcing the laws. He did the same thing with federal welfare law, drug laws and the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

None of these are executive orders, but they are just as empowering of the Executive branch, and are, in fact, worse, because you can’t easily count the number of times these power grabs have been done. Executive orders are numbered. Sitting on your hands and not enforcing something goes below the radar of the average American.

When we say we are a nation of laws, not men, we mean that it is the laws that govern us, not the whims of a particular man or group of men that have no accountability. If you’re a Democrat, would you be fine with this sort of behavior from a Republican? If not, make your voice heard. Because if you don’t, we will once again get the government we deserve. The government only has what power we give it. If you want a king, you’d better be happy with a king from either party.

—

“A conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged by realityâ€, so the cliché goes. Well, if only it were that easy. Usually, they stay liberal.

Take Hollywood, please. [rimshot] This bastion of liberalism is now trying to get lower taxes to bring business back to California. Turns out that high tax rates have been pushing filmmakers out of the Golden State, into other states that don’t take as much of your gold.

The result is job loss there, and gains in states like Louisiana and North Carolina, with more business-friendly policies. The group Film Works has started a petition to have taxes cut on the filmmaking industry to bring back those jobs and economic development.

Now let’s see; high taxes push out business, and the solution is to cut taxes in order to jump start the economy and bring jobs back. If I didn’t know better, I’d say these folks were prime candidates for inclusion in the Tea Party. But of course, I do know better. One would hope that, seeing this economic reality mugging them, these Hollywood liberals would realize that this works for other industries, or the state as a whole.  One would hope.

But hold not thy breath.

Related posts:

1. 
   
2. Episode 14: Comparing Economic Plans in Real Life, and Dissolving the Federal Government
   
3. Episode 23: Wonderful Government Programs, 2016 Presidential Picks, Poverty in California, and the Fiscal Cliff
   
4. Episode 50: ObamaCare Proponents Want Exemptions, Capitalism Saving Detroit, and Judge Mandates Same-Sex Marriage in Ohio