Bricker
August 18, 2013, 10:32pm
146
Ravenman:
First of all, the primary example I have used to explain why I think that Presidents should not be forced to follow a statutory deadline in the face of practical consequences rather than political views has been the non-partisan issue of space travel, so I feel confident that your cries of political partisanship of “only Democrat Presidents have special powers” can be safely excluded from my comments.
I have regrettably missed your space travel comments, but I suspect, based on the remaining portion of the post I’m replying to, that I’d agree with them completely.
The implementation deadline of July 1, 2020, simply can’t be met. The President says an extra year is needed to make sure that this program is actually implemented as Congress intended.
I’m fine with that. President Romney is working to fulfill the law as best as he can, and barring any new revelations about his intent, it seems reasonable that the Chief Executive simply cannot snap his fingers to make situations beyond his immediate control such that the law will be implemented by a statutory deadline, but it seems that with a little extra time, the will of Congress will be carried out.
OK. So far, so good.
But, on January 20, 2021, President Howard Dean is inaugurated. He, like me, doesn’t like this law. He knows full well that the program is constitutional (for the Roberts court has already ruled on it), but he just doesn’t think it’s good public policy. He wants to delay implementation because he doesn’t like the law. In my view, he is not upholding his oath of office, and I believe his actions to be illegal.
To put it simply: President Romney would be acting like a responsible program manager who just simply can’t cope with the deadline that has been handed to him, but he’s acting fairly. President Dean would be acting like a dictator.
And here, the problem… wait, what?
Look, you have answered clearly, concisely, reasonably, and completely every point I’ve made. So as it happens, I have nothing to say to you except thanks for answering.
OK, one other thing. I don’t think your opinions are shared by the other responders to this thread.