SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE EDITORIAL: President Obama’s shameful death-benefit theater.
The Obama administration insisted Tuesday it had no choice but to withhold death benefits to relatives of 1st Lt. Jennifer Moreno, a 25-year-old soldier born and raised in San Diego, and four other soldiers killed since the partial government shutdown began Oct. 1.
This is ridiculous and perverse. President Barack Obama has used an expansive — and some legal scholars believe extreme — interpretation of his powers to unilaterally rewrite key provisions of the No Child Left Behind law, the sweeping 2002 measure that drastically reshaped federal education policies. In similar fashion, the president has unilaterally rewritten key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, his sweeping 2010 measure that is drastically reshaping federal public health policies. His administration has also essentially rewritten federal laws governing illegal immigration and penalties for drug possession.
Just this month, the federal government has authorized the spending of billions of dollars since the partial shutdown began without explicit congressional approval. . . . It is an appalling commentary on the president and his administration that they chose to bully the families of dead American soldiers for perceived political gain.
Shame on Barack Obama.
Yeah this is a dickish move. But, you know . . .
Related: Democrats Going Off-Message On Shutdown Theater.
Cracks in the monolithic wall Democrats have put up against reopening any individual part of government unless all of government is funded in one bill are starting to show.
Today, Washington, D.C., mayor Vince Gray and D.C. House delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton crashed a news conference being held by Senate majority leader Harry Reid on the Capitol steps.
Reid didn’t appreciate the company. As Gray leaned into Reid and demanded federal money start flowing so the District can pay its bills, Reid responded, “I’m on your side. Don’t screw this up.”
Reid was probably nervous because at the mayor’s earlier news conference, Gray had stood next to Republican congressman Darrell Issa as he criticized the Democratic-led Senate for holding up the District spending bill, which has already passed the House.
The House is working. The Senate isn’t. It’s becoming obvious.
UPDATE: More Suggestive Evidence That The Republicans Are Winning. “If Obama’s supporters are losing their arguments and their minds, that suggests the Republicans are hanging in there. My two cents: Obama’s ‘I won’t negotiate because they are being unreasonable and intransigent’ pose won’t hold as the public begins to see Obama as unreasonable and intransigent. I just don’t see ‘I’m crazier than they are’ as a winning play.”
Hey, you know what looks unreasonable and intransigent? Removing the handles from water fountains on federal trails.
ANOTHER UPDATE: From the comments:
Wanna get to Harry Reid? Call all those hotels and casinos in Las Vegas and tell them you won’t play until Harry backs down. Tell the books you won’t bet on sporting events, especially NFL games. They can get to Harry far more quickly and effectively than anybody else. Boycott Vegas.
You know, that just might work.