Joe Biden has issued more executive orders during his first eight months in office than every single president except his old boss, Barack Obama. But he says he can’t do anything to keep Republicans from establishing voting integrity in the states or restricting abortion.
That’s a job that Congress has to do.
The Constitution is proving to be a pesky impediment to Biden and the Democrats’ best-laid plans to remake America. Biden says he’s done all that he can legally do to “protect” voting rights and the right to abortion. It’s now up to Congress to move the ball forward.
The White House has been steadfast on some of the most pressing issues for Democrats that its hands are largely tied. Biden administration officials argue they’ve done as much as they can to unilaterally protect voting rights, and that Congress must now pass legislation bolstering protections.
Officials sounded a similar note last week on abortion, with President Biden vowing his administration would review potential remedies at the federal level. But he and others ultimately acknowledged Congress must codify access to an abortion for women to fully protect the precedent set by Roe v. Wade.
It’s just not a good enough excuse for the radical activists — which makes them truly dangerous to the law and American liberty. The radicals specifically want an end to the filibuster in order to destroy minority rights as well as have the opportunity to pack the court with friendly justices by expanding the number of Supreme Court justices from 9 to at least 15.
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Realistically, Biden has few options.
But while the administration has pledged to use “every lever” at its disposal to fight back against the Texas law, White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged Thursday that it’s unknown what measures are even possible at the federal level.
“The president has every hope, expectation that the leaders of agencies across the government who have capacity will seek every way they can, every means they can to protect a woman’s right to choose in Texas,” Psaki said at a press briefing.
The “voting rights” bill doesn’t have a chance in the Senate, nor does codifying Roe v Wade into law. It’s not even clear that a simple majority in the Senate would mean approval of either of those bills. The radicals may think they can scare moderate Democrats into voting with them, but this is a 50-50 country right now and there are a lot of senators who are not going to walk the plank for the likes of Bernie Sanders. And not just the moderates.
There are legitimate interests that must be recognized and dealt with when any legislation is proposed, and there are concerns among several factions of Democrats about the voting rights bill ending local control of elections. The radicals — even if they get rid of the filibuster — are not likely to get everything they want in every piece of legislation that gets to the floor of the Senate.
For that reason, Biden is moving cautiously and allowing Congress to take the lead. It’s a good political strategy, but it’s not necessarily good governance.
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