tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6629981202111359685.post1640588840319396887..comments2023-03-31T20:36:28.677-04:00Comments on The Progressive Conservative: Footnote to the State of the UnionKarl Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09409113611865507622noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6629981202111359685.post-17944238837984515762010-02-17T22:33:17.669-05:002010-02-17T22:33:17.669-05:00Jay: I've been waiting to respond til I had t...Jay: I've been waiting to respond til I had the time as (fortunately) work has been busy. First, I will say the obligatory, "Thanks for Reading." Also, everything I say in this response in no way reflects on the friendship I treasure with you & your family.<br /><br />I still say Obama's comments are similar to Reagan's and actually in some respects were more practical. Reagan continuously called for a Right to Life Amendment from Congress & it was still within a "decade" of Roe when he first called for it and all but 1 justice that decided Roe were still on the Court when Reagan took office & therefore would have been there as he did so.<br /><br />Obama also called for Congressional action - a law to "correct problems" created by the decision which is much more practical and likely than a Constitutional Amendment. Legal scholars have been arguing since Citizen's United was decided whether the law opened the doors for foreign corporations to spend money on US elections. Clearly, a law should be passed to ban such a practice and I think the Court would uphold that law. For the President to call on Congress to do so in the SOTU was clearly appropriate & I still think that, given his record on campaign finance, "President McCain" would have said something very similar.<br /><br />As for the "equalness" of the branches, I truly believe that they are not Constitutionally "equal." In fact, the Executive Branch is clearly the weakest of all the branches from a Constitutional Power standpoint. But I know that's not what you're talking about. Justices & Judges do not act politically, nor should they. They were designed to be impartial and apolitical where the President and Congress were intended to be political bodies. For the political branches of government to criticize any other branch is just a political move & it smacks of hypocrisy for the Republicans to criticize someone for criticizing the courts when that has been one of the Republican's biggest talking points for my entire 37 year lifespan.<br /><br />As for my cynicism, I'm going to address that in my next post, so keep reading. Thanks again, friend!Karl Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09409113611865507622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6629981202111359685.post-72184181573829202842010-01-31T22:53:21.383-05:002010-01-31T22:53:21.383-05:00At least he called on Congress to put an immediate...At least he called on Congress to put an immediate freeze on spending starting in 2011. What is so immediate about that? The day after the SOTU speech, our elected officials voted to raise the debt ceiling by another trillion or so. Was that bi-partisan?JayLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6629981202111359685.post-29551503657679023722010-01-31T22:52:42.477-05:002010-01-31T22:52:42.477-05:00Karl, the Obama comments related to the recent Sup...Karl, the Obama comments related to the recent Supreme Court decision lowered the standard of what is considered "Presidential," and fell quite a bit short of truthful and accurate. <br /><br />Your reference to Bush and Reagan does not even compare. Why? They called on the Legislative branch to address an issue that by then was a few decades old. Obama's comments were an attempt to back-hand the court from his bully pulpit for a decision they handed down just days before. The Judiciary is an equal branch of government. His comments were intended to make it appear is if they answered to him. Would you expect the Justices to go on a speaking tour getting crowds stirred up against Congress or even the POTUS? Certainly not.<br /><br />Your cynicism may be a hint of "buyers remorse." When will you come to grips with that?JayLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6629981202111359685.post-75573251868370727842010-01-31T15:50:41.516-05:002010-01-31T15:50:41.516-05:00and what's your superbowl prediction?and what's your superbowl prediction?Bowneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12834650200216980284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6629981202111359685.post-86874784144718743352010-01-31T15:49:53.906-05:002010-01-31T15:49:53.906-05:00Your post before the S.O.U. and this one end very ...Your post before the S.O.U. and this one end very cynically. I wonder if your cynicism is widespread. It would be interesting to study if people are more cynical now than in previous generations about politics. If so, then why? And what can be done about it? If Obama can't inspire America, then who could, and how?Bowneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12834650200216980284noreply@blogger.com