Obama – call Boehner’s bluff!

I am coming to the conclusion that, in fact, as former President Clinton suggested, rather than headlines that shout “Boehner to call Obama’s bluff” I would like to see headlines that shout “Obama to call Congress’s bluff” that detail a true executive plan to move forward without default, bypassing congress at least temporarily, if needed.

Having reviewed the Memorandum of Law from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to Congress on
the emergency powers of the presidency, I am of the opinion that President Obama could do this, and Clinton
would have done this, as would a strong president such as FDR .

If you are not familiar with the Presidency’s emergency powers, I suggest you read at least this
Memorandum http://usa-the-republic.com/emergency%20powers/crs.html

Using these emergency powers to extend the solvency of the USA until after the expiration of
the so-called Bush Tax Cuts would call Boehner’s bluff, and exhibit an understanding of both the 14th Amendment and the powers of the Presidency. This would be the act of a strong president, who understands both the powers of the presidency and constitutional law, and acts in the best interests of the citizenry as the presidency was designed to do. I note that the first president, Washington, had to do this to deal with the so-called “Whiskey Rebellion” which was an early example of the desire not to pay taxes. See:
http://new.civiced.org/resources/curriculum/washington
Washington was prescient in outlining the dangers of rigid party partisanship, such as the harmful partisanship now
gripping Washington
http://new.civiced.org/resources/curriculum/washington

If your civics education did not include study of the emergency powers (or you never really studied
civics) you may not know the power available to a self-confident and strong president.

Also, in Washington’s farewell address with its vision for our country’s future lies an antidote to the rigid and harmful
party-self-interest caused by rigid partisanship, as the Republicans are demonstrating now in their willingess to crash the country to “win”.

There is no time better time to study these than NOW as these doctrines and that history provides the
answer to the current deadlock caused by small-minded radical-right party creatures like Paul Ryan, Bachman, and the aptly named Boehner.

The answer to breaking the current avoidable deadlock lies in the conception of government for the best interest of the country, not “party”,  enunciated and envisioned by Washington, and a courageous use of the emergency power.  If ever America needed a strong president, it is now.

Deborah Sirotkin Butler
aka AmberPaw