|
Welcome to the International Skeptics Forum, where we discuss skepticism, critical thinking, the paranormal and science in a friendly but lively way. You are currently viewing the forum as a guest, which means you are missing out on discussing matters that are of interest to you. Please consider registering so you can gain full use of the forum features and interact with other Members. Registration is simple, fast and free! Click here to register today. |
12th March 2020, 05:43 AM | #281 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,800
|
It means doing things the right way, giving them a chance to cooperate with you, and if they don't you get them done regardless.
Put legislation forward, and if McConnell (assuming he's still around) doesn't let it hit the Senate floor, put it into place as an executive action. All of it. McConnell don't want a vote, McConnell don't get a vote. Each year, draft a set of appointee candidates for the Senate's consideration. If they don't get hearings withing a reasonable time limit, they don't get a budget. No promises to be reneged on, no unspoken but mutually-understood mores to be broken in technically-legal betrayals. I don't think Biden's got the spine for that. Whereas I'm a cynical bastard so I'm wondering why Trump hasn't invaded someone by now. Presidents don't lose elections in wartime. |
12th March 2020, 05:46 AM | #282 |
Fiend God
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: In a post-fact world
Posts: 96,875
|
|
12th March 2020, 05:47 AM | #283 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Mounts Farm
Posts: 11,901
|
|
__________________
“Knowledge is Power; France is Bacon.” |
|
12th March 2020, 05:47 AM | #284 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,800
|
|
12th March 2020, 06:37 AM | #285 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Puget Sound
Posts: 17,528
|
|
__________________
To survive election season on a skeptics forum, one must understand Hymie-the-Robot.
|
|
12th March 2020, 06:57 AM | #286 |
No Punting
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Not In Follansbee
Posts: 5,781
|
|
12th March 2020, 06:57 AM | #287 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
Correct.
In the United States, an executive order is a directive issued by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the United States Constitution gives the president broad executive and enforcement authority to use their discretion to determine how to enforce the law or to otherwise manage the resources and staff of the executive branch. The ability to make such orders is also based on express or implied Acts of Congress that delegate to the president some degree of discretionary power (delegated legislation).Note that EOs are expressions of the President's authority over the employees of the Executive Branch. He can direct them in the execution of their duties, including law enforcement priorities and the like. He cannot create new legal requirements, nor bind the citizenry with new laws. He can't enforce laws that haven't been passed by Congress, nor can he allocate funding except as provided by Congress. Beelzebuddy's fantasy that Biden could propose a new law, then enact it as an EO, is exactly that: a fantasy. ("Delegated legislation" is a more nuanced topic that can certainly be debated, but probably isn't worth the effort here. If it's an aspect of presidential authority that interests you, feel free to research it and tell us what you find.) Name one EO that Trump has signed, that is effectively new legislation. Name one legislative initiative Biden has promised, that he could conceivably enact via EOs in the face of an obstructionist Congress. Or would you like me to dig one up for you, and we can examine it together? |
12th March 2020, 07:16 AM | #288 |
Maledictorian
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 22,558
|
Overton Window much?
Biden's platform is incredibly progressive, just not as progressive as Sanders'. It's weird to claim that Biden just wants to return to the Status Quo Ante. And it seems that Biden is moving to the left to woo Sanders' supporters for the general election. |
__________________
“Don’t blame me. I voted for Kodos.” |
|
12th March 2020, 07:46 AM | #290 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 20,625
|
Uhhh.... no. Because I have already addressed/debunked your arguments several times before.
Quote:
Yes, many Hillary supporters voted for McCain than BernieBros voted for Trump. But here's why you cannot compare the 2 situations: McCain would have been a competent president. As Obama said (to paraphrase)... "While we differed in matters of policy I never thought that McCain couldn't do the job". So had McCain won the election (due to Hillary supporters switching to McCain), they would still have ended up with someone who knew what they were doing. On the other hand, any BernieBro who voted for Trump was not just selecting someone with different policies... they were picking someone who was a bigoted con-artist who was totally unsuited for the job. A man who openly talked about using nuclear weapons and engaging in war crimes. A man with little or no grasp of anything relevant to the role of the presidency. And that's what 1 in 10 BernieBros decided to select... not just someone who had different ideas regarding tax rates or foreign policy, but a man who ended up calling neo-nazis "fine people" and has declared the press "enemy of the people". (I doubt that McCain would have done either of those things.)
Quote:
|
__________________
Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppins Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
|
12th March 2020, 07:49 AM | #291 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 20,625
|
Quote:
|
__________________
Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppins Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
|
12th March 2020, 07:53 AM | #292 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 35,043
|
This seems like a very convenient dodge. The only standard you can measure Bernie-Bro disloyalty is by some imagined scenario in your head. Only a dastardly Bernie Bro would vote for Trump, Clinton supporters are as pure as the driven snow and would never do such a thing. How many Clinton Pant-Suit nation dead-enders would have crossed the picket line to vote for Trump? More than 10% I suspect, but we'll never know.
The only reason that the historically small number of disloyal primary voters mattered is because HRC was such a weak candidate that the margins were so slim. Bernie supporters overwhelming supported Clinton after the primary concluded. Bernie himself campaigned hard to her. She lost despite this. If anything, blaming Bernie supporters for knifing Clinton in the back and costing the election, when it is objectively false, is only going to alienate them further from the party. No one likes being made into a scapegoat, especially when it's to launder the many failures of the HRC campaign. |
__________________
Previously known as SuburbanTurkey |
|
12th March 2020, 07:54 AM | #293 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 20,625
|
Please don't bob the thread.
I think most people here understand the different roles in the American political system, and that the President does not directly enact legislation. But, Presidents can and do influence the process, by either using the presidency as a bully pulpit, or through direct interactions with congress critters. (For example, Obamacare. Or more recently, negotiations between the white house and Pelosi regarding the economy and COVID-19). And at the end of the day, the president does have veto power, to at least block legislation that they find contrary to their preferred policy goals. |
__________________
Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppins Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
|
12th March 2020, 08:00 AM | #294 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 20,625
|
Please point to me any time McCain was caught running a fake university scam.
Please point to me the time when McCain spoke in favor of using nuclear weapons and torture. Please point to me the time when McCain labeled Mexicans 'rapists'. Then perhaps you can claim equivalency.
Quote:
|
__________________
Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppins Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
|
12th March 2020, 08:02 AM | #295 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 35,043
|
|
__________________
Previously known as SuburbanTurkey |
|
12th March 2020, 08:03 AM | #296 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
I would debate this one. The EO relates to the execution of border enforcement duties. This is well within the authority and responsibility of the Executive branch.
It's debatable whether the president needs Congress to pass a law authorizing the erection of obstacles on the border, or whether it's something the Executive can do as necessary to fulfill their national security responsibilities. Certainly Congress could pass a law saying all such construction requires Congressional approval. Then we'd see if it got challenged, and what the court say. The line between Executive and Legislative authority is fuzzy in places*. Disputes over what exactly falls on which side of the line, in those gray areas, is not the same as Beelzebuddy's fantasy that the President can simply create new laws out of whole cloth, and supersede the well-established authority of Congress. And note one very important aspect of this EO: It doesn't provide funding for execution. That's something only Congress can do. Without the assent of the Legislative branch, the EO is effectively DOA. Which is my point. Now, other than the fact that it's a fantasy, Beelzebuddy's prescription for Biden doesn't bother me. In my opinion, the President should do his job to the limit provided by the Constitution and the law. Including Executive Orders. Including EOs that pressure Congress to act. If Biden wants to "legislate" by EO, by all means he should do it. As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty much his job. And if he pushes the limits, he'll run into the same judicial and legislative checks that Trump has done. If he assents to those proper checks on Presidential power (as Trump has done), then there's no problem. It's a fantasy, but a harmless fantasy. --- *Congress has made things even fuzzier over the years, by delegating some Congressional authority to the Executive for expediency. But they can revoke this delegation and resume their full legislative powers in those areas any time they want. |
12th March 2020, 08:18 AM | #297 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 20,625
|
I have no idea. Although I kind of find it a bit hypocritical for you to complain about me having "imagined scenarios" earlier on, and then asking about another completely imagined scenario.
Here's the thing... I recognize that a politician does not have direct control over all their supporters. I recognize that Sanders cannot dictate what each and every one of his followers do in the general election. I can only criticize him for what he actually does. And that is the problem... he could have dropped out of the race weeks earlier in 2016 (when he was trailing in delegates and didn't have any real hope of winning). He should drop out now (since he's trailing badly in delegates and in most polls for remaining states). If he drops out early (when he hasn't numerically been eliminated but has no real chance of winning), then its respectable... he's done what was for the best of the Democratic party (for which he's trying to become their nominee) and for the country. And if some of his supporters end up voting for Trump? Well, at least Sanders tried. Its his foolishness of sticking in the race that is the problem.
Quote:
Secondly, keep in mind that many BernieBros switched from the Democrats to the Greens (or didn't vote in the general election at all). While you might consider those voters "anti-Trump", their little protest votes are not as useful as if they had actually voted Democrat in the general election. |
__________________
Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppins Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
|
12th March 2020, 08:25 AM | #298 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 20,625
|
So in other words Sanders' "solution" is try to use executive orders, which:
1) can easily be undone by any future republican president. (Witness the way Trump has undone many of Obama's executive orders.) 2) would make it impossible to enact many of his signature policies (such as BernieCare) since those changes cannot be enacted without congress. Can you see the problems here?
Quote:
- That Biden wouldn't actually use executive orders to at least reverse the worst of Trump's actions - That he would accept watered-down "do nothing" legislation. Sounds to me like baseless smears. |
__________________
Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppins Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
|
12th March 2020, 08:27 AM | #299 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 35,043
|
I think it's very unclear what Biden's issues are. Does anyone know what he wants to accomplish as president beyond beating Trump and beating Bernie?
I think he probably ends the worst excesses at the border, but I don't see him being a firm advocate for ending the ongoing problem of family separation of the kind that happened under Obama. |
__________________
Previously known as SuburbanTurkey |
|
12th March 2020, 08:46 AM | #300 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
Yes.
However. Even if Congress entertains no new legislation during his term, it would not affect at all the president's ability to do his actual job. The president could not take to the bully pulpit once in four years, without being derelict in his constitutional duties. That said, if Biden wants to use the celebrity power and media spotlight of the presidency to try to influence legislative outcomes, I think that's fine. If Biden wants to use his political influence and network to encourage Congress to pass the laws he wants, I think that's fine too. But Beelzebuddy isn't talking about that. He's fantasizing that if Biden's celebrity appeal and political network don't cut it, he should just legislate by EO. So I think Beelzebuddy, at least, doesn't really understand the role of the Executive branch. And I think that a lot of people, over the years, have formed the mistaken impression that the reason you elect a president is to get laws passed*. I think this is a harmful meme, that causes a lot of misplaced frustration, due to a basic misunderstanding about what to expect from each branch of government. --- *Which is a stupid idea when you think about it. The power of the president to pass laws is nothing more than the power of his influence as a celebrity. A president who wins in a landslide certainly enjoys enough public support to motivate Congress to implement his agenda. But a president who barely captures half of the electorate isn't going to be able to drum up enough public support to force Congress to do anything it doesn't already want to do. |
12th March 2020, 08:51 AM | #301 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 20,625
|
Ummm... if you look around, you can easily find what his policies are.
He wants to: - Abolish capital punishment - increase the minimum wage - Give 2 years free college - Reduce carbon emissions (including supporting nuclear power) - Implement background checks for firearms - Expand health care coverage (via the ACA), including free access to Medicaid in certain states that didn't originally sign in to it - Increased capital gains/corporate taxes - End the border wall - Increase foreign aid Everything there is an improvement over what is currently in place. (It may not be as radical as Sanders' plans, but you don't have to totally destroy what exists in order to get something better.) I also figure he'll probably nominate judges who are actually, you know, competent. Anyone who thinks "Biden is just like the republicans" has such a skewed view of American politics that they lack all perspective.
Quote:
The 'Zero-tolerance' policy enacted by Trump (that has caused the number for separations to increase) was new, and Biden's platform include reversing that policy. Any suggestion that "He will do things that Trump is doing" seems to be based on your preconceived notions that anyone who is not Sanders is somehow "all the same". https://time.com/5612868/trump-obama-family-separation/ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/11/joe-...-policies.html |
__________________
Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppins Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
|
12th March 2020, 09:14 AM | #302 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
I thought it might be fun to examine this list in the context of the fantasy of legislating by Executive Order:
- Abolish capital punishment Can't be done by EO. He could direct federal prosecutors not to seek capital sentencing. He could also direct federal prisons not to implement such sentences. It would be interesting if the Judiciary argued that the Executive is bound to carry out the sentences legislated by Congress. That's about it. He couldn't abolish it. Couldn't stop the states from having it. - increase the minimum wage Probably the best he could do is increase the base pay rates for federal employees under his authority. But maybe Congress controls that; I don't know offhand. He couldn't actually raise the minimum wage as such, nor compel employers to pay such wages. - Give 2 years free college That would almost certainly require Congressional approval for funding. He certainly couldn't compel colleges to provide this, via EO. - Reduce carbon emissions (including supporting nuclear power) He can probably direct emissions reductions, including new regulations, within the authority he has under laws already passed. He couldn't compel emitters to reduce, beyond what's already mandated by law. - Implement background checks for firearms Can't be compelled by EO. Needs a law. - Expand health care coverage (via the ACA), including free access to Medicaid in certain states that didn't originally sign in to it Assuming it's within the scope of the ACA, sure. Beyond that, he'd need new laws. Especially if he wants to compel states to sign on to free access to Medicaid (unless I misunderstand this one). - Increased capital gains/corporate taxes Needs a law. Impossible to do with an EO. Best he could do is improve enforcement of existing tax law. Assuming Congress authorizes the budget for it. - End the border wall That's one thing he could do, consistent with Trump's use of presidential authority to build the wall in the first place. - Increase foreign aid Needs a law. Can't be done by EO. So much for the fantasy. |
12th March 2020, 09:17 AM | #303 |
No Punting
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Not In Follansbee
Posts: 5,781
|
How about being part of the Keating 5?
Quote:
Compromised to allow CIA to continue torture
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Over half of the Sanders to Trump voters didn't identify as Democrats. So "switching" is at best misleading. Open primaries, people holding Democratic ballots because they live in a local area where that is the only party, etc. This whole line of argument also ignores that Obama was a far better candidate than was Clinton. |
12th March 2020, 09:27 AM | #304 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
|
|
12th March 2020, 09:27 AM | #305 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 20,625
|
Umm.... first of all your original question is what Biden "Wants to accomplish". You never asked "what could he could actually accomplish.
Secondly. I have no doubt that Biden would have significant problem getting Congress to agree with many of his plans (especially if the Republicans hold the senate). But then, Sanders would be in the same boat, so criticizing Biden over the issue and not Sanders seems a bit hypocritical. (And I know many Sanders supporters have the fantasy that "If you ask for a lot it means the other side will compromise more". That doesn't work in reality.) |
__________________
Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppins Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
|
12th March 2020, 09:30 AM | #306 |
No Punting
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Not In Follansbee
Posts: 5,781
|
In a sane world, maybe. There are so many places where Congress left the door open for a bad faith executive to do pretty much anything.
All of this is on the table if he has imagination and no respect for norms. Just declare a few national emergencies for the federal stuff, and then mess with state funds if they don't fall in line. There is also GOP style brinksmanship where he threatens all sorts of creative executive actions towards congresspeople who annoy him. The real problem isn't Congress. It would be a court system full of sleeper Trump agents that would probably sabotage these things even if they were legal. Even then, an executive could get into "Judge Roberts made his decision, now let him enforce it" mode. He doesn't seem the type for this. |
12th March 2020, 09:38 AM | #307 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
No. My original question is, can the President (Trump, Biden, or any other) legislate by EO, as Beelzebuddy fantasizes?
When I first posed the question, I even suggested examining Biden's actual platform, and seeing if any of it works the way Beelzebuddy suggests. This I have now done.
Quote:
My point is simply that Beelzebuddy is wrong: The limitations of the office can't be overcome by Executive Order. Trump isn't doing it, and Biden wouldn't be able to do it either. |
12th March 2020, 09:40 AM | #308 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
|
12th March 2020, 10:49 AM | #309 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
Bob's body of work is predicated on a known-nothing principle, where nothing useful can be known, and a wilful ignorance is the only proper epistemology.
Don't confuse my requests for clarification and specificity for attempts to deny all knowledge and useful thought. As you can see, I have concrete arguments which I am happy to develop, that lead to conclusions. You might agree or disagree with the conclusions and the reasoning behind them, but I am not simply denying that any useful conclusion can be reached. If you don't want to engage with my arguments, fine. But don't pretend they're un-engageable. |
12th March 2020, 10:52 AM | #310 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
|
|
12th March 2020, 10:54 AM | #311 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
|
12th March 2020, 11:10 AM | #312 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 60,375
|
|
__________________
Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein. |
|
12th March 2020, 11:19 AM | #313 |
Neoclinus blanchardi
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,953
|
|
__________________
Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't. Don't ask what happened to Schrodinger's dog. |
|
12th March 2020, 11:32 AM | #314 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 35,043
|
I don't think Biden is the same as Trump. I just think his proposals, even if they are successful, are not enough to meet the moment.
A Biden administration is much preferable than a Trump administration, but it's still one that is tiptoeing from disaster. This country needs radical reform, and Joe isn't going to get it. |
__________________
Previously known as SuburbanTurkey |
|
12th March 2020, 11:46 AM | #315 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: The Antimemetics Division
Posts: 69,914
|
A Sanders administration wouldn't get radical reform either, even if the Democrats took the Senate. He would need both broad public support for his radical proposals (which he doesn't have) and/or a majority in both the Senate and the House for his radical proposals (which isn't the case now and is unlikely to be the case after November).
If you're going Sanders or Bust because you are holding out for radical reform, then you're Busted even if you do elect Sanders. I could see Democrats electing Sanders on an "anyone but Trump" basis. But that doesn't mean they actually want his brand of radicalism to move forward. |
12th March 2020, 02:30 PM | #316 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
|
|
12th March 2020, 06:25 PM | #317 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 25,183
|
|
12th March 2020, 06:31 PM | #318 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 25,183
|
|
12th March 2020, 06:36 PM | #319 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 25,183
|
|
12th March 2020, 06:45 PM | #320 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 25,183
|
|
Thread Tools | |
|
|