Biden faces scrutiny over reliance on executive orders

[David Horn]

(01-31-2021, 06:41 PM)mamabug Wrote:

(01-31-2021, 12:05 PM)David Horn Wrote:

(01-31-2021, 01:25 AM)mamabug Wrote: Good. I hate executive actions in general but they've just been getting worse for the last 20 years or so.  It's a convenient way to absolve the legislature of having to do anything (if all on the same team) or the executive of having to actually work with them (if they are not).   They also allow for substantial changes to occur without debate (or scrutiny if the media is feeling particularly lazy).  The more we use them, the more it sets us up for a rotating dictatorship every 4-8 years.

Partisanship has made it impossible to actually do much of anything most of the time.  If anything, it's even worse now than it was 10 years ago.  Don't expect much if anything, unless the filibuster is crushed. Even then, the Dems are limited by Joe Manchin.  That could change if DJT actually creates a rival right-wing party.

The entire point of our constitution is to make it difficult for one party or group to 'get things done.'  Over the course of our country, Americans have repeatedly shown that they *like* gridlock - it's not a bug, it's a feature.  The only way to overcome this to make your party agenda popular enough that it gets about 60% or more of the public support.  

People whining about partisanship sound a lot to me like sports fans whining that the other team is allowed to even field a defense.

That truly may be "the point of our Constitution", but the document was written by upper class elites to serve their interests - especially the interest of slavery.  Excuse me if I fail to see that as a positive model.  During the Agricultural Age it may have been justified to some extent, but that time is long past.  Today, it's antiquated to the point of near ineffectuality.  I agree that democracy must allow for give and take, but how can that occur when the conservative side of the spectrum is so totally overrepresented in both the Senate and the Electoral College -- and the imbalance is getting larger. 

Since the election of 2000, the GOP has won a plurality only once in the Presidential race: 2004.  It has won the office in 3 of the 6 elections.  At the moment, the Senate is evenly split, but the Dems represent 41 Million more Americans than the GOP.  Asking for additional consideration is a bit cynical, don't you think?