The House Republicans’ Dangerous New Constitutional Doctrine: Repealing Laws by De-Funding Them

by Robert Reich

Sunday morning on ABC’s “This Week,” Newt Gingrich and I debated whether House Republicans in should be able to repeal a law — in this case, the Affordable Care Act — by de-funding it. Here’s the essence:

GINGRICH: Under our constitutional system, going all the way back to Magna Carta in 1215, the people’s house is allowed to say to the king we ain’t giving you money.

REICH: Sorry, under our constitutional system you’re not allowed to risk the entire system of government to get your way.

Had we had more time I would have explained to the former Speaker something he surely already knows: The Affordable Care Act was duly enacted by a majority of both houses of Congress, signed into law by the President, and even upheld by the Supreme Court.

The Constitution of the United States does not allow a majority of the House of Representatives to repeal the law of the land by de-funding it (and threatening to close the entire government, or default on the nation’s full faith and credit, if the Senate and the President don’t come around).

If that were permissible, no law on the books would be safe. A majority of the House could get rid of unemployment insurance, federal aid to education, Social Security, Medicare, or any other law they didn’t like merely by deciding not to fund them.

Here.

The Social Network, NSA Style

Isn't this special?

A new revelation in the deluge of stories exposing NSA surveillance of American citizens: Laura Poitras and James Risen are reporting that the NSA has been using its big data, since at least January 2011, “to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans’ social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information.”

Here.

Susan Rice On The POTUS' Call To Iranian President

Rice: Rouhani call was cordial

Fareed speaks with National Security Advisor Susan Rice about President Obama’s phone call on Friday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Susan Rice, can you give us a sense of how this phone call happened, who called whom?

I think, as many people know, we had indicated earlier in the week, an openness to a brief, informal encounter when President Obama was in New York at the General Assembly. And while we were open to that, the Iranians indicated that it was complicated for them in their context and so it didn’t occur.

Today, somewhat surprisingly, we were contacted by them to say that President Rouhani would like to speak to Pres. Obama on the telephone on his way out of town, and we were able to make that call come together and it was a constructive conversation.

How long was that call?

About 15 minutes, but of course, with translation, it was a brief call, but sufficient to convey messages from both sides.

Was it friendly or businesslike?

I’d say cordial and constructive.  Obviously when you have two leaders from two countries that haven’t communicated at that level for almost 35 years, it’s something of a groundbreaking event. But they both conveyed their commitment to try and explore in a constructive manner the diplomatic path. We’ve made very clear, and the president has long re-iterated – including this week at the General Assembly – that the United States will not tolerate Iran with a nuclear weapon.

But our strong preference is that this problem be resolved through diplomatic means. And obviously as a consequence of international pressure, the international community being united – of course the sanctions and the economic pressure, and the election of President Rouhani – there is an opportunity now to test the proposition of that diplomatic settlement.

~CNN Global Public Square

The Real Reason Why Walmart Loves to Pay Low Wages

Here's another way to look at it:

A hot topic of debate these days involves whether or not the federal minimum wage should be increased. Conservative economists argue that increasing the minimum wage would lead to an increase in prices—a cost that would be shifted entirely onto the backs of consumers.  Upon hearing that, it’s easy to shy away from supporting an increase in wages; however, these conservative economists are not telling the whole story.  Their theory is rooted in the belief that businesses already pay their employees the highest wages that they possibly can without affecting other aspects of the business. Here’s the problem with that notion: corporations have been posting record profits in recent years (even during the Great Recession), but wages have either decreased or stagnated. The truth is, paying employees a low wage is good for corporate profits, and we all know that profit is everything to CEO’s and share-holders.

MOAR.

The Secret Behind Conservative Opposition to Common Core Education Standards

Do you want to know why conservatives are so opposed to Common Core State Standards in education?

In effect, we are training our students to think critically about the world around them and ask deep questions about the validity and accuracy of claims presented to them.

The alarm-raising code word to foment conservative opposition is, most likely, ”critical thinking.”

Our current understanding of the meaning of “critical thinking” is closely tied to postmodern concepts that humans have the power to question “truth,” come to new understandings of reality, and interpret perspectives in situational ways. Of course, this flies in the face of the belief, popularized by mainstream Protestant influence, that truth is extant & non-malleable.

The great secret then, is that conservative power is eroding due to the fact that postmodernity and pragmatic relativism are de jure in today’s American culture. To combat this trend, conservatives are doubling down on their absolute view of the world with the full belief that a binary belief system of “always right” vs. “always wrong” will win out in the “culture wars” and that the tenants of conservative ideology will remain powerful because of their reliance on absolute morality and absolute, unwavering truth.

In conclusion, conservatives oppose Common Core because it seeks to foster robust “critical thinking” within the minds of the next generations of Americans. When critical thinking is commonplace (which, I submit, is not currently so), conservative authority will be diminished greatly, and the power of conservative evangelicalism will falter as a consequence.

Here.

GOP Meltdown...

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace said Sunday morning that he’d received opposition research from other Republicans about SenatorTed Cruz (R-TX) in advance of Cruz’sappearance this morning, a serious indication ofhow upset the GOP is with the Senator leading the risky charge to defund ObamaCare.

“This has been one of the strangest weeks I’ve ever had in Washington,” Wallace said. “As soon as we listed Ted Cruz as our featured guest this week, I got unsolicited research and questions, not from Democrats but from top Republicans, to hammer Cruz.”

Read it HERE.

Rodman has harsh words for Obama, great ones for Kim Jong Un

BEIJINGRetired NBA star Dennis Rodman left North Korea Saturday, professing his affection for autocratic leader Kim Jong Un and angrily rejecting calls to lobby for the release of imprisoned American citizen Kenneth Bae.

Despite earlier calling on Kim to set Bae free, Rodman said the Christian missionary's fate was none of his business.

"Guess what? That's not my job to ask about Kenneth Bae," Rodman told reporters upon arrival at the airport in China's capital, Beijing.

"Ask (President Barack) Obama about that. ... Ask Hillary Clinton. ... Ask those [expletive]." a visibly agitated Rodman shouted, referencing the former secretary of state.

Moar stupid here.

Before the Battle Resumes in Washington: A Reminder About What’s at Stake

Congress will reconvene shortly. That means more battles over taxes and spending, regulations and safety nets, and how to get the economy out of first gear. Which means more gridlock and continual showdowns over budget resolutions and the debt ceiling.

But before the hostilities start again and we all get lost in puerile politics and petty tactics, it’s useful to consider what’s really at stake for our economy and democracy.

For much of the past century, the basic bargain at the heart of America was that employers paid their workers enough to buy what American employers were selling. Government’s role was to encourage and enforce this bargain. We thereby created a virtuous cycle of higher living standards, more jobs, and better wages. And a democracy that worked reasonably well.

But the bargain has been broken. And until it’s remade, the economy can’t mend and our democracy won’t be responsive to the majority.

Moar here.

Robert Reich sez...

The driving force behind the folly of bombing Syria is Secretary of State John Kerry. I’m told Chuck Hegel has strong reservations, as do the Pentagon’s top generals. But Kerry has no reservations at all, and has convinced the President to stake much of his second-term presidency on it. Why? It’s possible, of course, that Kerry honestly believes that a punitive military strike against Assad is necessary, and that the benefits of such a strike would outweigh the potential costs. But I suspect something else is going on. Kerry is an intelligent man, but he has a fatal flaw. He craves the limelight. He wants to be in the center of the action and attention. Over the years I heard again and again from his Senate colleagues that Kerry grandstanded and wanted all the credit, said things that would get him on the evening news, pushed too fast and too far in order to make his mark. Recently he seemed to be making progress getting the Israelis and Palestinians back to the table, but perhaps he sensed that the incipient talks would drag on forever, and needed a new cause. 

Forty years ago John Kerry called for an end to the Vietnam War but in his public pronouncements this past week he has sounded eerily like Robert McNamara in that tragic time – urging that America show “resolve,” that our “credibility” is at stake, that our “enemies are watching,” that we mustn’t “back down.” These were not then, and they are not now, reasoned arguments; they are exhortations. Kerry is on the warpath. The President is ultimately responsible, of course, but I fear he is listening mainly to the loudest voice in the room. And that loud voice is channeling loud voices from America's past -- voices that have led us seriously awry.

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