Then when Donald Trump was President and was quite willing to sign a repeal measure, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Republican who lost to Obama in 2008, rescued Obamacare, casting the one vote needed to prevent repeal.
The usual Republican approach, when Democrats take a huge step forward in their drive to centralize all power and authority in the federal Leviathan, has been to oppose, oppose, oppose, then compromise, compromise, compromise instead of drawing a line in the sand and defending it.
It is a fact — which Republicans had better start taking very seriously — that the Constitution gives Congress all of the “ultimate weapons” in any showdown with either the President or the Supreme Court. If Congress refuses to fund a DGB, there will be no DBG.
But Democrats have good reason to view proposals like Johnson’s as little more than window dressing. Historically, all they have to do is growl a bit and the GOP puppies scamper back to safety and agree to a compromise, one that ensures the survival of whatever government expansion it is the Democrats are defending.
There are other weapons in the arsenal the Founders gave to Congress to ensure its strength against the other two branches. Congress writes the authorizations that define the power of federal agencies. Congress can also redefine those powers.
The usual Republican approach, when Democrats take a huge step forward in their drive to centralize all power and authority in the federal Leviathan, has been to oppose, oppose, oppose, then compromise, compromise, compromise instead of drawing a line in the sand and defending it.
It is a fact — which Republicans had better start taking very seriously — that the Constitution gives Congress all of the “ultimate weapons” in any showdown with either the President or the Supreme Court. If Congress refuses to fund a DGB, there will be no DBG.
But Democrats have good reason to view proposals like Johnson’s as little more than window dressing. Historically, all they have to do is growl a bit and the GOP puppies scamper back to safety and agree to a compromise, one that ensures the survival of whatever government expansion it is the Democrats are defending.
There are other weapons in the arsenal the Founders gave to Congress to ensure its strength against the other two branches. Congress writes the authorizations that define the power of federal agencies. Congress can also redefine those powers.
