Let’s Look at the Issues

You would think that Republicans in Congress would finally accept the fact that Barack Obama has won two general elections and is indeed the President of the United States.

But both House and Senate Republicans remain reluctant to accept Obama as President and seem intent on doing what they want instead of respecting the roles of the three separate branches of our government.

A prime example of the disrespect Republicans have displayed toward the President occurred during a State of the Union address several years ago when Obama told Congress that undocumented immigrants would not swell the cost of the Affordable Care Act because they would not be eligible for the program. Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted—loud enough to be heard on television—“You lie!” Rather than scold Wilson for this unprecedented display of disrespect, many Republicans rallied around him. Five years later, Obama’s words are still true. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, thus showing that it is Joe Wilson who is the liar, not President Obama.

Another example of this disregard for the twice popularly elected U.S. Chief Executive is the GOP members of Congress heatedly criticizing President Obama’s recent executive order that will take away the immediate threat of deportation from several million undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children by their parents or whose own children were born in the U.S. and are therefore American citizens. The Obama initiative is all about keeping families together. The Republicans’ refusal to use their majority in Congress to enact any form of immigration reform is all about keeping families apart.

The recent open letter to Iran written by Tom Cotton—who has not even served one full year in the Senate—and signed by him and 46 other Republican Senators, is still another example of the GOP’s disregard for both the President and for their own responsibilities under the U.S. constitution.

As everyone knows, the U.S. and Iran are in difficult negotiations for a possible agreement that would end any aims Iran may have to develop nuclear weapons. The Republicans’ open letter claimed that it was intended to inform Iranian leaders and the people of Iran about how the U.S. government works and what the U.S. Constitution says. The letter then proceeded to misinform the Iranians on both issues.

There are many other examples of the Republicans’ disregard and disrespect for President Obama, the most recent of which concerns his nomination of Loretta Lynch to replace Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney General. As of March 19, Loretta Lynch’s nomination had taken longer for a confirmation vote than that of any nominee in the last 30 years.

This is a disgrace. Lynch has very strong credentials. She is only opposed by groups like the NRA that oppose gun safety laws. She clearly would win a Senate confirmation vote, but the Republicans won’t schedule one.

“For months and months, Republicans have failed to move forward with any nomination using any excuse they can, except for any credible objection to her nomination itself,” said Senator Chuck Schumer.

Governor Cuomo had similar thoughts, saying this is yet another occasion that clearly shows how the Republicans in Congress allow petty politics to dominate substance. The Governor added, “No one debates Loretta Lynch’s credentials as anything less than stellar. The irony of it is that the Republicans even play politics at the nation’s Department of Justice.”

We couldn’t agree more. It is obvious that the same Republicans who said they couldn’t wait for Eric Holder to step down as Attorney General are intentionally keeping him in office longer just to play political games by stalling the confirmation of his replacement, who would be the first African-American woman to serve in that post.

These are the same Republicans who shut down the government two years ago when they couldn’t get their way, and have twice more threatened to repeat this misguided action. These are the same Republicans who last November said they would show the country they know how to lead after voters gave them the majority in both houses of Congress.

It is sickening to see how disrespectfully these Republican members of Congress behave. Fortunately, we have a U.S. President who counteracts this childish behavior by conducting himself with dignity and class. While the Republican leaders in Congress act like petulant children, it is a relief to see that we have a U.S. President who acts exactly as he should: Presidential.