Obama to Use Executive Orders to Bypass Congress
WASHINGTON — With just 3 years of his presidency remaining, Barack Obama will bank on executive orders and judicial action to implement social policies that he cannot persuade Congress to enact, Mary L. Hauer, the President's chief domestic policy adviser, declared Thursday.
Hauer, the feisty attorney Obama named to push his social issue agenda, said the President may accomplish some of his goals through a series of executive orders and by his appointment of liberal judges to the federal judiciary.
"With a hostile Congress that doesn't show much sign of coming toward us on some of these issues, it behooves us to take the initiative when we can take it," Hauer said.
There are a number of things "the President can unilaterally do," Hauer said; her staff is studying a proposed executive order that would ban the sale of homophobic material on post exchanges at military bases.
"I guess the analogy I would use (is): Does anybody think it would be acceptable if a PX sold material that was racially bigoted? Let's say we found that a PX had material in it by the klan calling certain races various things. I don't think anybody would bat an eye if the President issued an executive order saying that we will not exploit racial differences in government bookstores on Army bases. It seems to me that it's not that far a step to say nor will we sell material that is offensive to homosexuals," he said.
Hauer, a short and round-faced woman, is a self-described "Obama true believer," who served as undersecretary of education before being appointed assistant to the President for policy development last Jan. 30.
[original article]
Thx to David Gerrold for linking to that.
Hauer, the feisty attorney Obama named to push his social issue agenda, said the President may accomplish some of his goals through a series of executive orders and by his appointment of liberal judges to the federal judiciary.
"With a hostile Congress that doesn't show much sign of coming toward us on some of these issues, it behooves us to take the initiative when we can take it," Hauer said.
There are a number of things "the President can unilaterally do," Hauer said; her staff is studying a proposed executive order that would ban the sale of homophobic material on post exchanges at military bases.
"I guess the analogy I would use (is): Does anybody think it would be acceptable if a PX sold material that was racially bigoted? Let's say we found that a PX had material in it by the klan calling certain races various things. I don't think anybody would bat an eye if the President issued an executive order saying that we will not exploit racial differences in government bookstores on Army bases. It seems to me that it's not that far a step to say nor will we sell material that is offensive to homosexuals," he said.
Hauer, a short and round-faced woman, is a self-described "Obama true believer," who served as undersecretary of education before being appointed assistant to the President for policy development last Jan. 30.
[original article]
Thx to David Gerrold for linking to that.