Saying what FDR would have done is a lot like saying what would Jesus have done, both because nobody knows and because it can’t be proven false since neither FDR nor Jesus is around to say otherwise. But after four years of a rogue presidency where courts were denigrated for not serving their master, where law and the Constitution were routinely ignored, either out of basic ignorance or a more Nixonian arrogance, Biden’s White House counsel and the courts had no doubt that the CDC did not have the authority to issue an eviction moratorium.
In the face of an expired moratorium, a recessed Congress, Rep. Cori Bush embarrassing the administration by sleeping on the Capital steps and a formerly-respected Harvard law professor who spent the past four years disgracing himself with absurd legalish claims, but who now manufactured a nonsensical theory to distinguish a new moratorium from the clearly illegal one worthy of Rudy Giuliani’s and the Krakens, Biden and the White House shut their eyes tight and dove off the ledge.
President Biden knew it. He knew it was a crackpot scheme backed by extremely motivated believers desperately seeking an excuse to rationalize why torture of enemy combatants an eviction moratorium was constitutional. He knew it but he just didn’t care.
Why is the eviction moratorium constitutional, I asked the president. Biden told me "I can't guarantee you the court won’t rule that we don't have that authority but at least we'll have the ability to, if we have to appeal, to keep this going for a month-at least. I hope longer." pic.twitter.com/sBTOLmbPDV
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) August 5, 2021
The position appears to be that, even though he knows it’s unlawful, this is the outcome he wants and he will do it for as long as he can get away with it. Others who similarly want this outcome tout the rationalizations used to justify it. But the permutations of an executive branch unconstrained by law or Constitution should be obvious.
After four years of a president whose every move, lawful or flagrantly unlawful as happened regularly, was ripped to shreds, his replacement is demonstrating that he’s no less inclined to break the law to accomplish the outcomes he prefers, or at least the outcomes he feels he must achieve to avoid being burned at the stake by his own party.
And the same people who screamed constantly about how awful Trump was are now apologists for Biden. It’s not that they were against a lawless dictator. It’s that they want the dictator to be their dictator.
Biden’s statement may be as cynical as any since Nixon.
“…but at least we’ll have the ability to, if we have to appeal, to keep this going for a month-at least. I hope longer.”
When he says “we’ll have the ability to,” it stinks of Andrew Jackson’s purported reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Worcester v. Georgia.
John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.
The courts may have said this was unlawful, but what are they going to do about it? And when the district judges before whom the already filed suits come rule against the CDC’s defiance of the courts, “if we have to appeal, to keep this going for a month at least,” Biden is saying he will persist in pushing unlawful action, knowing before, during and after, that it’s unlawful, because the only thing he cares about is the outcome.
If it was wrong when Nixon did it, it’s still wrong. If it was wrong when Bush did it, it’s still wrong. If it was wrong when Trump did it, it’s still wrong. And when Biden does it, it’s still wrong.
The problem is that this arises in the context of the CDC’s eviction moratorium, but that’s merely the nuts and bolts of the moment, of critical importance to small minds who fail to comprehend principles and instead latch on for dear life to irrelevant and petty distinctions that somehow rot otherwise working minds into believing that this time it’s different, this violation of everything we once held dear won’t cause a nation to slide down the slippery slope into the abyss.
When you desperately need an excuse to do what you desperately want to do, you’ll believe whatever you need to believe. But it’s a lie, a deception desperate people tell themselves to not feel like the slimy, unprincipled scum they are.
From the outset of this republic, it was clear that the judiciary was the Least Dangerous Branch, and we’ve been reminded of it ever since. Yet, for most of our history, they’ve somehow endured, by not pushing the Executive or the public too hard, too fast, too far. But now they are maligned as partisan by politicians, left-wing academics and pundits, in an effort to neuter the judiciary’s legitimacy and provide cover for ignoring its vitality as a co-equal branch of government and doing what they want despite knowing, without any serious doubt, that they are engaging in lawless conduct. Once the law, the Constitution, ceases to matter, you can do anything as long as you have the support of your tribe and the clout to prevent the other tribe from taking control.
The irony in this instance is that the eviction moratorium kicks the can down the road apiece, but fixes nothing. The hope is that buying a couple more months will give states time to distribute COVID relief monies to tenants to prevent mass evictions. Maybe it will, and maybe it will provide some relief to some tenants and landlords. If so, then problem solved: No harm, no foul.
Except there is a foul. There is a president who decided that he can ignore the law, the Constitution, the courts, when he wants to. For those who believe that as long as they agree with the outcome, the means of ignoring the law is acceptable, bear in mind that supporters of every president before Biden who acted similarly felt the same.
There are two differences this time, first that we thought we were coming off the nadir of Trump’s lawlessness to a new administration that might not pursue an agenda you preferred, but at least was not flagrantly disrespectful of the law and the judicial branch of government. We could disagree with his policy positions, but at least the disagreement would be within normal parameters and not whether he just blew off the law when it got in the way.
The second is that now that the Biden administration has crossed the line into a rogue presidency, acquiescing to the worst of his party’s demands upon the excuse of a disgraced former “scholar” to enable federal agency bureaucrats to dictate how a nation will conduct itself, there are no limits to the “bold and transformative” damage he can do. To the extent Biden hid behind law to refuse the most outrageous and unseemly demands of his fringe left wing, he’s now given away his cover. Once a president goes rogue, the rest is just dickering over price.
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“We could disagree with his policy positions, but at least the disagreement would be within normal parameters and not whether he just blew off the law when it got in the way”
Who is this “we” you speak of? That Biden would ignore the law every bit as flagrantly as Trump, if not more so (and I’d argue it’s even more so–he’s saying, in public, that he knows perfectly well he has no authority to do what he’s doing; I don’t recall Trump ever going that far), should have been no surprise to anyone paying any attention at all.
I really hate it when the first comment is idiotic. I guess I’m going to have to be brutal in trashing partisan idiocy on this post. You’ve been warned.
I had the thought while reading this that some mutton head would say something like…”well that’s a better reason to impeach him than, blah, blah, blah….”
Close enough, I suppose.
As to the subject of the post, I didn’t have to ask my psychic where CUJoe would land on this one…
I knew it would happen as well. I just hoped for a thoughtful comment or two that wasn’t partisan bullshit before it all went south.
This was coming, as sure as old Cuban dudes will play dominoes in a Little Havana park today, like every day.
Administrations* try to expand their authority. Jackson’s, Andrew Johnson’s, Teddy’s, FDR’s, Nixon’s, Bushes’. But the last three do it in the open. Obama had a pen and phone. Trump with every breath and now Biden’s administration openly stating it will ignore the core of protection from governmental overreach, separation of powers at least, to satisfy those unable to predict consequences beyond the moment.
Protections, numerous they are, against populism were included in the Constitution, constitutions of every state and hundreds of statutes for a reason. History, back to biblical days, warned of the danger of populism. It destroys societies, and not just free societies.
I fear what seems inevitable. Trying to explain the consequences of this path to virtually anyone is a frustration. It’s really saddens me to include most lawyers in that group.
*I don’t say presidents because they’re just the spokesperson for the administration.
You and I both know that it takes no brilliance to be a lawyer, and most aren’t all that bright. But at least most lawyers were trained in the ability to spot issues and reason the logical consequences. It’s unclear to me whether they are no longer taught to think, they lack the capacity to reason or they are so deeply indoctrinated in this secular religion that they care about nothing but praying to the right god. But I have feared for a while that we’ve lost the lawyers. Dick the Butcher understood what that meant.
I don’t know about other states, but in Texas evictions are handled by justices of the peace according to state law. My hope is that they will be federalists in the pure sense of the word and ignore the President and the CDC directives and follow state law. As you note about Andrew Jackson and John Marshall, Joe Biden made his decision, let him enforce it.
How about judges just judge without being anything except fucking judges?
Trump creates lawless ban. No one does anything to fix the huge headache it caused. Biden, who clearly will get the fallout if he does nothing, extends it the only way he can.
Greenfield: ahhhhh holy shit the sky is falling this is despotism holy shit
Dude you are exhausting. Maybe take a break from current events for a while. You’re seriously beyond stupid sometimes.
Much as I appreciate your putting the exclamation mark on the point, it really wasn’t necessary this time. Biden said it himself.
Scott called out Trump. Scott is calling out Biden. The difference between you and Scott is that Scott expected Biden to be better than Trump. You don’t give a damn how bad he is, as long as he’s your tribe’s bad. You’re just the left side of fascism and proud of it.
The Law of Foolish Expectations.
Trump did something – anything, much less a lawless ban – and nobody said anything? The only way you can believe that’s true is if you were in a coma for for years. That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard this week.
Meanwhile we have a president now that has effectively admitted he’s defying the Supreme Court.
Jay, if it was YOUR property that the government was taking, I dare say you wouldn’t be so sanguine about it. You’re one of those rights for me but not for thee people.
Kavanaugh’s statement was not helpful. Basically “Yes, it’s illegal, but the CDC is ending it, so the case will become moot.” Can’t the Biden Admin point to this and say “We’re just going to extend it a month, so even though it’s illegal, it’s about to become moot again, so no harm no foul. A majority of the Supreme Court said this is fine last time it reached them.”? Just enough wiggle room to deny that you’re defying the Supreme Court.
Except for all the circuit court decisions, Kavanaugh’s concurrence only because it would be moot before SCOTUS reached it, the WH Counsel’s position that it was unlawful, there might have been wiggle room if one’s brain dead. But then, this isn’t the point of the post, yet you still went there.
I’ve had several other lawyers argue with me that it’s not unlawful because Kavanaugh’s opinion WaS OnlY DiCta. What is wrong with these people who are supposed to be able to think critically and logically?
Motivated reasoning makes otherwise smart people say very dumb things.
This seems like the new normal: lawyers advise that a law or executive action is illegal, the administration or legislature says they want to do it anyway, lawyers advise them that they will lose, but give a timetable on how long litigation takes, appeals, etc, and the client understands implicitly, if not explicitly, that they have X days or months to act illegally before they get a final court order. We saw something similar with those state and local COVID-19 relief funds for BIPOC only, that flagrantly violated Equal Protection and civil rights laws and used the most cynical, frivolous arguments to argue it wasn’t somehow illegal; but the agencies rushed to get the money out the door before a denied plaintiff could sue and a court would order them to stop. What remedy could the court order, tell them to get the millions, or tens of millions, of dollars back? The fund is dry, the case is moot.
Ethics rules aren’t well built to handle lawfare strategy like this, so the lawyers are ok, and there’s no legal consequences administration officials or government bureaucrats could face, except impeachment. But why would he be impeached for illegal conduct that his party urged him to take?
We have returned to a level of executive fiat and pandering to one’s perceived supporters that has not been seen since the declining days of ancient Rome.
Bruce, don’t. Just don’t. Not today.
This is why I am part of the libertarian plot to take over your government and leave you alone. But when I am honest with myself, I know that, after winning power, the libertarian party would soon be infested with the same power hungry narcissists using the same shoddy logic to control us.
And one naked guy running across the middle of every press conference.
Given the President’s statement, I wonder how government attorneys are going to avoid Rule 11 sanctions or how they can sign a pleading certifying that “ It is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation …”
When Rule 11 sanctions are imposed on the govt, who pays them?
Blame the Supreme Court. They were brave enough to desegregate the schools. Then found a way for abortions. Recently, they became cowards about guns. Then Obamacare. Pathetic. The other two branches called their bluff on evictions. Biden isn’t new since Jackson nor Nixon, but inevitable. The Supreme Court is dragging its feet unlike any other time in less cases.
Your comment is fine, but if you don’t provide a real email, it gets trashed. You ain’t special, snowflake.
I don’t see why anyone should be surprised that the Biden administration is every bit as eager to be an Imperial presidency as his previous employer the Obama administration. Finding a prawf willing to say it’s OK to deny SCOTUS is,equally unsurprising these are people who have decades long records in politics that reliably predict behavior.
I was up all night wondering whether you saw “why?” Thanks for clearing that critical question up.
But you gotta admit the Jeep Rubicon in the background was “electric”…
Invest in bricks esteemed one, that is where is is at…
You’re made clear that you’re anti-Trump, so why so harsh on Biden? Even if he’s fudging the line, at least it’s for a good cause.
If Biden wants to be better than Trump, he has to be better than Trump. Whether you favor an eviction moratorium or not, that’s irrelevant. And even more to the point, because I’m a liberal, I expect the Dems to not merely be better than Trump, but to be good, worthy of governing, and mere shills pandering to the worst but loudest element of the party.
Some people still have intellectual integrity and our esteemed host is one. If it’s wrong when the other guy does it, it’s still wrong when your guy does it.