Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Keystone veto will be first of many for President Obama
President Obama issued just the third veto of his time in office this week, the fewest of any President since James Garfield. Obama is said to have issued so few vetoes because with the Democratic party's former control of the Senate, not much Obama disagreed with ever made it to his desk. Now that his party no longer has a majority in the Senate, Obama is expected to issue many more vetoes in his final two years.
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I don't think Obama will be making many more vetos. Despite the Republicans being in the majority, Congress still can't seem to cooperate as we discussed today about the Homeland Security funding. I think that if bills do make it to the President's desk then he will be making a lot of vetos.
ReplyDeleteIf Obama does veto many more bills, it will hopefully be done for a good reason. Though the Republicans may be passing bills that Obama does not agree with, he should still try to compromise with the Republicans and refrain from using the veto in order to just take down bills that do not align with his ideology. Since Obama has expressed that he does not agree with signing statements and countless vetoes, he should know that attempting to compromise should be the first thing that he does. Even so, sometimes it is difficult to compromise, and in those cases, there is not much Obama can do but veto.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Obama has only vetoed three laws while in office, this veto was an important one. Keystone XL is a very complicated idea that will do more harm then good. I think it's interesting how well this article goes along with what we are learning in class. I think the reason Obama has vetoed so few bills is because of Bush. Although Bush never vetoed, his use of signing statements was excessive. Obama called it "an abuse of executive power." I do think Obama will begin to veto more with a republican majority and no longer having to worry about reelection. I think this will be good as long as he doesn't overuse his power such as Bush did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Haley. I think that Obama will be vetoing more bills because he doesn't have to face reelection. Hopefully, he vetoes the bills for the right reason and not just because of the Republican majority. Hopefully, Obama will compromise with the Republicans and do what is best for the country.
ReplyDeleteNo president in the history of the United States has had a higher degree of contempt for his political opponents than has Barack Obama. While the recent disagreements between Republicans in the Senate and House seem to indicate that Obama may not even need to use his veto power very often in the next two years, it is still very early in the new legislative session. If, during the course of the next two years, Congressional Republicans can cohere and pass agreeable legislation with more regularity, which I think they will, Obama will be forced to act on it. Republicans have many bill proposals (over 300 of which were halted in the Democratic-controlled Senate) that will benefit the American people. If Obama wants to continue to act like a stubborn ideologue and refuse to allow the opposition party to achieve any legislative accomplishments, he should go ahead and do it. Republicans will reap the benefits of such immaturity in 2016 when Democrats have to face the "obstructionist" label with which Obama constantly hit Republicans when they were in the minority.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Becky, the legislation coming through congress, if any really is making it all the way is going to be refined enough to not have Obama veto it. The dysfunction of Congress will most likely lead to well supported bills making it to the president's desk rather than trashy pieces of legislation.
ReplyDeleteAs Becky said, I don't think that Obama necessarily will be vetoing more bills because Congress is still stubbornly in gridlock-- hardly any legislation will be passing through to him, anyway. I really hope that the political environment will change soon so that we focus on compromising to get things done. I think that Obama had every right to veto the Keystone XL Pipeline, due to my personal ideas on the issue and because such a huge bill should, in theory, be able to get a 2/3 majority from Congress. If it can't, it simply shouldn't be a law.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what many others have said. I'm not sure much legislation will actually make it to President Obama's desk to veto. Still, I hope he doesn't start using his veto power just to use it because its his last term and he's against an all Republican Congress. I hope that if he turns down a proposed bill, it's because he truly believes that bill won't benefit our country.
ReplyDeleteCongress is in gridlock and I think this will make Obama less likely to veto a lot of bills. At this point, the next two years are not going to be very productive. Congress is going to be dysfuctional and Obama will oppose most things thr GOP trues to pass which will make nothing really happen.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that Obama will be vetoing an abundance of bills due to the fact that Congress is in such a disagreement, even though their is a Republican majority. Even if he does end up vetoing more, is their anything wrong with that? He is just preforming one of his many jobs as president. I do not believe that he is playing politics like many others have stated; he is simply following his ideological judgment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what many of the above comments said. I don't think Obama will be vetoing too many bills in his final years as president. Due the gridlock in Congress, I don't think much legislation will get to Obama that is controversial enough to veto. Like others have mentioned, I hope Obama will first look to compromise when a piece of legislation crosses his desk. He disagrees so much with the actions of his predecessors when it come to vetoing, that I don't think he will veto something just because it doesn't match his ideology.
ReplyDeleteI do not think Obama will be vetoing to many bills due to all the gridlock. There just are not nearly as many bills being brought to his desk as past presidents. Although, Obama is most likely going to veto anything that Republicans are able to put on his desk. He doe not have to face reelection and can therefore act less moderate. That being said, I think Obama still has to work with the Republicans in order to help his party for the next election. If the Democrats do not win reelection, then this will seriously hurt Obamas reputation.
ReplyDeleteIf Obama knows what's good for the government currently and for his legacy, he'll avoid any conflict going forward. Unfortunately his presidency has been marred with conflict and gridlock that won't be forgotten. While I think vetoes are useful tools, it seems that they're more of a statement these days rather than a wise decision.
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