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Sunday, November 23, 2014

Obama: Absolutely not legitimate for future presidents to follow my lead on executive action.



This interview says as much about George Stephanopoulos as it does Barack Obama. To let stand in effect, Obama's position that only he has this power; not future presidents is journalistic malpractice.
“How do you respond to the argument, a future president comes in, wants lower taxes. Doesn't’t happen. Congress won’t do it — he says I’m not going to prosecute those who don’t pay capital gains tax.”
Obama seems to think that since most people comply with the tax code the prosecutorial discretion argument does not apply so no executive action would be justified. Following this logic if most Americans would quit paying taxes then a president would have the executive authority to nullify the capital gains tax under the aegis of prosecutorial discretion.
Saturday Night Live did not share Stephanopoulos' trepidation. The video below is remarkable in that there no partisan counter balance. It flatly asserts in a satirical tone that Obama has usurped congressional power.

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