"They Say It Is A Capital Offense"

(With apologies to Bob Marley)

Ever since Boehner announced his intention to sue president Obama over "executive overreach", the pending lawsuit has become the talk of the town in Washington, DC. The news set off a feeding frenzy of speculation and criticism towards Boehner for wasting everyone's time with such a frivolous lawsuit.

For his part, Obama and company are reportedly thrilled about the lawsuit, eager to use it to make clear distinctions between a do-nothing Congress and a president who is being sued for trying to do his job:

[H]ere is something that shouldn’t be ignored: The White House LOVES the lawsuit. For one thing, it gives meaning to the White House’s various executive actions. Earlier this year during the State of the Union, many of us proclaimed [the president and his team are] simply playing “small ball.” But given this lawsuit, Republicans certainly don’t see them being small.

 

In addition, the lawsuit only emphasizes the contrast that one branch of government is doing SOMETHING while the other branch is doing NOTHING. Bottom line: The White House sees a political opportunity here – an opportunity that Republicans might not have seen coming.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/why-immigration-reform-died-congress-n145276

But now we can set aside some of the speculation, as the National Republican Senatorial Committee has finally come up with the bullshit charges they've decided to include in their lawsuit:

1) The time President Obama waived Obamacare for Unions, but not for you.

 

2) The time The Obama Administration spied on journalists and wouldn’t say why.

 

3) The time President Obama decided to attend the Senate Democrats retreat but not campaign with any of them.

 

4) The time President Obama restricted journalists from taking video and photos of him. Instead forcing them to use media provided by the White House.

 

5) The time President Obama delayed the KeystoneXL pipeline for more than 5 years, costing tens of thousands of jobs.

 

6) The time President Obama told you, you could keep your health plan even though he knew you couldn’t.

Source: http://www.nrsc.org/blog/6-times-the-president-did-whatever-he-wanted

This is it? These are the "high crimes and misdemeanors" that Republicans find egregious enough that they're suing the president - whining about the Keystone XL pipeline and attending a retreat for Senate Democrats?

In a previous blog post, I expressed a lot of anger over this obvious election year stunt. Today I can't help but shake my head over how pathetic this has become.

There have been many scandals of various sizes over this nation's two hundred twenty-odd year history: credit mobilier, tea pot dome, Watergate, Iran-Contra....

Now in 2014, Republicans are seriously arguing that Obama attending a retreat for Senate Democrats and then not campaigning with them is an example of an "imperial presidency" that must be shut down with a lawsuit.

Let's hope that Democrats add to their numbers in Congress this November so that there are actually adults working in Congress.