Democrats are just better at this stuff: Obama used executive power for progressive ends — and Hilla

[Madam45for2923]

Democrats are just better at this stuff: Obama used executive power for progressive ends — and Hillary Clinton will follow his lead
One overlooked aspect of this crazy campaign: How the president uses his (or her!) executive powers and for what


Even though the 2016 presidential election has become an all-consuming beast, eating up the nation’s time and attention, almost no attention has been paid to what the president actually does. A study released last week by the Tyndall Report shows that the flagship news programs of the big three networks devoted three times as many minutes to covering Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s emails — the same ones that have produced zero evidence of any illegal behavior — as they did covering real issues in the presidential campaign.

The larger media landscape, which takes in the televised debates, has delved a bit more into the nuts and bolts of presidenting and on occasion has dipped into substantive topics like picking judicial nominees, crafting a legislative agenda and conducting foreign policy. Even then, there has been little discussion about the executive duties of the executive office: building and maintaining the various federal bureaucracies that make our government work.

Only the FBI has really gotten extensive coverage this election cycle, and that’s only because the FBI’s director, James Comey, keeps making an unnecessary fuss over a bunch of Clinton emails that have yet to amount to anything.

That’s a shame because it’s in the execution of these executive duties that the president’s true power and influence can be seen. It’s not sexy, but the choices that the White House makes in staffing and directing various agencies can have deep effects on everything from health care access to reducing income inequality and making the justice system work better for everyone.

“Government is a game for wonks,” Ian Millhiser, the justice editor for Think Progress, told me via email. “It not only requires deep policy knowledge,” he wrote, adding that “it requires a creative understanding of where the levers of power are and how to work them to solve problems that aren’t often easily fixed.”

Even though Republicans control Congress and have prevented President Barack Obama from passing progressive legislation (or any other kind), he has been able to wield this executive power in a thousand little ways that don’t make many headlines but do change people’s lives for the better. There is every reason to believe that if Clinton is elected, that trend will continue.

If Republican nominee Donald Trump is elected, on the other hand, he will likely fill the federal bureaucracies with Republicans who, at best, distrust effective government for ideological reasons. At worst, he’ll fill many of these positions with unqualified cronies and yes-men, as he has done for his campaign. On top of that, as Bryce Covert, the economic policy editor at Think Progress, pointed out to me over email, Trump has also promised to reverse every policy that Obama has put into place as president.

What that would look like is terrifying because Obama got a lot done in eight years in the Oval Office, despite Republican obstructionism. What follows is a series of highlights to illustrate this legacy. It’s a legacy that Clinton is committed to preserving and expanding — and that Trump has vowed to destroy.

Continues: http://www.salon.com/2016/11/04/democrats-are-just-better-at-this-obama-used-executive-power-for-progressive-ends-and-hillary-clinton-will-follow-his-lead/

[Cha]

1. Interesting.. thank you, Madam45!

[Madam45for2923]

3. There's a lot there about all kinds of goodies Obama has accomplished!

This is why it's awesome that HRC is great at policy~

[randome]

2. Republicans are like Morlocks hiding in the shadows.

They've forgotten how to use the 'technology' of governance. They can't be reasoned with any longer. Just kept at arm's length until they die out of their own accord.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]The truth doesn’t always set you free.
Sometimes it builds a bigger cage around the one you’re already in.[/center][/font][hr]