From the WaPo:
The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, has drafted an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.
Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war. Obama advisers are concerned that bypassing Congress could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said.
After months of internal debate over how to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, White House officials are growing increasingly worried that reaching quick agreement with Congress on a new detention system may prove impossible. Several officials said there is concern in the White House that the administration may not be able to close the facility by the president’s January deadline.
So let me see if I have this right.
Writing an Executive Order to halt DADT, which would prevent people losing their jobs from … losing their jobs — Bad.
Writing an Executive Order fucking up our legal system even more due to politics — Good.
I always take WaPo analysis with a grain of salt, but no matter what, this is fucked up.
UPDATE (h/t to mcjoan). From Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic, an administration denial (emphasis in original):
(Update: An administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, flatly denied the report to me. “There is no executive order. There just isn’t one.”)
This is the second time there’s been rumors of Obama signing an executive order like this, the first one about keeping the torture pics from being released, and that one has not been confirmed either. If as mcjoan says, this is a trial balloon, the sooner shot down the better.
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… this whole way of governing, is too reactive for me and not responsive enough.
I am done with him. The only hope is to work outside the system.
…a POTUS voluntarily give up powers the last guy managed to amass to the office. The status quo always remains the same, no matter how often the names and party letters change. Power itself has no party designation.
but I never thought that Obama would change much of anything with regards to executive privilege and “transparency”. So, I am not disappointed or shocked. I am angry, and yes, it is fucked up in so many ways.
Imagine how bad it would be if McCain had won the election, and then spent the past 5 months doing all the things Obama has been doing.
Ummm… I mean… well… uhhh…
Oh never mind.
This is more and better, no?
of all Obama’s corporate backing, I still get upset with “the more things change . . . . ” syndrome.
Not trying to excuse Obama, but I do know that the DoJ is GOP stacked. And then, there’s the DoD doing its thing, too, I’m sure!
I’m still having problems believing that these directions are where Obama really is mentally — I just haven’t gotten to that point yet.
Thanks for this, Nightprowlkitty!
You don’t get to be President without playing along with those who really run the country.
Sadly, Obama is an incredible salesman and really fooled everybody.
The GOP played along and deliberately made sure Obama would win, thus ensuring a complacent populance, when they chose Palin to be the running mate. Before that they actually had a shot. That’s not what they wanted. They wanted to once again wash the American psyche with the lie of “Democracy”.
We’re in charge, right? The people. We’re in charge!
Hey, I voted, so I have no right to complain. Right?
in that bizarro speech he gave about Guantanamo, where he said the only thing Bush did wrong with all this rights-violations-stuff was NOT lay the groundwork properly to make it legal, and that he was going to do exactly that, lay the legal groundwork, so that it could be set in stone, so we could have what he called “preemptive detentions”.
Nobody hardly said a peep at the time.
It was one of the most bizarre speeches I’ve ever seen, supposedly intended, and sold, as a speech about closing Guantanamo and all of that, but instead what he was really saying was that he was going to rewrite the Constitution so we would no longer have all our basic human rights, like “innocent until proven guilty” and habeaus corpus and all of that good stuff.
Luxuries, I guess! We can’t afford those luxuries any more!
Why does ANYONE still support Obama?
This update is completely meaningless, BTW.
the President needs to come clean with us on Guantanamo.
our guy won and nothing has changed except we have less time left…
about this. mcjoan thinks they are floating trial balloon wondering how large the outcry. david talks about the wapo quoting an admin official as saying that civil liberties groups telling obama that an exec order would be better than legislation because it could be easily rescinded, but david who was at the meeting obama held with civil liberties groups says he doesn’t remember that being said. sounds like it is still as you put it “fucked up”.
“Meet the new boss, just the same as the old boss.”
Disappointing, but true.
Warmest regards,
Doc
become a mouth piece for the neocons, they always were obnoxious but now have no voice except the hard core neo’s. I hope they do go under. I dead the news today oh boy..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…
What’s this? Seems to be no change at all. Just hope. Between this and the Goldman Sacks article it appears the people are cornered, squeezed out. Can a master of baloney and double speak like Obama get people to believe and live this same non reality that is all based on fear and crisis?
The apparatus is in place and seems to be being strengthened by this administration but the ‘news’ does not match our lives. The people may except the world order and fear the terrorist’s, cheering on the cowboys, but when they have no ability to pay the vig no choice but poverty and debt what will they dream and hope for? More credit. The bamboozle is becoming harder and harder to sell, as the fierce urgency of now comes barreling down on you.
the existentialists and Zen had a lot in common. I read a lot of Camus and Watts in my youth, time to dust them off and get some inspiration and perspective. Thanks Edger, your take on our situation is layered with insight and fosters the best of my humanity, the mind body and spirit. I have no gripe with nature just a society that battles all that nature has to offer that is seen as chaos, including the better parts of human nature.