From Evan Nappen. As much as I find humor in trying to tie Obama to putting his signature on a pro-gun bill, I have little doubt what the result would have been if the bill had passed on its own, separately. He signed it because it was tacked on to a must pass bill for the Democrats.
3 thoughts on “A Thank You to President Obama”
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“He signed it because it was tacked on to a must pass bill for the Democrats.”
And that’s precisely why I’m not cheering. I don’t approve of attaching unrelated riders to sneak bills through Congress, and approve even less when we do it. You don’t win by getting down in the mud with the hogs.
I think we pretty clearly do win by using the tactic. I would support rules for germaneness of amendments, provided they applied to all sides. One of the biggest mistake conservatives have made is by having any sense of fairness when it comes to using government to achieve their ends. The left would never make that mistake.
In other words, if we stand on principle, and refuse do any tactical moves like this, we cede that tool to exclusive use by our opponents. Perhaps the House and Senate can agree to make new rules forbidding non-germane amendments, but until such time, I think it would be an unwise strategic move to cede that tactic to the left. It might make us feel good, but it’s not going to help us achieve our goals.
President Obama probably preferred that it came attached to the credit card he had been pushing for. That way he avoids the issue if it had came to him by itself.