I have been thinking about the Health Care "debate" and the stupidity of the last month or so and at times I feel frustrated by how little the President of the United States can actually do to push his agenda forward. He can introduce legislation, and advocate on behalf of legislation using his bully pulpit to rally the masses in support.
But beyond that he is pretty powerless to actually get anything accomplished. Don't get me wrong, it is without a doubt our brilliant system of checks and balances that stands between our fragile Republic and the threat of totalitarian Presidents.
But at the same time, it seems like there has to be SOMETHING our President can do to help Congress move in the right direction. Thats why I thought its time for a somewhat meta diary, focused on the limits of Presidential Power and how they should be used by a our new President.
While thinking about the debate and the Presidents lack of legal authority to actually move the process forward, I came to the conclusion that the only thing he could really do is threaten to veto any legislation that does not meet the goals he has put forward. Such as a bill that lacked the Public Option, or End of Life counseling. Or as the Right Wingers called it back when they supported living wills "Advanced Directives."
But would Obama do such a thing? If every other goal was met and the bill simply lacked one piece of the puzzle, I don't see Obama vetoing imperfect legislation. And if he was so bold, I don't see Congress standing by and just accepting this. In fact I see bipartisan support for a veto override. Democrats would do it to get their bill passed and Republicans would do it to embarrass Obama, proclaim victory and put an end to this issue.
But then I had another thought. A pretty naughty thought actually.
Bill Clinton was famous of back room deals. He would meet with members of the Republican Congressional leadership and make deals on other issues they wanted passed. Things like Welfare to Work and Free Trade which he could compromise on, or even support in exchange for their support on some legislation or budget proposal he wanted passed.
That got me thinking. Could Obama use the threat of a veto in the same way? Could Obama tell Conservative Senators and Congressmen, be they Republicans or the Blue Dog Democrats; that if they block his health care reform, or vote to gut it beyond recognition; that he will veto any legislation they sponsor, no matter what it is, for as long as he is President?
Perhaps the proper question is should he make such a threat? We all know he could do it. But would it be too cynical? Too Rovian? Too abusive of his veto power? I have to admit, such a threat would require a "enemies list" of those who voted against the bill, which seems like something Richard Nixon would do. But is it worth it? Does the ends justify the means?
And could it backfire? Could Obama make good on his threat? And would he even want too if the legislation in question was about battling Climate Change or Secret Ballots for Unions? And how would the story play is several Blue Dog Democrats went to the media with news of the threat. Obama could laugh it off as sour grapes but if Senator after Senator and Congressmen after Congressmen came forward it wouldn't take long for the media to catch on to it being a legitimate claim.
Some of you will no doubt find this to be a completely pointless diary since in reality Obama would probably never do such a thing. But I find theoretical discussions about the limits of our system and what constitutes unethical and perhaps even illegal behavior on these matters interesting.
I don't necessarily like it when such theories are actually being tested in Washington D.C. I'm looking at YOU Dick Cheney! But meta discussions, completely hypothetical in nature, about our system of Government and the limits of power were one of the more fascinating, if still completely terrifying aspects of the Bush years.
I probably learned more about the ins and outs of how my Government actually works by reading such diaries here on Dkos, than I ever learned in school. So I just thought I'd pose this hypothetical question to the community.
Should Obama use the power of the veto?