4 ms·
Other people have mentioned mass surveillance and other ways that Obama expanded the law enforcement power of the federal government, but I'll add another thing
by UncleMeat 1y ago
Other people have mentioned mass surveillance and other ways that Obama expanded the law enforcement power of the federal government, but I'll add another thing.
Based on Rahm Emanuel's advice, the Obama administration did not focus political capital on the federal judiciary. Not only did Obama fail to get RBG to retire when she could be confidently replaced by a liberal, he didn't take judicial placements in the lower courts as seriously as he should have. The courts are substantial part of how we got here.
Yes, Obama was not a king. But there was stuff he absolutely could have done, especially during his first two years when he had the trifecta, that he didn't take seriously.
- busyant 1y ago> Not only did Obama fail to get RBG to retire when she could be confidently replaced by a liberal, he didn't take judicial placements in the lower courts as seriously as he should have. The courts are substantial part of how we got here. I imagine there was a lot of complacency based on the (erroneous) assumption that Hillary Clinton would be his successor.
- UncleMeat 1y agoIt does appear that RBG wanted to be replaced by a Clinton appointee and the Obama administration didn't push terribly hard to snap her out of this. This was, of course, outrageous foolish politicking and contributed to the mess we are in. RBG was a 75 year old cancer survivor in 2008. She should have stepped down in 2010 and the Obama administration should have put public pressure on her to do so.
- jrm4 1y ago[flagged]
- UncleMeat 1y agoIt is of course RBG's fault at the base of it. Obama couldn't fire her or whatever. But by all accounts Obama did not push her very hard or treat this as a priority. He shouldn't have just asked nicely and then gone away once she said no. They could have built a public media narrative around pressuring her to retire.
- mothballed 1y agoIt's quite possible Obama considered that and decided he would get the sort of response you would get telling your teenage daughter not to date the bad boy. Sometimes pressuring people backfires.
- jrm4 1y agoAgain. Think about all that Notorious RBG merch etc. Do you people not understand the "anti-feminist" backlash this would have caused? Y'all are really doing a whole lot of checkers thinking for what is a chess game.