Obama's Options Against Repub Obstruction Varied

Mitch McConnell (background) studies the enemy.^

As I watched the excremental and vomitous Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell tell President Obama to take his compromises and shove them up his black ass today, I was cheered by this piece by Dan Froomkin on the Huffington Post. In effect, Froomkin says Obama could tell McConnell and the tiki-torch wielding mob of Republicans, emboldened by gains in Congress, that the compromise would be better placed up their white asses.

Froomkin makes a lot of sense that executive authority can, in many cases, skirt Congress (especially since the Repubs only control one branch) in areas like banking (oh, talk about sticking it to somebody), health and safety, the military, climate change (including cap and trade via the EPA), immigration and campaign finance.

One of the reasons the Repubs scored so heavily Tuesday is the latter issue where, because of Republican Supreme Court rulings vast gangs of unidentified and unidentifiable people are allowed to pump money into elections. They are totally unaccountable ... unless the IRS gets involved, which Obama could order.

The Repubs are slobbering all over themselves at the opportunity controlling the House will give them to investigate even the most minute details, tying up government and preventing legislation from happening (a very real goal). This is how Repubs govern, or at least how they want to govern. So, if government is going to be tied up in investigations of itself, seems to be that it would be Obama's duty to turn on the administrative enforcement division (Justice Department and FBI) to dig up an equal amount of dirt, shenanigans and criminal behavior.

My guess, though, is that he won't. His absolute dedication to hearing the other side out and trying to govern by compromise has cost him almost all the advantages of his office. It might be advisable for him to play a little hardball with McConnell. Obama has homecourt advantage, he's younger, more athletic and has god on his side. And she's pissed.

(Christian Science Monitor photo).