The Cafeteria Presidency

Have you noticed how President Obama and his administration has a habit of picking and choosing what laws should be enforced? Most recently, it was the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Obama has decided that the law was unconstitutional and has decided that his administration will no longer defend it in court. Ordinarily, the President is considered to be the “Chief Law Enforcement Officer.” Obama, on the other hand, only enforces those laws he personally agrees with. It seems that his is an administration of selective law enforcement.

He has defended his action by asserting he is suspect of the constitutionality of DOMA. Now, I'm not constitutional scholar or anything but it seems to me that should be a decision for the courts to make. Well, never mind, I guess, because the Executive branch has already decided the issue. Without so much as a hearing, the White House has ruled on the issue. They will not defend the law in court. They have forfeited the game without stepping foot onto the field.

This isn't the first time the Administration has engaged in selective enforcement. Remember the case of the Black Panther voter intimidation? Two goons dressed in military garb stood outside of a polling station while brandishing night sticks. It was as blatant a case of voter intimidation as you could ever imagine. Yet Christopher Coates, former head of the Department of Justice voter rights division, testified before congress that, “I had people who told me point-blank that [they] didn’t come to the voting rights section to sue African-American people.” Attorney General Eric Holder inexplicably dropped charges against the offending thugs.

After the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Obama decided by executive fiat to discontinue oil drilling in the Gulf. A court ruling against his decision has done little to deter him since there is still no off-shore drilling going on by any US companies. This is a “law” Obama decided to enforce in spite of it being ruled unconstitutional.

Oh yeah, there was also his recent decision to end “don't ask, don't tell.”

The worst case of selective enforcement, however, must be the failure to enforce the immigration laws. As illegal immigrants stream across our southern border by the thousands, the Obama administration does nothing. Actually, it's doing worse than nothing. When Arizona decided to pass and enforce laws that mirrored the laws the feds weren't enforcing, the Obama administration actually sued the state of Arizona! So not only does the Administration not fight to stop illegal immigrants, it fights against anyone who does!

Maybe it's just me but it seems that Obama has decided to run a cafeteria presidency. How else could we describe it? He likes some laws but doesn't like others. He then executes policy accordingly.