Dumb like a fox...

 

 

"A fox can be very cunning and very sly. That is their calling card."

Okay. I am willing to admit he has us this time. In the game of Washington chess, he made a sucker move and we fell for it. It is almost a checkmate. Now we have a hot mess on our hands. And I am afraid this is just the beginning. There will be more to come.

Mr. "Pen and a phone" has drawn first blood with his illegal executive amnesty memo. However, I believe he knew exactly what he was doing. This move was such an affront to our Constitution, such an affront to our separation of powers, he knew the Conservative side of the Republican Party would go apoplectic. And he was right - many did.

I also think he knew the first thing the Republicans would try to do would be defund the DHS. Of course, this would not be acceptable to the Commander-in-Chief. Especially in times of war with ISIL. So he would have to veto the measure, thereby shutting down the government. And, just like every other time the government gets shut down, the Republicans would get the blame.

So now the Republicans are divided. One faction says, "Hey, let the courts handle it! A Texas judge has already issued a stay. This is such an egregious overreach by the White House, the courts will overturn it." The other faction says, "No way. We are not going to fund an illegal action by this White House. We don't care if the President shuts down the government." And as the Republicans bicker, the President sits back and smiles. He really has them in a box this time.

He is already starting Act II using the ATF. He has done so by ordering them to ban AR-15 ammo. This will end up being another tug of war which he hopes the Republicans are divided on. Then after that, there will be Act III and Act IV. What will they be? Who knows. Maybe alternate energy. Maybe more gun control. Maybe impossible CAFE standards. All I know is this - much damage can be done in the next 700 days.

What aggravates me to no end is not so much that the President did this. We should expect no less of him by this time. It is that the Republicans once again look like country bumpkins and have allowed themselves to be cornered in a box canyon. Just like a hungry Northern Pike, we took the bait, hook, line and sinker. Our leadership in both the House and Senate look bad on this one, really, really bad.

I don't think the President is all that smart nor all that cunning. I just think our side is all that unprepared and unimaginative. Unless the Republicans can change their modus operandi, the next two years will be very painful indeed.