Vote For Our YouTube Question
Jan 24, 2012 - NEWS
The White House has decided to allow people to submit questions to youtube and to allow people to vote on those questions. We decided to submit one, and would appreciate any votes of those wanting to see the question asked. The question deals with Don't Ask, Don't Tell, DOMA, and immigration, but is more related to the role of the President and the power of the executive branch.
In 2009, President Obama was interviewed by Anderson Cooper during the time when repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell was gaining steam in the Congress. Many people were asking the President to simply use executive authority to tell the military to stop enforcing the policy. Anderson Cooper asked the President about this and the President's response was intelligent and correct. President Obama noted that it is not a power of the President to simply state that he will chose which laws to enforce and which to disregard. He asserted that Congress must change the law.
Anderson Cooper: One more question before we go to Africa, don't ask, don't tell. It requires an act of congress to overturn it. You've said that you wanted it overturned, but your critics and even some of your supporters say look, you could stop enforcement right now of don't ask, don't tell. You could defer enforcement until you pry congress to act.President Obama: Look, I've had conversations with Bob Gates, as well as Admiral Mullens, about the fact that I want to see this law changed.I also want to make sure that A, we are not simply ignoring a congressional law. If Congress passes a law that is constitutionally valid, then it is not appropriate for the executive branch to say "We will not enforce a law." It is our duty to enforce laws. I do think that there's the possibility though that we change how the law is being enforced even as we pursue a shift in congressional policy. But look, the bottom line is that, I wanna see this changed, and we've already contacted congressional allies. I wanna make sure that it is changed in a way that ultimately works for our military, and for the outstanding gay and lesbian soldiers that are both currently enlisted or would like to enlist.AC: Do you personally have a timetable in mind of when you would like to see it changed?President Obama: I'd like to see it done sooner rather than later, and we've begun a process not only to work it through congress, but also to make sure that the Pentagon has thought through all the ramifications of how this would be most effective.
The importance of this interview and statement by President Obama cannot be understated. President Obama is acknowledging that he simply cannot act to nullify laws without the action of Congress to change them. The question we have asked in the youtube channel is this: if the President acknowledges that he cannot act on his own with respect to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, why has he simply asserted that he can't act to nullify valid immigration laws by choosing not to enforce them - the very thing that he acknowledged could not be done with respect to DADT. The same question can be asked of DOMA.
There was a limit on the number of letters in the question that could be asked, so the explanation given here could not be given in the question there. You can find our question and vote for it by going to the youtube page here, and searching the questions for "Anderson Cooper." You will see the PoliGu.com logo on the left side of the question. The actual text of the question is as follows:
When discussing Don't Ask, Don't Tell in a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper, you noted that the Executive Branch cannot simply choose to ignore the law (DADT), and that Congress must change it. Why doesn't this apply to immigration law and DOMA?
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