Though the midterm elections were disastrous for liberals, they seem to have awakened a beast. President Barack Obama’s recent tour in Asia and Australia proves he’s capable of pushing the envelope.
While in Myanmar speaking with Aung San Suu Kyi, the president said if Congress failed to reform the United States Immigration System, he would use his executive power to do so. The administration has said it is considering the expansion of undocumented immigrants who would qualify for deferred deportations. Disgruntled Republicans immediately began their backlash against the upcoming actions.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate called it a “constitutional crisis.” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called it a “temper tantrum” by Obama. Even some Democrats are urging Obama to hold off, out of what appears to be a fear of Republican reprisal. An anonymous senior Democratic aide told The Hill that some members want the president to wait “until the government funding debate concludes in order to increase the chances Congress can pass an omnibus that funds the government…” Delaware Sen. Tom Carper (D), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, also said that Obama should wait until next year.
In Beijing, Obama surprised everyone with a climate deal between the U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest polluters. The president announced that the U.S. would be moving much faster to reduce pollution, with the goal of reducing emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China, still an industrializing nation, would reach its peak emissions by 2030 or sooner. He also stated that China would increase the share of green energy.
GOP members were quick to slam this new deal as “costly and ridiculous.” The new Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “We’d like for the president to recognize the reality that he has the government that he has, not the one he wishes he had.” The president also stated that the Keystone XL pipeline would not be a job creator. This comes as a surprise; it was predicted prior to this that Obama was likely to give into the pipeline as he expressed it was not a major concern of his.
A couple days later, in a speech at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, Obama announced that the U.S. will contribute $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund, an international pool of money aimed at helping developing nations manage the impact of climate change. Aid for this initiative is crucial for the development of green technology, which is, at least in the short term, costly to enforce. Under constant pressure to produce, the developing world doesn’t have enough money to concern itself with the environmental damage caused from their production methods, thus aid is needed to end the cycle.
It seems Obama, at least for now, is done with political games and is ready to take action and secure his legacy.
“I can’t wait in perpetuity when I have authorities that at least for the next two years can improve the system,” Obama said.
Senior White House aids have said they believe Obama is best when he is on offense. For Obama, the worst has already happened; Republicans are now in control of the House and Senate. With nothing to lose, hopefully Obama’s unapologetic enthusiasm is here to stay.