Rand Paul gives Obama the royal treatment
(CNN) - Saying President Barack Obama is acting like a "king" by threatening to take executive action on gun laws, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul cautioned the president to be ready for a fight on Capitol Hill.
"I'm against having a king," he said Tuesday in an interview in Jerusalem with the Christian Broadcasting Network. "I think having a monarch is what we fought the American Revolution over and someone who wants to bypass the Constitution, bypass Congress - that's someone who wants to act like a king or a monarch."
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Obama will announce proposals to curb gun violence Wednesday based on recommendations by Vice President Joe Biden's task force, which held meetings with multiple stakeholders in the gun control debate. The announcement comes just over a month after the deadly Connecticut elementary school massacre that left 26 killed, in addition to the gunman's mother.
According to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, Obama "intends to take a comprehensive approach," including renewal of the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, a ban of high-capacity gun magazines and closing background check loopholes.
Among the proposals are 19 executive actions that Obama could take without congressional approval, legislators briefed by Biden said Tuesday.
But Carney noted "there are limits on what can be done within existing law" and said Congress would have to act on certain proposals "because the power to do that is reserved by Congress and to Congress."
If the president does decide to make unilateral moves, however, Sen. Paul warned such action would spark intense backlash.
"I've been opposed to executive orders, even with Republican presidents," he said. "But one that wants to infringe on the Second Amendment, we will fight tooth and nail."
"And I promise you," he continued. "There'll be no rock left unturned as far as trying to stop him from usurping the Constitution, running roughshod over Congress. And you will see one heck of a debate if he decides to try to do this."
His argument falls in line with critics who say recent legislative pushes–both at the federal and state level–to amend gun laws mark an aggressive front against Second Amendment rights. The National Rifle Association on Monday posted to Twitter that gun owners are "under assault" and argued the White House and New York Politicians "declare war on the #SecondAmendment."
New York lawmakers, led by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, approved tough new firearm legislation Tuesday that represents the first gun control laws passed since the Newtown shooting.
Paul, a first-term senator, has not shot down potential interest in a 2016 presidential bid. His father, former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, is widely considered a leader among libertarians and made three White House runs, including a 2012 campaign.
- CNN's Ashley Killough and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report.
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What a jerk!
"I'm against having a king,"
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Having another TP moment are we? First he's a Muslim, a socialist, a N-, a Kenyan, a marxist and now a king. Have I missed anything? This is yet another effort to stir up racist white people who hate him anyway. The president is not trying to take anything away from you, including your ignorance he's just trying to do what the American people asked him to do LEAD and TRY TO KEEP US SAFE. What a hateful buch of troublemakers they are, and I wish all of them would just move away and take their guns with them.
Even nuttier than his father
So let me get this straight. If the President issues an executive order because Congress is too chicken poop to act, then he's some sort of dictator? Give me a break. And suggesting that our President is other than the Chief Executive of this country on foreign land, ally or not, is beyond the pale.
You simple minded twit. Executive order are simply directed at how existing laws are carried out. The scope of the how is defined by law and the executive branch fills in the blanks within that scope. So all that is happening here is that the executive branch is deciding how to go about enforcing existing laws that Congress has passed. I know Paul is not so stupid as to not understand that, so I have to presume he is simply another demagouge, purposely misleading his sheep. Sounds more like a King than what Obama is doing.
Well, I'm against having idiots in congress but we have Rand Paul, the King of idiots. So, where does that get us?
It's like they live in a cartoon world. There are plenty of things that fall squarely within the authority of the executive that Obama can, and likely will, be doing to enhance gun safety. Nothing says "reational, realistic governance" like pretending someone's trying to do something that there is absolutely ZERO evidence of him trying to do. Of course, if journalism wasn't 100% dead and buried in this country, we'd have journalists correcting his demagoguery accusations and pointing out that they are, indeed, entirely baseless and substanceless. But alas, the advertising industry entirelyk controls what the "news" industry is allowed to report as "truth." Ergo, Randroid gets a free pass on standing up and pretending Obama wants to "ban all guns and take all your guns away" despite Obama never saying that, never threatening that and never giving any indication that he believes he has the authority to do so uniltarally as executive.
It doesn't really matter what any representative from the Tea Party says or thinks. No one takes them seriously anymore...no one but themselves, that is.
Good job Mr Paul, to all you obummer suck ups, if you havent figured this pres is an egomanic than your lost, hows the closing of gitmo going ??? ill cut deficet in half or not run again, that didnt work out. Stimulus will drop unemp to 5.4% keep giving him a pass, if he was a white dude he wouldnt get a pass , geeez talk about racist
Last time I checked, the President expanded gun laws by allowing people to carry concealed guns in national parks.
"Well, I'm against having idiots in congress but we have Rand Paul, the King of idiots. So, where does that get us?"
Where? Entirely lost about halfway between Crazytown and Derpsville with only Appe Maps to help find our way home.
"No one takes them seriously anymore"
That's not true. CNN and the rest of the MSM takes them seriously. They are god's gift to lazy, research-less, 24-hour-news-cycle, fact-avoiding gossip reporting and controvery manufacture.
Kentucky come on. Not one, but 2 worthless senators. Really?
It is time for American people to start electing citizens with reasonable consciousness.
Idiot.
are these tools incapable of talking without insane hyperbole?
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a Sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. ...Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here'. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and Grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."
Who is more shameful? The person who said this? Or the one who blindly supports him?
"I think having a monarch is what we fought the American Revolution over", sounds exactly like the psycho who was interviewed on CNN and called out the interviewer to have a round or two, boxing with him. No shortage of idiots in your wonderful country. G-d Bless America.
Rand Paul is just Another TPer spewing extreme nonsense. Get rid of these extreme TPers. Just like the birthers, the TPers are a joke
Republican Taliban.
No matter how many times the crazies rear their heads, I still can't get used to it. They make a good case for why the paranoid and delusional shouldn't skip their meds.
These guys have all kinds of names for this president. Yet they fail to see themselves consistently being obstructionists.
What's he doing in Jerusalem? Needs to get his do nothing ass back here with the rest of the do nothing congress so maybe one day they can do something. Seriously these people get more time off work than grade school kids get vacation breaks and recess time, I thought they went back to work after Xmas, but found out they get first two weeks of January off, in another week or two they'll probably take off a month for Easter break, it's a wonder they can't do anything they only work eight weeks a year for their yearly salary
Obama has the lowest number of executive orders of, what, the last 10 presidents?
Obama 138
GWB 290
Clinton 360
GHB 166
Reagan 380
FDR 3,500
What power does a president have if they can't give an executive order?
Sure.
A King who just got re-elecetd with a huge margin, and has a 52.% job approval rating.
Meanwhile, I believe bedbugs are more popular than Congressional Republicans.
This stuff might play on FOX, but over here in reality... not so much.