‘Stop hating all the time’ – Prez. Obama to Republicans

• Posted on August 1, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

President Obama has had enough: during his speech in Kansas City the president criticised the Republican party and their obstructive actions through Congress, asking the party’s representatives to “stop hating all the time”.

His words came on a day that Republicans in Congress were rallying members to vote for the authorisation of the GOP to sue President Obama for not implementing a policy quickly enough, that Republicans did not want implemented in the first place.

President Obama said in his speech on Wednesday: “Some of the things we’re doing without Congress are making a difference, but we could do so much more if Congress would just come on and help out a little bit.

“Just come on. Come on and help out a little bit. Stop being mad all the time. Stop hating all the time. Come on. Let’s get some work done together.”

The response saw the authorisation passed, with only five Republicans and all 196 Democrats in attendance opposing the resolution, meaning the House Republicans will now be taking President Obama to court.

The decision to sue the president by his opposition has been called a move “laced with irony” by The Wire, as the House Republicans are suing Mr Obama for delaying the implementation of a law they have repeatedly opposed.

House Republicans are complaining that, among other points, Mr Obama has delayed the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act, which will require businesses to provide health insurance to their employees – despite the party campaigning against the Act since its inception and arguing that it will kill jobs across the USA.

In a statement, GOP lawmakers said they accused Mr Obama of “deliberately exceeding the bounds of his constitutional authority,” adding that “Obama and other Democrats derided the effort as a stunt aimed at tossing political red meat to conservative voters,” arguing that the “debate over the lawsuit underscored the harshly partisan tone that has dominated the current Congress almost from its start in January 2013”.

The authorisation was made a day before lawmakers took a five week holiday from Thursday.

Speaking to his 1,500–strong audience, President Obama said of the decision: “They have announced that they’re going to sue me for taking executive actions to help people.

“So they’re mad because I’m doing my job. And, by the way, I’ve told them. I said, ‘I’d be happy to do it with you. So the only reason I’m doing it on my own is because you don’t do anything. But if you want, let’s work together.’

“I mean, everybody recognizes this is a political stunt, but it’s worse than that, because every vote they’re taking like that means a vote they’re not taking to actually help you. When they have taken 50 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, that was time that could have been spent working constructively to help you on some things.

“And, by the way, you know who is paying for this suit they’re going to file? You. You’re paying for it. And it’s estimated that by the time the thing was done, I would have already left office. So it’s not a productive thing to do.”

Independent.co.uk