Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs-Tyranny
Refreshing. A majority of voters recognize the wrongheadedness of Obama's decision to invoke Executive Privilege to block the release of documents in the "Fast and Furious scandal. Whether his miscalculation will hurt him politically remains to be seen. As a majority of voters believe the Congress has been intentionally obstructive to the President it will likely be a wash.
The Hill - A clear majority of likely voters believes President Obama has exercised his executive power inappropriately — particularly in blocking the release of documents relating to "Operation Fast and Furious," according to a new poll for The Hill.
But in a sign that the electorate’s frustration extends to Capitol Hill, voters by a significant margin also feel Congress has behaved in an obstructionist manner toward the president.
Amid the discontent over the behavior of both Obama and members of Congress, the poll found a strong preference among voters for a return to one-party rule in Washington.
Obama last week invoked executive privilege to stop certain Justice Department documents relating to the botched “gun-walking” operation from being disclosed to the House Oversight and Government Reform committee.
The same panel, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), voted along party lines to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
The Hill Poll found that likely voters disapproved by an almost 2-to-1 margin of Obama’s assertion of presidential power in the case. Overall, 56 percent of voters disapproved of his action, while only 29 percent approved.
Democrats have accused Issa of waging a partisan campaign that has no real purpose save for embarrassing Obama and Holder.
Issa has always denied his pursuit of Holder is politically driven.
“Our purpose has never been to hold the attorney general in contempt,” he said last week. “Our purpose has always been to get the information the committee needs to complete its work — that it is not only entitled to do, but obligated to do.”
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that “the assertion of privilege has to do with the absolute necessity of retaining the executive branch’s independence.”
The defense is not proving an easy sell with voters, particularly independents.
Sixty-one percent of independents said they disapproved of the president’s actions, and just 25 percent approved. {Read More}
Via: Memeorandum
