As soon as President Joe Biden announced that he would be canceling between $10,000 and $20,000 in student loan debt for borrowers with a flick of his pen, critics seized and pounced. And rightly so. Such a move was blatantly illegal and unconstitutional, and it would only be a matter of time before it would be targeted by Republican legislators and courts to get it undone.
And Washington Post economics reporter Jeff Stein seems kind of concerned about what that could mean for the public’s morale:
A Fordham law prof who *supports* student debt cancelation told me the WH is likely to lose w/ SCOTUS
“If they keep going w/ this argument & this interpretation of the statute, it is likely they will lose 6 to 3, & it’s possible they could lose by more"https://t.co/AbImBuBj4s
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) September 1, 2022
Michael Loomus, 31, a call center supervisor, has struggled to pay $11K in student loans since dropping out of the U of Toledo.
"That would be terrible," he said of a GOP-backed challenge reversing Biden's decision. "Before this, it just felt like I’d never pay off my loans.”
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) September 1, 2022
Trying to imagine just how angry people will be if the $10K or $20K in student debt cancelation promised by Biden is blocked by GOP/conservative efforts through the courts
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) September 1, 2022
He’s just trying to imagine what people would do if Republicans successfully blocked Biden’s power grab. Some people might get angry. And we can’t have that, now can we?
"Imagine how mad some people will be if a President isn't allowed to illegally hand out money…that would be horrible!" https://t.co/eSxkl01umk
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) September 1, 2022
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Just horrible. Unforgivable, even.
How about imagining how angry people already are about $10K to $20K in their tax dollars, possibly illegally, being handed out by President Biden to people who borrowed it with the promise to pay it back? https://t.co/fQLcRKn679
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) September 1, 2022
Oh, you mean the taxpayers who didn’t consent to have their hard-earned money taken and given to other people who didn’t earn it? No, they don’t get to be angry. Or, if they do get to be angry, their anger doesn’t count. Because their anger doesn’t help make the Biden administration and Democrats look stunning or brave. Their anger doesn’t factor into the plan.
That was always the plan.
1) Do unconstitutional action
2) Cry to voters about the meanies when someone uses the law to try and stop said action https://t.co/9NG7fJR1gu— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) September 1, 2022
Correct.
Please, as if this wasn't the planned outcome all along. https://t.co/tcruLd7xFy
— Federalist Muskrat 🇺🇸 (@Muskrat__) September 1, 2022
Many of those people are already voting Democrat, which was the point of bailing out their loans in the first place. https://t.co/V2JMqF8PBj
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) September 1, 2022
Yeah…that's the point. It's either a handout to Biden's political supporters or the evil Republicans block the handout to Biden's political supporters. https://t.co/zKX9gaa5fX
— Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) September 1, 2022
That, of course, is the plan. Which means it was either usurpatious unconstitutional garbage, or demagogic garbage. https://t.co/Jxjgd3SI9k
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 1, 2022
And this is the game. Do something your voters want by fiat, wait for judges to do their job and point out said flagrantly illegal fiat was flagrantly illegal, slander judges as partisan. Then claim it's your political opposition who's fascist of course. https://t.co/oUTvhucsk8
— Jon Lustig (@jonlustig) September 1, 2022
These both work in unison. You push unconstitutional garbage so you can then demagogue and delegitimize the courts. Very fascist-y! https://t.co/rxLsIzdna5
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) September 1, 2022
Not semi-fascist-y, but just plain fascist-y.
See the play now? The point of Biden's blatantly illegal attempt to spend a trillion dollars without a vote of Congress is to set up a predicate for court-bashing when the illegal action is blocked. https://t.co/KsL0Rnqps9
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) September 1, 2022
And hey, if any judges’ lives are threatened in the process, well, that’s just a risk they run if they’re willing to consider blocking Biden’s unlawful move.
If so, they should be angry with President Biden for illegally authorizing a trillion dollars in spending without statutory permission. https://t.co/Jsxf4QlxIL
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) September 1, 2022
This is a habit for Biden. He can make as many saccharine speeches about the rule of law as he likes, but it won’t change the fact that has repeatedly issued spectacularly illegal orders, and then cynically blamed the courts when those spectacularly illegal orders were rejected.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) September 1, 2022
Where, exactly, are those restored norms? The initial order, which Biden knows is illegal, represents an attack on Article I. And if that order, which Biden knows is illegal, is struck down in court, he’ll go after the judiciary, and thereby attack Article III. It’s grotesque.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) September 1, 2022
It’s grotesque and entirely predictable. This is just how Biden, like so many Democrats, operates.
If you believe in Democratic norms, and what a system where legality matters…
…and the court deems this illegal…
…Shouldn't you applaud?
If you aren't, then maybe…you don't really care about democratic norms all that much?
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) September 1, 2022
Norms are just (D)ifferent for Democrats.
If your first thought when considering this behavior is “Donald Trump,” maybe you ought to ask why that is.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) September 1, 2022
"people will be awfulllllly angry if you uphold the law" … i've heard this before somewhere. very recently even! https://t.co/3UufpQzkaS
— T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) September 1, 2022
*Coughs*
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