Courtesy of the YouTube page:
Immigration-rights protesters interrupted President Obama's speech Monday demanding he use executive powers to immediately halt all deportations, but he rebuked them, telling them he doesn't have that power.
"You have a power to stop deportation," one man, standing directly behind Mr. Obama, shouted near the end of the president's immigration speech in San Francisco, who then began to lead chants of "Stop deportation!"
"Actually, I don't, and that's why we are here," Mr. Obama replied.
When security moved to escort the protester out of the room, Mr. Obama told them to hold off.
"These guys don't need to go. let me finish. No, no, he can stay there," he said.
He went on to say if he thought he had unilateral powers to halt deportations, he would. But he said that would actually break the law.
"If in fact I could solve all these problems without passing the laws in Congress then I would do so. But we're also a nation of laws, that's part of our tradition," he said.
"The easy way out is to yell and pretend I can try and do something by violating our laws. what I'm proposing is the harder path," Mr. Obama said. "It requires us lobbying and getting it done."
I was incredibly impressed with how he engaged this young man instead of simply allowing the Secret Service to strong arm him out of the building. He did not have to engage, but he did.
I am sometimes really irritated by people who seem to think that the President can solve every problem with a snap of his fingers or an Executive Order. He can't.
He needs to have a Congress and Senate that are willing to work with him, and right now the Republicans will not touch a single thing that he wants to get done.
And let me just add that I sometimes think of myself as pretty cool, but I would have had a VERY hard time keeping my cool while that jackass was yelling like that and refusing to let the President respond.
Now just imagine how President Romney would have handled that. Frightening isn't it?
Talking Points has more.
quite the polar opposite how the reich wing fascist bush/cheney regime handled protesters, eh
ReplyDeletePresident Obama....my hero!
ReplyDeleteObama Brilliantly Turns an Immigration Heckler Into a Triumph of Free Speech
ReplyDeletePresident Obama demonstrated what free speech is all about today by refusing to throw a heckler out, and discussing the issue of deportations with him during his speech in San Francisco.
Video:
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Mr. Obama –
THE PRESIDENT: — most importantly, we will live up –
AUDIENCE MEMBER: — my family has been separated for 19 months now –
THE PRESIDENT: — most importantly, we will live up to our character as a nation.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I’ve not seen my family. Our families are separated. I need your help. There are thousands of people –
THE PRESIDENT: That’s exactly what we’re talking about.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: — are torn apart every single day.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s why we’re here.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Mr. President, please use your executive order to halt deportations for all 11.5 undocumented immigrants in this country right now.
THE PRESIDENT: What we’re trying –
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Do you agree
AUDIENCE: Obama! Obama! Obama!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: — that we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform at the same time we — you have a power to stop deportation for all undocumented immigrants in this country.
THE PRESIDENT: Actually I don’t. And that’s why we’re here.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: So, please, I need your help.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Stop deportations!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Stop deportations!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. All right.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Stop deportations! Stop deportations!
THE PRESIDENT: What I’d like to do — no, no, don’t worry about it, guys. Okay, let me finish.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Stop deportations! Yes, we can! Stop deportations!
THE PRESIDENT: These guys don’t need to go. Let me finish. No, no, no, he can stay there. Hold on a second. (Applause.) Hold on a second.
So I respect the passion of these young people because they feel deeply about the concerns for their families. Now, what you need to know, when I’m speaking as President of the United States and I come to this community, is that if, in fact, I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, then I would do so.
But we’re also a nation of laws. That’s part of our tradition. And so the easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws. And what I’m proposing is the harder path, which is to use our democratic processes to achieve the same goal that you want to achieve. But it won’t be as easy as just shouting. It requires us lobbying and getting it done. (Applause.)
The president didn’t have the heckler removed. He didn’t insult or try to humiliate the heckler. Instead, he listened and had a dialogue about his concerns. The president also made an important point during the conversation.
He can’t wave a magic wand and stop the deportations. It will take comprehensive immigration reform to...
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/25/obama-brilliantly-turns-immigration-heckler-triumph-free-speech.html
O/T but Gryphen, you will get a kick out of this!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.viralnova.com/daddys-letter/
Our President is so damned classy! Again, I'm so happy I voted for him both times! Keep up the good work, President Obama in spite of the obstructionists. You beat them every step of the way!
ReplyDeleteDitto to your entire post and thank you for saying so. It is beyond my comprehension why this man is not being celebrated from the rooftops and given the kind of respect and admiration he deserves. I would vote for him again, in a heartbeat, if he could serve another term. I feel so sad for what this country could have been if his visions had been given a chance to fully blossom. But I'm hopeful and not giving up that he has some awesome moves up his sleeve. After all, he's always 10 steps ahead of the nattering nabobs.
DeleteMany in the media, the researchers and those who lean republican and especially the republican politicians will never give the president any credit for one reason: His skin color.
DeleteI think we all are learning how limited the Presidential powers are when the President have members of Congress determined to stop everything the President tries to do.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth 44
Not just how Romney would handle it - ANY GOP person - in some places he would have been thrown to the floor and handcuffed - and the media would have screamed for days about how insulting was that heckler.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama - Pure Class
Romney would have chanted back, "self-deportation, self-deportation, self-deportation."
DeleteI am so relieved that President Obama is in the White House and not John McCain or Mitt Romney. We are so privileged to have such an intelligent and articulate president. If only the media would recognize this treasure, but they won't. I keep seeing headlines questioning whether President Obama can survive. Of douse he will and so will we as a nation.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
I LOVE our President and proudly voted for him twice. Inasmuch as the GOP/TP is set on destroying his legacy, he has done an excellent job.
ReplyDeleteOf course he's made mistakes; he's human but, as 2:34 PM said, imagine Romney or McCain in that situation. Crap, Bush had shoes thrown at him by the Iraqi reporter.
He'll go down as one of the greats.
53% of the country do not think Obama is honest and trustworthy.
ReplyDeleteI hope the demonstrators don't believe his answers.
What a fraud and incompetent president.
Worst in our history
And then you woke up....
DeleteHe is an honest, respectable president and I am proud to have him.
And obviously the demonstrators believe him by the way they clapped and cheered.
Move on to some other place to rant, please?
When you have a corporate media that drills into their viewers the utter UNTRUTHS that they do, it's no wonder that eventually it will warp people's thinking.
DeleteEVERY SINGLE thing that the right wing has said Obama has 'lied' about has, with further passage of time and more detail presented, has blown up in their faces, but they never take the time to correct the record, they just keep blaring the headlines and pundits, all to cause controversy and keep people off balance.
It's criminal, really, with FOX leading the pack, but lately CNN, CBS and ABC have ALL been busted for lying about President Obama and his policies, actions and words.
The onslaught of hate towards this man is monumental, so it was only a matter of time before his ratings went down, or up, depending on what poll you're referencing.
And watch, they will go up again, or down again, before his entire presidency is over in 2017, so it doesn't really concern me too much.
Politics is very volatile and petty and fickle and changes on a dime. What doesn't change is my absolute belief in the decency of Barack Obama. He's been decent his entire life, and he and Michelle and his girls have been nothing but gracious and respectful to this country and to the responsibility they have been given as the First Family.
Now, if you want to talk FRAUD, well look no further than the skank from Alaska via Arizona, Miss FAKE everything from her hair to her tits, from her tan to her glasses. Her family 'story' is phony, her marriage is phoney, her pregnancy was phony, her political striptease is based on phony promises, yep, there's a real fraudy for ya.
The only thing that is authentic about Baldy is her glee at being mean, nasty, vindictive, hateful, and vicious. Oh yeah, it's the real deal on that part.
Oh, and another thing she's utterly authentic about is her commitment to lying every and any chance she gets, for no reason at all oftentimes, it just falls out of her heavily botoxed lips (that are disappearing rapidly). She is authentically a mean, emotionally stunted, deeply deeply damaged, mentally ill, drug addict and a complete fraud in pretty much every other way.
Enough of you, 4:54 PM, don your tin foil hat and hang out on Breitbart. You have no place here.
DeleteBarack Obama is one of the good guys. Period. That people don't recognize that makes me weep for humanity in this country. Everywhere in the world, nearly every country and culture on the planet recognize his brilliant leadership, his intelligence and his heart. It's just this fucked up USA that is blind to him and his amazing visions. I'm more and more embarassed for this country and how backward and mean and nasty and vitriolic it has become in the media, in politics, in everyday conversations. I'm so grateful to not have a single right winger or backward conservative in my life. They are toxic as hell.
ReplyDeleteNow this is more of the goodness of humanity:
http://www.viralnova.com/acts-of-kindness/
A Little Kid Explains A Solution To Reducing Gun Violence.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.upworthy.com/a-little-kid-explains-a-solution-to-gun-violence-makes-sense-to-me-2
President Obama is a teacher. First and foremost. You can see it in his patience, his willing to engage the other, and the way he delivers his point. Those who had him as a Professor were very very lucky people.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing man we have for President!
ReplyDeleteI probably would have sent him home to Grandma.
ReplyDeleteThis was so staged by the Imposter in Chief.
ReplyDelete