Even Saint Reagan ...
by digby
The right wing hissy fit brewing over the administration's refusal to defend DOMA is going to be very impressive. John Boehner is thumping his chest and promising to step in. But it's important to remember that this administration isn't the first to do this:
During the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Truman administrations, the presidents, in one form or another, refused to defend separate-but-equal facilities in schools and hospitals. The Ford Justice Department refused to defend the post-Watergate campaign finance law, much of which was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court. The Reagan administration refused to defend the independent counsel law, a law subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court by a 7-to-1 vote. It also refused to defend the one-house legislative veto of many executive actions; in that case, the administration was more successful, winning 7–2 in the Supreme Court. The Clinton administration refused to defend a federal law mandating the dismissal of military personnel who were HIV-positive. The George W. Bush administration refused to defend a federal law that denied mass-transit funds to any transportation system that displayed ads advocating the legalization of marijuana. And in the George H.W. Bush administration, the Justice Department refused to defend a federal law providing affirmative action in the awarding of broadcasting licenses — a law subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court by a narrow 5–4 vote.
Depending on how you look at it, this may or may not be an appropriate thing to do. But one thing is sure: it isn't a unique, socialistic power grab by the Muslim terrorist usurper. Not that Boehner's minions will believe that.
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