Kucinich: “The Obama doctrine goes beyond the Constitution”

By: In The Arena Associate Producer, Leinz Vales

New York (CNN) – In an interview with CNN contributor E.D. Hill on “In The Arena,” Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, took aim at President Barack Obama’s Libya doctrine.

“What the president has done is to drive a stake into the heart of representative government by declaring that he has the executive privilege to wage war whenever he wants,” said Kucinich.

Hill asked Kucinich about the War Powers Act, a resolution that gives power to the president to send armed forces into war abroad during a national emergency created by attack on the United States and its territories.

On Monday, Obama explained using the war powers act even when the United States is not under attack. “There will be times when our safety is not directly threatened but when our interests and values are.” Obama said during a nationally televised address, adding, “We should not be afraid to act.”

Kucinich said he “loves the Constitution” and he said the president is overstepping his authority.

"(The) Obama doctrine goes beyond the Constitution. (It) goes beyond the war powers act,” Kucinich said, adding, “We’re in a brave new world of military action."

Female workers suing retail giant Wal-Mart Stores for workplace discrimination faced an uphill battle at the Supreme Court Tuesday in their efforts to proceed in a massive class-action lawsuit. The case is among the most important case of its kind the justices have ever heard, and a ruling could eventually impact businesses large and small.

The conservative majority on the bench appeared skeptical during oral arguments that allowing employees from across the country to band together and make their claims in one trial would be appropriate, at least in this particular case. CLICK HERE for more CNN.com coverage.

On Tuesday’s show, Eliot spoke with Betty Dukes, plaintiff in Dukes v. Wal-Mart–who says she has been unable to receive promotions due in large part to the failure to fairly post job openings– and with lead attorney Joseph Sellers, who claims that Wal-Mart stores demonstrated a clear pattern of discrimination.

Eliot then turned to CNN senior analyst and legal expert Jeffrey Toobin to discuss what various Supreme Court Justices today may be thinking about the important case.

After today's oral arguments, Wal-Mart issued this statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C – March 29, 2011

"We were pleased to be able to show the Court that Walmart had a strong non-discrimination policy in place well before the lawsuit was filed, and to illustrate the other flaws in the plaintiffs' theories.

"Walmart is working hard every day to ensure more women are represented in our management ranks. We continue to have strong anti-discrimination policies in place, a strong record of advancement of women and we are always looking to be better."

–Gisel Ruiz, Executive Vice President, People, Walmart U.S.

  FULL POST

James Walsh, CNN contributor and International Security Analyst Research Associate in the Security Studies Program at MIT, explains the difference between a full and partial meltdown, and what the workers inside Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are now up against.

Ali Tarhouni is a Libyan professor, who, until recently, taught economics at the University of Washington. He is now in Libya, appointed to the National Transition Council–the opposition’s shadow government–as finance and oil minister. 

Tarhouni, who is sixty-years-old, returned to Libya a month ago, after spending 35 years in exile.

He tells Eliot that the provisional government needs to be granted exemptions to be able to sell oil from the fields under their control.

On Cain's Mind:

For your consideration, I nominate “a humanitarian crises has been averted” as the most racist statement of the year. This nominee is certain to lose to Halle Berry’s old-timey-one-drop-theory or Mel Gibson’s lifetime achievement award. But, still…it should be considered.

From the outset of the “Why Are We Going to War in Libya” debate I have asked: if we are going for humanitarian purposes, why we don’t go to Ivory Coast, Congo, or Yemen? I have been told that consistency doesn’t apply to foreign policy. I have been told that the “if you don’t go everywhere, you can’t go anywhere” argument is stupid. Fine. Submitted.

So, don’t be confused, I’m not making the consistency argument here. Now, I’m just trying to figure out how we inconsistently pick where we will go to stop humanitarian crises. As Ted Koppel asked on Meet the Press this weekend, “how did Libya win the humanitarian defense sweepstakes of 2011?”

CLICK HERE to read Will's entire essay on theblaze.com. FULL POST

Paul Wolfowitz, visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington D.C., spent more than three decades in public service and higher education. Most recently, he served as president of the World Bank and deputy secretary of defense. 

Eliot asks about his thoughts on President Obama’s Monday night address on Libya and the future of Operation "Odyssey Dawn."

Wolfowitz told Eliot that it's important for the United States to be on the side of freedom, that we must recognize the Libyan opposition, and that's there's a lot more we can do beyond military action.

Wolfowitz is scheduled to appear In The Arena on Wednesday, 3-30-11.

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s six OFF-SET questions is Dr. Steven Chin, Medical Team Manager, Los Angeles County Fire Department Search and Rescue.

Comprised of 74 men and women and 6 canines, L.A. County Search and Rescue is one of only two units contracted by USAID to provide international aid and disaster relief. As a 17-year team veteran, Dr. Chin has participated in disaster responses to the Oklahoma City bombing, the Sri Lanka tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and earthquakes in Haiti and New Zealand.

At 1 am Friday, March 11, 2011, this emergency physician and married father of two woke to his first alert about the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. By Sunday, March 13th, Chin and the L.A. County team were on the ground at Japan’s Misawa Air Force Base, ready to begin a 9-day search for survivors.

L.A. County was deployed along with the Fairfax County, Virginia Search and Rescue team to Japan’s northeastern coast, one of the country’s hardest-hit areas. What did you find when you got there?

We were initially tasked to the seaport city of Ofunato, with a fairly good size population, about 40,000 people. The entire seaport area was devastated. We were doing the first formal, systematic searches, going inland to the high water mark, up to a road on the ridgeline overlooking the harbor, then moving downhill to the water sector by sector.

You could look down about a half block and see where the damage started. It was absolute devastation. Almost unimaginable – and I’ve seen a tsunami before. FULL POST

Today's Number of the Day is 11.

That’s how many days are left—not for Moammar Gadhafi, Bashar al-Assad, or Ali Abdullah Saleh - no leave the Middle East behind for just a few minutes.

That’s how many days are left until the FY2011 Continuing Resolution that kept the government going expires on April 8^th.

So yes, it’s time once again to go back to debates about entitlements, defense spending, tax reform—all those pesky issues that can be both mind-numbing but brutally important to the future of our nation.

Pick your medicine–but something’s got to be done.

So here are some links to a couple of different perspectives.

Enjoy.

CLICK HERE to read the Bowles-Simpson report. 

Our challenge is clear and inescapable: America cannot be great if we go broke. Our businesses will not be able to grow and create jobs, and our workers will not be able to compete successfully for the jobs of the future without a plan to get this crushing debt burden off our backs. FULL POST

On Tuesday, March 29, 2011, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Dukes v Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

At issue is whether the justices should allow certification of the largest class-action employment lawsuit in U.S. history, a long-standing dispute against mega-corporation Wal-Mart Stores Inc. over alleged gender bias in pay and promotions. Arguments in the case are Tuesday morning and ruling can be expected by late June.

The company is the world's largest retailer and the nation's largest private employer. If the class-action goes through, hundreds of thousands of women - perhaps as many as 1.6 million plaintiffs - could join in the largest discrimination claim of its kind. Tens of billions of dollars or more in damages are potentially at stake.

On Tuesday’s program, Joseph Sellers, the lead attorney in Dukes v Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and plaintiff Betty Dukes will appear In The Arena.

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s five OFF-SET questions is Christine Kwapnoski, one of the original plaintiffs.

The mammoth appeal started small - six women from California, unknown to each other at first, but sharing a common story. "I'm a fighter if nothing else, and so are all the other women that are involved," said Kwapnoski.

You worked for Sam's Club since 1986 with outstanding evaluations, and you received a number of merit raises over the years.  Despite frequent requests for promotion, you were not allowed to join the ranks of management.  What reasons were you given?  

I was not given reasons typically.  Upon one occasion, I was told I needed to "doll up" and to "blow the cobwebs off my make-up."  I was working on the receiving dock when I was told these things.  This is a dusty, dirty area and it would be impossible to do the job if  I was wearing heels and a skirt. FULL POST

 “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS DIFFERENT” – President Barack Obama on Monday rejected criticism of his decision to commit U.S. forces to the U.N.-authorized military mission in Libya, telling the American people there were strategic and moral reasons to act. In a nationally televised speech at the National Defense University, Obama said his administration kept its pledge that the mission would be limited in size and scope, announcing that the NATO alliance would assume full command on Wednesday.

Col. Gadhafi must have been comforted to hear the president's words, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said following Obama's televised address.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with a leader of the Libyan opposition Tuesday as the United States looked to expand ties with rebel leaders fighting to oust Gadhafi. Clinton is attending a meeting of world leaders in London. More than 40 foreign ministers and representatives from regional groups are discussing ways to put pressure on Gadhafi.  

TYRANT’S YOUNGEST SON HAD INTERNSHIP WITH COMPANY IN THE U.S. – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's youngest son, who runs the country's elite special forces for his father's regime, was on an internship program in the United States when public unrest exploded in Libya last month. FULL POST