Originally Posted By: Matter-eater Man
I didn't reallize the constitution barred Obama from browbeating \:lol\:


I realize that you're trying to be clever and score political points while defending Snarf but this comment actually makes you sound as ridiculous and ill- informed as Snarf.

Part of what made Snarf look so stupid here was his attempt to compare the behavior of posters on a private message board to the government. Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of civics should have known that criticism or even threats by private persons do not carry, per se, the same coercive power or potential deprivation of rights that such threats, or "browbeating" carry when they come from the head of a government. Therefore, the Constitution generally prohibits certain government actions as being violative of due process, etc.

When the President of the United States uses threats of government action to force a private entity to give up rights under the law and, in essence, that President unilaterally rewrites the law to advance his political agenda and the interests of his largest campaign donors, that's a matter of legal and constitutional concern. We can legitimately differ on whether, under the law, the president has acted properly or not. However, it's still a matter of legtimate controversy over the limits of presidential power, etc.

What it's not, as apparently everyone but you (and Snarf) understand, is the same thing as spirited debate on a message board.