Alexander: 'Some evidence' the White House is abusing power

There is some evidence that the Obama administration is abusing the power of the federal government, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Thursday.

The Senate's third-ranking Republican reiterated his warning against the White House creating an enemies list, and said the White House may suffer from a "bunker mentality," a mindset Alexander, an alumnus of the Nixon White House, said had threatened other administrations.

"There's some evidence of that," Alexander told RealClearPolitics in an interview when asked whether President Barack Obama and his administration were abusing the power of the federal government in its offensive against Fox News, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and other groups which have opposed some of its policy priorities.

"When you threaten an industry that you're going to change the law in a way that will be detrimental to it, as Democrats have said to the insurance industry -- who were once their allies on healthcare reform, and then they changed their minds. Or when you say in effect, to major parts of the economy, either support us or we'll tax you, that's pretty heavy handed," Alexander said.

The senator said he does not know whether the current administration is maintaining an actual, physical enemies list, but said he saw the current White House efforts to belittle some opponents as problematic and unpresidential.

"I think the President is very effective in making his case," Alexander explained. "I think he needs to make it well, advocate strongly, fight for his positions, but not think those of us that might disagree with him from time to time as enemies and not allow his aides to develop a Bunker mentality."

The senator did not entirely talk down the Obama adminisration, however. He praised the president for "courageous" leadership on education reform, for instance, saying that Obama has an historic opportunity to reshape the U.S. educational system.

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