President Obama’s administration has been beset by a
plague of scandals to the delight of the Conservative Right and the Tea Party crowd.
The Opposition has been piling on more than ever with Obama’s re-election to a
second term. Having thwarted the Right’s concerted effort to make President Obama
a one term president, the President has been besieged with efforts to bring down his presidency no
matter the cost to our once great nation and its people.
Since the midterm elections in 2010 that swept the Tea
Party candidates into the House of Representatives and the Senate, Washington
has been at a standstill. Our Congress has been gridlocked. The Republican
House has passed no substantive legislation in over 2 years and the Democrat
Senate has not been able to overcome Republican filibusters. Obama appointments
have been held up leaving many government agencies like the ATF (Alcohol
Tobacco and Firearms…guns) and the IRS (Internal Revenue Service…taxes) without
agency heads to lead them. I don’t think this is a coincidence! Anything that
can be used to portray this President, his policies and programs as toxic for
America is being spewed into the media over and over again with Fox News being
the biggest spewer.
How soon Americans forget the scandals of Bush’s presidency
that make Obama’s current scandals pale by comparison. Go to http://www.salon.com/2005/01/18/scandal_11/
for a long list of some 34 Bush
administration scandals on Salon.com’s website. Remember the Senate Computer Theft of
Democratic Strategy Memos? Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force and the many Halliburton
Scandals including over charging the U. S. Army? The Tom DeLay Scandal? Abu Ghraib? Weapons of Mass Destruction? Americans
have a short memory and Republicans are damn good at making mole hills look
like mountains when it comes to Obama.
Look, my purpose is not to minimize Obama’s current
scandals, but to try and put some sort of perspective on them. The AP scandal seems
to be getting the most outcries of the three. It was an assault on the freedom of
the press and it should be investigated. The biggest fault I have is not taking
it before a judge to determine the threat to national security. There is a
clear and present danger to letting the Government decide on its own if
national security trumps the public’s right to know through a free press. But
where was the outrage when Bush signed The
American Patriot Act into law? That law allows for roving wire taps, searches
of business records and library records as well as the surveillance of
Americans only suspected, but not actually linked to terror organizations. It
would seem that the “horse is already out of the barn” when comes to the protection
of our Constitutional rights.
As far as the IRS scandal, Obama needs to investigate if
the IRS was scrutinizing Tea Party organizations seeking tax exempt status as a
social welfare non-profit for political gain. To be fair, the IRS is perhaps
one of the most hated agencies in our government. Who wants to pay more taxes
than they have to, especially if you are a Tea Party Republican, but should
these thinly veiled political groups get a pass to abuse the system? I think
not. There is a real danger here. The Bush administration also used the IRS,
FBI, CIA and Secret Service to go after political opponents. Where was Fox News
and GOP outrage then? There wasn’t any. Congress should be passing bills to
make sure that political abuse of the IRS and other agencies do not continue
under any administration…but they won’t. They think there is more political advantage
to blame and pointing fingers and calling for impeachment than fixing the
problem.
The continued attack on Obama over Benghazi is getting
ridiculous. There were seven attacks on our embassies and consulates from 2002
to 2008, when George W. Bush was President. A total of 31 people were killed
and over 60 people injured. The Middle East is a dangerous place and America
and American policies are not popular there. The Republican obsession over who
changed the talking points has been resolved and it is time to move on people!
Scandals have continued to plague Presidents in their
second term, and Obama will certainly be no exception. But yet he, President
Obama, is being made the exception by a relentless tide of conservative right
opponents, hell bent on destroying his presidency and any Obama legacy before
the end of his second term. What drives them? Is it hatred, racism or merely a
difference in ideology? Their leaders in the Republican House continue to insanely
vote for repeal of The Affordable Health Care Act a record 37 times. It is even
more insane that the original idea was a REPUBLICAN idea and implemented by
Republican Governor Mitt Romney for the State of Massachusetts. And by most
accounts… it’s working people!
For me, this question remains. Will the Opposition pursue
their obsession to destroy this American President at all costs to this once
great nation or will they finally come to terms, get off their butts,
compromise and get something constructive legislation done in Washington for a
change? How long can this country endure Republican efforts to block
legislation, block appointments, stall efforts to restore a fragile economy and
jobs, thwart implementation of Wall Street reforms, deny Americans healthcare reform
and a jeopardize a secure retirement for millions of Americans? I remain hopeful for progress and change, but the
“forces of Anti” are loud and strong. I guess we will find out in the 2014 midterm
elections if America is tired of obstruction and finally ready for hope and
change.
Food for THOUGHT…
