Saturday, May 18, 2013

Destroy the President at all Costs!


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…