Pay to Play...and Those Who Support It.

Pay To Play…and Those Who Support It.  Two of the big stories making the rounds these days are the Planned Parenthood controversy swirling around their startling videos and the demise (or is it?) of Congressional authorization for the Export-Import Bank program.  In my humble opinion, and at the heart of both matters, we see symptoms of our politically corrupt system of government and vivid illustrations of paying to play.

I am not fan of Senator Ted Cruz.  Although clearly an intelligent and effective politician, he seems to feed too easily on the cameras and his ambitions too often lie close to the surface.  Having said this, the Senate Republicans do themselves no good when they chastise him for challenging Senate Leader McConnell for his handling of the Ex-IM Bank issue.  Senate decorum be damned, right is right; and in this case, Cruz has exposed McConnell for being the fox in the henhouse.   Reports indicate that well over 95 percent of exports and imports manage to occur organically without the intervention of the Ex-Im Bank.   And when you see that the biggest beneficiaries of the Bank are corporations such as GE and Boeing, and you look at the salary structure of their management, one cannot help but question exactly whose interests Senator McConnell is representing in this deal.  Plain and simple, the Ex-Im Bank is a classic example of an international corporation buying favorable treatment in Congress with money.   The House has passed a Transportation Bill without any extraneous riders and has made it clear that they do not support the re-authorization of the Ex-Im Bank.  If the Republican majority in the Senate wants to walk the walk and refrain from weasel behavior that is the height of hypocrisy, they will NOT attach an Ex-Im Bank re-authorization rider to their version of the Transportation Bill.  Mitch McConnell…I’m looking at you.

Of all the serious, contentious, and multi-faceted issues currently facing this nation, none is more emotionally wrenching than that of abortion.  The debate is dictated by the extreme positions on each side, with the majority of Americans watching from the sidelines and discussing the merits of the issue in the sunroom over morning coffee.  If you believe that life begins at conception, abortion is simply murder; whenever it occurs.  If you believe that a fetus only becomes a person when the cord is severed, then you can support abortion right up until the birth process.  I cautiously suggest that the consequences for most abortion decisions lie between an individual and their God and the government really has no place in the argument.  Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in.  Our country is greatly divided on this issue, with sincere and well-meaning people on both sides.  It strikes me that an extremely rational and reasonable course of action for regulating abortion is the 20 week rule, with exceptions for rape and incest.  I believe that the clear majority of people oppose abortion in the last trimester and a clear majority of people are at least open to an abortion option in the first trimester.  Barring abortions after 20 weeks, with these two exceptions, strikes a balance between these two positions and addresses the heartbreaking complications of rape and incest.  It is a reasonable place to start.  However unsettled the question of state and federal policy towards abortion might be, one thing is clear: When a nation is as divided on an issue as it clearly is on abortion, not one red cent of taxpayer money should be spent on the procedure.  If Planned Parenthood wants to justify its taxpayer subsidy on the good works it does (and it does some good work), then the abortion practices and efforts of the entity should be separated from the balance of its other work in the appropriation process.  Planned Parenthood has bought its existence and suckled at the taxpayer teat for decades through the naked purchase of Democratic political support in Congress.  It is time to pull the sheet back on this illicit arrangement and only support what the clear majority of citizens agree with.  Under no circumstances should that taxpayer support include abortion.

Getting Over to Get Even.

Getting Over to Get Even.  Even though I have, for quite a long time, held a very low opinion of Obama’s performance as our president, I have never harbored a severe dislike for him personally.  Frankly, his arrogance and narcissism was so off-putting, I found it easy to simply disregard him on a personal level.  He is not the kind of man I would choose to drink a beer with by my garden, in the lawn chairs.  All that being said, his unfettered bent since the last general election cycle has made it rather difficult to separate the president from the man.  As this angle on Barrack has unfolded, I have come to ponder exactly what motivates the man to be what he is; to do what he does, the way he does it.  I have concluded that he enjoys getting over to get even; let me expand.

It is difficult for me to identify with what a black might feel about racism; I am white man.  It would naturally be just as difficult for a black man to identify with my life.  I have never doubted that this nation profited shamefully from the practice of slavery; the north as well as the south.  Just as much of the agricultural foundation of the south was built on the cheap labor of slavery, the accompanying industrial complex of the northeast took great advantage of black and immigrant Americans.  While knowing that this was an unworthy period in our country’s history, I have never felt a personal guilt for slavery.  If my ancestors were slaveholders, they will ultimately account for their lives.  I will be held accountable for how I treat people and how I conduct my affairs; my salvation will not lie in the sins of my white ancestors; as they may be.

I have written before about my personal belief that the ultimate remedy for racial discrimination is the elimination in the law, and the regulation of that law, of all the code language and practices that continue to foster a great racial divide in this society; under the guise of being a remedy to past transgressions.  Until we write law that demands equal treatment for all races, and the intent depends of the effective enforcement of that law, we will continue to be a racially divided population.  We will continue to foster professional civil rights leaders and a sense of entitlement from those who more desperately need a hand up than a hand out.   I am not so naïve to think that discrimination has ceased to exist in America; it has not.  I have seen it my life; and continue to see it.  However, there are two important points that must be made about discrimination.  First, reverse discrimination is also discrimination.  To try to correct past wrongs by wronging those who were not personally responsible for the original wrong is….well, it is just wrong-headed.  Secondly, there will always be idiots among us who hate.  Sometimes they will be white; sometimes they will be black; and oftentimes they will a combination of the two or another color altogether.  You cannot outlaw idiocy.  If a person chooses to be an individual full of hate and spite, they unfortunately have the right to live their life with that burden.  What they do not have the right to do is burden others with it.  That is where the law must draw the line, in equal terms between the races, and simply guarantee a person’s rights and dignity; not that person’s perceived entitlement to any type of special treatment stemming from skin color.

When I read Obama’s life history, I am struck by the common thread of subtle anti-Americanism.  How ironic that he becomes the president of a nation he has so long, both openly and surreptitiously, despised.  Why would he want to be the head of an entity that he finds so revolting?  Initially, you might think he was on a path to change the entity from within; to work within the structure of the legislative process to make us a better and more equitable nation.  But his public record is devoid of any effort resembling a legislative initiative such as this.   We see instead a record of using the system to his advantage; enjoying his free reign as an activist, and pursuing a professional career as a community organizer.  The problem here is that he never quit being a community organizer.  Once he achieved the historic feat of becoming our first black president, he shied away from the plentiful opportunities to accomplish real legislative, and lasting, change in our country and chose instead to continue the cheap and shallow rhetorical adventures of the community activist.  And that fire inside Obama, the one that kept whispering in his ear that America was full of white racists who were near descendants of slaveholders, was stoked once again in a blaze and it was time for a reckoning.  It was time to get over to get even.

Getting over is the quick and easy way to force your will when you have the upper hand.  It is much more efficient and effective than negotiation or discussion.  It allows, even glorifies, demagoguery and demonization of those who disagree with you.  It makes those in subordinate authority toe the line rather than risk an open disagreement with the one in authority.  It permits one to get by with outrageous, shameful, and hypocritical behavior through the use of deceit and outright lies.  For a President of the United States of America, it is pretty much a carte blanche to do whatever the hell you want to do.  Obama has taken full advantage of this and fully intends to take it to new levels in his remaining time in office. 

Getting even is the end product of long held hatred and resentment; the vengeful result of continually feeling wronged and treated in a fashion not found to be proper.  Obama’s long-held dislike for this nation, its history, and especially its assimilation of black Americans, was finally allowed to blossom fully once he occupied the White House.  Faced with fantastical opportunity to implement broad-based, racially inclusive, reforms through our democratic process, he chose instead to use every tool, lever, and device to get even for all the wrongs he perceived to have been experienced by black Americans.   He chose the method of getting over in order to get even for our shameful chapter of slavery.  And in doing so, he has not only disgraced himself, but also the office of the Presidency.  He has done a great disservice to black Americans; selfishly throwing away such promise to reconcile the many colors of our society.  He has taken a nation that was trying, in good conscience and in fits and starts, to resolve the vestiges of racial discrimination and plunged it backwards from whence it stood.  He has compounded an illness that was on its way to passage and has irrevocably made it more difficult for his successors to deal with the issue of racial discrimination in these United States.

Small Ball(s) Obama

Small Ball(s) Obama.  Our self-absorbed chief executive continues his pattern of maximizing his limited time in office trying to accomplish maximum screw-up with this nation.  Emboldened by recent events that broke his way with SCOTUS, selling a sell-out as brilliant diplomacy with the Iran deal, and constantly having his ego stroked by a friendly (no…that should be fawning) MSM, he is taking executive action to new heights on a daily basis.  The good news is that he has only one and a half years remaining in office.  The bad news is that he has one and a half years remaining in office.

Today’s blog title has a dual meaning.  The first is an attempt to label Obama’s remaining time in office with an appropriate strategy name.  In this case, a sports analogy would seem apt.  Having used up all his big gun ammo early on in his administration and observing that any semblance of support (either Democrat or Republican) has failed to coalesce in Congress, he is now relegated to abusing his power as president, implementing through executive fiat what he cannot accomplish through legitimate legislative means.  And shameless as he is, it is not a bother to him that even though the Judiciary may eventually overturn many of his executive and regulatory adventures, he knows that by the time that happens, much of his fantasy policy will already be deeply ingrained in our society.  Our president is tragically like the small adolescent who, finding himself unexpectedly left at home alone, rushes through the house seeing how much mayhem he can create before the parents arrive back home. 

The other tilt on today’s title is a reference to Obama as a classic weasel, in almost every respect.  He plays fast and loose with the truth, he negotiates in bad faith, he demonizes sincere and well-meaning people who disagree with him, and he sees his office as a platform from which to foist his personal ideals on our country.  Having failed miserably at accomplishing any legislative matter of quality substance (no, Obamacare fails due to the quality test), having abstained his constitutional responsibility to work with Congress on the orderly administration of our government, and having consistently taken the easier path when the harder path would have been a better choice; he now resides in his White House and pursues every cowardly option available to transform this nation into “his kind of place”.  Having been ushered into the office on the wings of “hope and change”, he is determined to exit the office on the back of “disarray and destruction”. Had he been a better man, a better representative of the people, a man of conviction and principle…; one can only swallow the regret that comes with a look back at the lost opportunities for positive and constructive change that were presented to him. 

Bereft of courage and statesmanship, our president has paddled around in his Capitol lily pond for six and a half years, either running from every substantial challenge he faced or facing it in a deceitful and dishonorable fashion.  To any objective observer, it is pathetic to see one who was once held in such high esteem with so much good will be exposed, beyond all doubt, as the shallow egotist that he is.   Playing out his game with singles, walks, and hoping for errors from the opposition (and the Republicans are all too accommodating), he stands before his final innings as a facile lame duck, flailing about for attention and full of self-aggrandizement.  Once again, can December 31, 2016 arrive soon enough?

About Those Trends...

About Those Trends…The Old Gray Lady and the Washington Post, along with many other MSM outlets, have been enjoying the past few weeks.  They trumpet how Obama is on a roll with his recent trade authority victory in Congress; this even though it was more a dubious victory for McConnell than it was for Obama.  The string of SCOTUS decisions has emboldened these bastions of progressiveness to declare that the country is trending liberal.  They can hardly contain their glee; Obama is cementing his legacy, SCOTUS is magically enlightened, and national tolerance has been raised to levels heretofore unseen.  Not only are we now tolerating practices that many (sometimes meeting majority status) find objectionable; but we must each, as individuals, actually endorse and sanction these practices lest we be branded as Neanderthals.  But I will pose the question: Is the country trending more liberal, or is it just the Democratic Party that is trending more liberal?  I believe it is the latter.

Both of our major political parties have been hijacked in recent years by their more radical elements; this is nothing new.  The loudest voice in the room is most often heard and the far right, along with the far left, has been screaming at the top of their voices for several years now.  Do president Obama, Mayor De Blasio, Senator Gillibrand, Governor Brown, SCOTUS member Ginsburg….do all of these people represent the mainstream of America?  Are all of those, like me, who disagree strongly with their policies and political views, moving towards their positions in these matters?    Is MSNBC an accurate reflection of how the majority of Americans view the world?  I hardly think so.  Rather, I think that the far left of the Democratic Party, drunk on a string of events and political victories, have become irrational in their celebration, and are greatly overreaching in their effort to expand on their performances; and are using their reliable appendage, the mainstream media, to promote the false impression that the overwhelming majority of citizens agree with them and the ideas they are promoting.

Inevitably, when one overreaches, it results in significant push back and the net gain is demonstrably reduced to something significantly less impressive than was originally scored.  My gut tells me that is where we are with this entire rainbow tolerating, autocratic executive actioning, arbitrary SCOTUS decisioning, MSM horn blowing, and foreign policy tomfoolery.  I think if one looks closely, the great swath of people who occupy that silent (flyover?) segment of this great country between the radical elements of each party is beginning to awaken to the ever-increasing intrusion that these actions are perpetrating on their lives.  I think that perhaps the bear has been poked once too often, the celebration has become a bit too obnoxious, and the beast is beginning to rumble.  At least, I hope and pray this is true.

This nation was built on the twin pillars of freedom and respect; freedom to be the individual you want to be as long as you don’t harm others in the process and respect for those freedoms from those who do not agree with them.  Of the many problems that face this great nation, the two that must be essentially addressed is that our government has become far too large and our government has become (and is rapidly becoming) far too intrusive. The election of 2016 is a lifetime away, but the stakes are very clear at this early juncture.  Even though Republicans have shown very little more inclination (in results, not rhetoric) to shrinking the size of government and getting our fiscal house in order; there is little doubt that they are the party of less government intrusion.  If the citizens of this nation who take the time to vote elect a Democrat for President in 2016, that person will no doubt be obligated to the liberal wing of their party, who are now in clear control of that apparatus.  It will not only be a continuation of the Obama policies we have seen unleashed in the last year or so, but the push towards a socialized nation will become even more aggressive and pervasive.  Give that Democrat in the White House a majority Senate and you will surely set in place a transformative period in our country’s history that will end up with us looking more like France than Canada.  On the other hand, if my gut is correct and the push-back is beginning, and if the Republicans nominate a reasonable and competent candidate, then we will have in place not only a tourniquet to stop this liberal bleeding, but the real possibility of rolling back some of the liberal polices foisted upon us in the final, frantic days of Obama. 

I must admit, there is little in the past that makes me think the Republicans, if given control of the White House and Congress, will bring our fiscal house in order.  That is exceedingly sad and depressing; but perhaps there is a true leader out their somewhere in the vast field of Republican nominee-seekers who can lead the charge and help to bring some degree of fiscal sanity back to our government.  It is for damn sure that Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Martin O’Malley, or Joe Biden will not.  As for government intrusion…if we elect a Republican, there is certainly no guarantee that domestic policy will improve in real terms; but if we elect a Democrat, you might as well set another chair at your dinner table because government is coming into your house on a permanent basis.