Initially, Obama pushed through
the controversial $787 billion stimulus plan with not one Republican vote in
the House of Representatives. The hope that the new President would be a
post-political, bi-partisan leader has been dashed. Obama has not been able
to generate Republican support for any of his liberal policies.
In fact, a recent poll showed
that President Obama is one of the most
divisive Presidents in U.S. history. He enjoys strong Democratic support, but
Republicans are very skeptical of his plans and for good reason. A massive
$410 billion omnibus spending bill was passed with 9,000 earmarks, even
though the President promised to fight any budgetary earmarks. The
President’s $3.6 trillion budget has been proposed for next year, which will
include the largest tax increase in our nation’s history and a huge budget deficit that will be triple the size of the
last Bush administration deficit.
Among the many ill-advised
provisions being advocated by Obama is a proposal to decrease the charitable
deduction for upper-income taxpayers. At a time when charitable organizations
are more important than ever, any proposal to limit their resources is
foolish. Some cynics believe this is part of Obama’s master plan to make more
and more people dependent on the government.
How large will the government
grow under President Obama? It seems that the sky is the limit. The President
has fired the CEO of GM and is calling the shots in the automobile industry.
The Treasury Secretary is preparing another bank
bailout bill, in addition to a mortgage bailout
package. Obama is now pursuing government subsidized health care,
trillions for “cap and trade” legislation to combat climate
change that many experts believe is not man-made. In fact, some
experts believe a more urgent worry is global cooling, not a worldwide
increase in temperatures.
All of this government growth
led to the popular uprising known as the tea party movement. On tax day, more
than one million people gathered across 50 states to express their outrage at
the uncontrolled growth of government. As the Obama administration continues
to change U.S. policies and expand government interference, the push back
from conservatives, libertarians and constitutionalists will grow even
stronger.
The radical agenda of the Obama
administration is not confined to domestic policy.
In the field of international relations, President Obama has disgraced this
office and this nation by apologizing for America on foreign soil. He claimed
that we are an “arrogant” nation and seemed to agree with every critic of the
U.S. He embraced the madman Hugo Chavez and
announced an interest for improving relations with communist Cuba. After
bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia in Europe,
President Obama bowed to the demands of the radical left by joining n the
chorus of criticism of the Bush era terror policies. Not only is President
Obama closing our terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo
Bay, but he is also banning interrogation
techniques such as water boarding. No matter that these interrogation
tactics helped save American lives and very likely prevented a terrorist attack on Los Angeles. The President is
even leaving the door open for prosecution for Bush
administration officials who authored those policies.
The
Department of Homeland Security has been busy, issuing warnings about
so-called “right wing extremists” and labeling returning veterans as
potential threats to this nation. It was the epitome of an insult to those
who have risked their lives for this nation. Instead of worrying about
conservatives, President Obama should be worried about securing the border
with Mexico and stopping the flow of illegal
aliens into this nation. In contrast, the administration is proposing an
amnesty policy that would legalize the 12 million+ illegal aliens in this
country.
Currently, America is facing a
potential swine flu epidemic that started in Mexico. Until an effective
vaccine has been created and the flu is under control, we are completely
vulnerable with our open border with Mexico. Immediate action should be taken
to protect the citizens of this nation and to prevent any potential carriers
of this disease from entering this country; the very health of each and every
citizen could be at risk. Yet, such a policy will not be pursued because it
is politically incorrect and the Obama administration tries to appease the
ACLU and their liberal cronies at every opportunity.
Today, the President is
enjoying an approval rating of 60%, but that
support is mainly because his medial coverage has been not only positive, but
fawning in nature. Leading every cheer for President Obama has been his
supporters in the mainstream media, who continue to tout his every policy and
assassinate the character of his opponents. On Wednesday, the President is
scheduled to hold his third prime time news conference
to mark his first 100 days in office. Of course, the media is granting him
free prime time coverage to advance his agenda. This is typical of every
request that Obama has made, as the mainstream media has been only too
willing to oblige.
If the
media ever becomes somewhat objective or the American
people become fully aware of the radical agenda being advanced, these
approval numbers will drop. It is a false sense of popularity right now and
it will only be maintained if the American people remain uninformed.
Visit
my website, www.RingsidePolitics.com to cast your vote in our
web poll on the first 100 days of President Barack
Obama
A
Jeff Crouere is the Host of “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri.
and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays
on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. He is the Political Analyst
for WGNO-TV ABC26 and a Columnist for selected publications. For more
information, visit his web site at RingsidePolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.
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