Recently many on the Left have leveled repeated accusations that the Republican Party is deliberately obstructionist. However I believe the appropriate response ought to be “yeah, and?” Competing government factions represent a still-healthy Constitution at work today. In reality, it’s when Washington politicians get along too well that you really need to start worrying.
Memo to black Americans: fall into line politically with your racial brethren or get voted off the proverbial island of blackness.
Increasing peer pressure to conform ideologically has infested the black community for years, but only recently has it become a mainstream phenomenon. Last week, sports “analyst” Rob Parker was suspended from ESPN’s First Take for questioning Washington Redskins’ quarterback Robert Griffin III’s “blackness.” Griffin’s offense? He likes the GOP.
The following should be required reading for any Americans who remain unconvinced that our great country is heading downhill. Last week an op-ed appearing in Russia’s dominant media outlet, Pravda, delivered a scathing rebuke to the American people. According to the author, Xavier Lerma, Barack Obama’s re-election signals America’s willingness to continue down a dark path toward national ruin. By endorsing the President’s agenda of higher taxes, greater deficits, more regulation and government bail-outs, Americans seem determined to accept the same fate as the Soviets decades earlier.
Following a resounding defeat at the polls on November 6th, conservatives everywhere have embarked on a soul-searching mission to uncover what exactly went wrong. It’s part of the healing process and we all have our own theories. However upon reading political analyst Ann Coulter’s take on the subject, I was surprised to discover that she credited incumbency, and not much else, for propelling Barack Obama to victory. I have a deep sense that something more profound is afoot. When she mentions legendary conservative Senator Barry Goldwater, albeit in a negative context, a light went off and I felt compelled to respond with my own thoughts. Unfortunately, I was not able to find an email address for Ms. Coulter (I suspect she gets lots of strongly worded correspondence), so I endeavored to write an open reply.
Recent reports from various media outlets might lead some to believe that a massive conspiracy to disenfranchise millions of likely Obama voters is afoot. Mother Jones, Huffington Post and even the New York Times have all cried foul on attempts by state legislatures to modernize voting laws, claiming that these laws unfairly prevent a disproportionate number of minorities from voting. Attorney General Eric Holder even suggested they represent a return to the Jim Crow era. Given the supposed severity of these infractions, why hasn’t President Obama ordered the National Guard on site of every voting booth in the country to ensure all Americans are guaranteed their most sacred right? Well, as it turns out, claims of racist voting laws have been greatly exaggerated by both the media and Obama campaign in what amounts to some hard-nosed Chicago-style political gamesmanship aimed at increasing voter turnout among the President’s most loyal constituents. Regardless, the fact remains that any motived citizen, whether black or white, rich or poor, can vote just as easily as ever.
Among President Obama’s key constituents, one particular demographic is well, just WEIRD. And I don’t mean strange. A term borrowed from NYU Professor Jonathan Haidt’s recent book entitled “The Righteous Mind”, WEIRD is an acronym for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic; and many of these individuals support the President. In fact, the majority of Obama supporters earn higher than average wages and 43% hold a college degree or better.
Is the use of the Federal government’s unlimited resources to help re-elect the incumbent ethical, or even legal? Apparently the Obama administration thinks so. Last month the White House issued official guidance absolving federal contractors from compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). They even offered to pick up the legal tab for any company sued by disgruntled employees upset over the systematic disregard of their legal rights.
Those worried about the direction of this country should steer clear of today’s op-ed section of the Wall Street Journal or else risk severe anxiety and perhaps higher blood pressure too. The subjects range from domestic issues such as education and the economy to foreign policy but all paint a harrowing picture of not only our current malaise but the dark path on which we now as a nation walk. The picture is of a country divided. One in which accountability is no longer relevant and apologists softly extoll their embarrassment of the Old America to foreign extremists. It tells the story of an administration that by every measure has failed unequivocally, and yet through divisive tactics and whitewashed promises still somehow keeps its head above the political waters. These are the tales that keep responsible, hard-working Americans awake at night.
A liberal friend of mine sent me an article by Kurt Eichenwald entitled “The Five Reasons Why Mitt Romney Must Be Defeated And Why Conservatives Should Hope They Are” in an attempt, I suppose, to alter my thinking on the subject. Instead I was utterly appalled by the misinformed, partisan scare tactics being passed off as genuine concern for the United States.
Americans have a “what have you done for me lately” attitude towards politicians who have duly taken note. Just take for example the current hoopla surrounding whether this country is better off than it was four years ago. But four years is a relatively short time in the political sphere and macroeconomic policies such as the Affordable Care Act can take decades before their effects are fully realized. Because of the American public’s need for immediate, tangible results, politicians have increasingly sacrificed the long-term welfare of this country in favor of unsustainable short-term benefits. Two policies in particular illustrate the dangers of this behavior: public sector unionization and Social Security.
