Posted on 08/09/2011 9:42:56 AM PDT by Kaslin
Being a disciple of Saul Alinsky might not be so easy as it would appear. President Obama and his minions obviously can't decide whom to scapegoat for the nation's credit downgrade and our financial crisis.
One thing is for sure: It's not in Barack Obama to accept personal responsibility for the consequences of his actions and policies. He still won't own this economy and the exploding spending spiral, reminding us at every turn that our problems are a result of what he "inherited" from President Bush.
Instead of seeking to soothe the nation on word of the downgrade by Standard & Poor's, Obama played golf, prepared for more campaign fundraisers and avoided the cameras -- for a change. But there can be little doubt he was strategizing about whom to blame for this unfolding catastrophe.
The first and most obvious choice would probably have been his treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner -- except that to blame Geithner would have been tantamount to blaming himself; Geithner is Obama's guy. Nix that.
So why not blame Europe and the global markets? Well, there was some of that, but that's a bit too far from home, so to speak. An Alinsky-model target is usually more accessible and less sympathetic -- you know, someone or some entity against whom one can gin up white-hot hate.
So he settled on blaming S&P itself -- the proverbial messenger -- and who else? The evil tea party for the debt ceiling impasse. Pathetic. Oh, yes, and for good measure, his liberal colleague Rep. Barney Frank threw in the military and said he hopes the downgrade will force large military spending cuts.
An unrepentant Geithner immediately took the offense and insultingly attacked S&P for its decision to downgrade our credit rating. "I think S&P's shown really terrible judgment. And they've handled themselves very poorly, and they've shown a stunning lack of knowledge about basic U.S. fiscal budget math."
S&P's managing director, David Beers, didn't receive the slander sitting down. He said he had "absolutely" no second thoughts about the decision. He also said it was a gross exaggeration to suggest that the downgrade was mainly responsible for the market sell-off, pointing to the extreme volatility of the market in the period preceding the downgrade.
Consider also the arrogance of this administration for lecturing anyone else about his budgetary acumen. We've not experienced a financial train wreck in our national history so directly traceable to the White House.
There is no question Republicans bear some degree of blame for all of this, but Obama (and his party) has ratcheted up spending to an entirely new level of profligacy. His deficits are three times those of his predecessor and 10 times the Bush deficit of 2007. If you still have doubts about Obama's monumental spending increases, please review this graph:
But this spending orgy is only our second-greatest problem, because spending -- discretionary and entitlement -- is reversible if the political will exists to make it happen. The greatest problem we have is a stubborn, defiant lack of will on the part of President Obama and his Democrats to join Republicans in implementing the reforms. This nation is in quicksand because of its spending, but we've got a chief executive and his party preventing Republican reformers from extricating it.
Obama has no idea how to govern or lead -- beyond leading us into financial disaster. His forte is campaigning and propaganda. He still hasn't presented a plan but has instead chosen to generally call for more taxes on the "wealthy" and -- incredibly -- more "stimulus" spending. For perspective, the Congressional Budget Office's latest projected 10-year deficit is estimated to be some $13 trillion, whereas Obama's vaunted tax on the rich would only bring in $1 trillion -- and this assumes no growth-smothering effects of raising rates.
But Obama knows only class warfare and blame projection. How convenient for Obama that the tea party forced a debt ceiling showdown on which he could blame the downgrade. But if it weren't for the tea party's efforts, we still probably wouldn't have turned the national conversation to our spending and debt crises. Congress wouldn't have initiated even the reductions in the rates of spending (euphemistically called "cuts") that we've seen this past year.
The debt ceiling showdown was a positive development because it focused the national spotlight on our debt picture and the president's refusal to join the problem-solvers instead of continuing as the problem-maker in chief.
More and more Americans are coming to realize that our three humongous problems -- runaway unsustainable discretionary spending, insanely unsustainable and exponentially exploding unfunded entitlement liabilities, and a lifeless economy -- are mostly Obama's fault. But more importantly, they are coming to see that our far greater problem is his (and his party's) abject refusal -- as evidenced yet again in his disgraceful speech Monday -- to make the government live within its means.
Yes. And where are the screaming voices of the “conservative” Congress calling for Obama’s employment termination? Where are the supposed front-runners of the Repub party? Why are they not capitalizing on this horror story before us?
Hey Romney — where are you hiding? Where is ANY leadership from the conservatives? Will we see it in the “Super Congress”? What a farse.
“...The greatest problem we have is a stubborn, defiant lack of will on the part of President Obama and his Democrats to join Republicans in implementing the reforms...”
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That does not adequately describe the problem;
elected officials are a mere reflection of the voters;
OUR FELLOW CITIZENS WHO ELECT FOOLS AND SOCIALISTS ARE THE REAL PROBLEM.
(We have met the enemy and he is us. ~ Pogo)
He gives the Republicans way too much credit. Way too many Republicans are re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic too. Ask for a remotely "real" cut and you are called a savage who wants to kill children and the elderly.
And, of course, there is no "will" because it means standing up to voters, who sadly aren't willing to entertain the types of deep cuts and entitlement reform that is necessary. Even some "conservatives" go ballistic when there is talk of cutting back Medicare and Social Security.
To call for the arrogant pos’ impeachment and removal right now is totally useless. While we do have the majority in the House which can impeach him, we do not have the majority in the senate, to remove him. Or did you forget that
Since when do liberals care about other people’s money they (the liberals) want to spend
“To call for the arrogant pos’ impeachment and removal right now is totally useless....”
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No, sadly I did not forget. But it does good to get out the sentiment about what this fraud is doing to America. And the fact we cannot remove him right now is no excuse for the Repubs to be so silent on the issues at hand. They just do not fight — the job, paycheck and benefits are more important than our country. What a freakin’ mess.
Obama won't ever provide a plan because a plan can be evaluated. The hidden truth is that increasing taxes on the "rich" won't fix the deficits. He won't provide a stimulus plan because people would be able to look at where the money is going. Obama is a deceitful little man without the courage to address facts and reality.
My 401K has gone from +7 percent to -9 percent in the last 5 days due to the Democrats addition to spending and the GOP’s lack of a back bone to stand up to them. Thank God for the Tea Party’s willingness to stand for principles. Had they not, I’m afraid that the sharp drop would have turned into a flat over the cliff moment.
That's a keeper
Bachmann has been speaking out loud and clear.
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