Hollow victory: Republicans deliver slap in the face to Barack Obama

Hollow victory: Republicans deliver slap in the face to Barack Obama

President Barack Obama got the $825 (or $1.2 trillion over a decade) stimulus package through the House of Representatives but the 244 to 188 vote is a hollow victory indeed. Without a single Republican voting for the bill, his high-profile visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday came to exactly naught – at least on the House side.

Obama vowed to change Washington and usher in a new post-partisan era. The the mood music and optics were pitch perfect as he trekked up to the Hill. Republicans praised his gesture, welcomed his sincere demeanour and appreciated his willingness to listen.

Problem was, he wanted only to listen and did not want to act on what Republicans said. When he was asked if he would re-structure the package to include more tax cuts, he reportedly responded: “Feel free to whack me over the head because I probably will not compromise on that part.”

He apparently added: ” I understand that and I will watch you on Fox News and feel bad about myself.”

That’s fine. No doubt Obama will indeed get beaten up on Fox News. But his failure to get even the squishiest moderate Republican  – including the 11 entertained in the White House by Rahm Emanuel last night – to back him is not merely a big score for Rep Eric Cantor, Republican Whip, and the rest of the GOP leadership.

It also shows that it is not just Fox, the loony Right or Rush Limbaugh – or however else you might want to characterise the opposition in order to marginalise it – who had grave misgivings about the content of the bill.

The Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill badly miscalculated by treating the bill as a victor’s charter. Not that it seemed to bother Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, who grinned from ear to ear as she announced the result of the vote.

Obama said yesterday he did not feel he had ownership of the bill. Be that as it may, if it goes through the Senate in similar fashion and is signed into law then – the efforts of Pelosio and Senator Harry Reid notwithstanding – it will be his and his alone.

GOP-Obama love affair fizzles

Obama Fails First Week

Barack Obama promised “change we can believe in,” a new “hope” and “transparency in government” in the days leading up to his inauguration.  However, his first week in office has been mired by a series of missteps and failures.  The following report card by the “Our Country PAC” highlights a week in office that reveals Obama hasn’t changed at all from the liberal he was in the U.S. Senate and Illinois State Senate.

We’ve included citation links to support each of the claims made here.  So be sure to SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS – CLICK HERE.

At a time of staggering deficits that require fiscal responsibility from the President and Congress, Obama and the Democratic leadership in the House & Senate are trying to outdo one another in spending more of your tax dollars.

Obama’s currently pushing for a $1 TRILLION spending plan that is heavy on big government programs with very little tax relief.

Before he even took office, Obama pressed then-President Bush to request the second $350 billion in federal bailout money.  This is despite the fact that the first installment of bailout funds failed to loosen up credit markets as anticipated.  Instead, many banks kept the money to pad their own balance sheets, and proceeded to cut credit limits on their customer’s bank credit cards.

Obama has placed a desire to “be liked” and to appease America’s enemies ahead of our national security concerns.  He has emboldened America’s enemies and showed a dangerous weakness that some will be sure to challenge or exploit with Obama as Commander in Chief.

First Obama suspended the trials of terrorists being held at GITMO (Guantamo Bay Cuba Terrorist Detention Facility).  Then Obama announced that GITMO would be closed altogether within one year – despite not having a plan in place on what to do with the terrorists being held there.  Shortly after his announcement a video surfaced featuring two al-Qaida terrorists who had been held at GITMO – but then released.  A Pentagon report indicates at least 61 GITMO detainees went on to commit or attempt to commit terrorist attacks after they were released from GITMO.  And Obama now foolishly wants ALL detainees released from GITMO.

Obama similarly signed an executive order limiting the interrogation techniques U.S. intelligence officers can use in trying to obtain critical information from terrorists that could save American lives.

Obama also undermined the U.S. War on Terror by appeasing those who have been most critical of the missions of U.S. troops.  His first call to a foreign head of state was not to a key U.S. ally (such as Britain or Israel) but instead to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.  Similarly, Obama’s first official interview since becoming president was with a Middle Eastern television network known for broadcasting anti-American tirades, al-Arabiya television.

Barack Obama angered pro-life advocates across the globe when he signed an executive order allowing taxpayer funding of abortions at U.S. facilities around the globe.

While people may differ on abortion policies here in America, it is an affront to pro-life Americans to take their tax dollars and use them to end human life.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week pushed for $200 million in funding for birth control saying, “we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.”  Astonishingly, the Democratic leadership was arguing that children are too costly for the nation at this time.

To his credit, Obama did ask House leaders to scrap the funding proposal, but he did not denounce Speaker Pelosi’s comments, but instead said it was not the right time for such a proposal – concerned about the backlash from some Republicans on Capitol Hill over the issue,

For all the talk of “change” that Obama pledged to bring to Washington, he has instead surrounded himself with the same Washington establishment figures he had said were part of the nation’s problems.

But what’s been worse is seeing the controversies surrounding Obama’s appointments.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has been called a “tax cheat” for having evaded his taxes.

His pick for Commerce Secretary was forced to withdraw his name from consideration after it was announced that he was the target of a federal corruption probe.

Obama’s nominee for Attorney General, Eric Holder, advocated clemency for 16 FALN terrorists during the Clinton administration and his law firm represents numerous individuals held at the GITMO terrorist detention facility.

And after Obama pledged not to have lobbyists serving in key posts in his administration he nominated an ex-lobbyist to serve as Deputy Secretary of Defense.

The Pelosi-Obama-Reid Trillion Dollar Debt Plan

From the Heritage Foundation

Morning Bell: The Pelosi-Obama-Reid Trillion Dollar Debt Plan

Last Friday we warned you about some family planning provisions tucked away in the House stimulus bill. Some conservative lawmakers then took up the issue on the Sunday shows, and the provisions quickly became a symbol of how completely unrelated to “economic stimulus” the House bill really is. Being the savvy political operator he is, President Barack Obama has now instructed House Democrats to remove that one provision. But, like much of Obama’s presidency so far, this was a completely symbolic move. The family planning provisions are just one small loophole inside of a massive new permanent expansion of socialized medicine. Don’t believe us? Here is how the New York Times reports (not editorializes, a hard news report) on the bill:

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The stimulus bill working its way through Congress is not just a package of spending increases and tax cuts intended to jolt the nation out of recession. For Democrats, it is also a tool for rewriting the social contract with the poor, the uninsured and the unemployed, in ways they have long yearned to do.

As Congress rushes to inject cash into a listless economy, it is setting aside many of the restraints that have checked new domestic spending for more than a decade.

The economic stimulus bill prevents states from enforcing a means test. … Republicans said this proposal would take a big step toward federalizing Medicaid. For their part, Democrats said the changes took a major step toward their goal of coverage for all Americans.

This is why long time advocates for socialized medicine, like Ways and Means health subcommittee chair Pete Stark (D-CA), have been telling reporters not to expect any other health care legislation this year. This “stimulus” bill is the left’s major down payment for socialized medicine. By making everyone eligible, the bill makes government health care the default option for the unemployed. Coupled with their SCHIP legislation that makes three-fourths of all American children eligible for Medicaid, this stimulus bill is designed to maximize the pushing of Americans off their current private coverage and into government run health care.

The left’s power grab does not end with health care. As we noted last week, and the New York Times reports today, the bill will “profoundly change the federal government’s role in education, which has traditionally been the responsibility of state and local government.” The NYT continues: “The proposed emergency expenditures on nearly every realm of education … would amount to the largest increase in federal aid since Washington began to spend significantly on education after World War II.”

And we haven’t even got to the Christmas tree like wish list of other long sought after leftist spending priorities, which include: $1 billion for Amtrak, $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts; $400 million for global warming research; $2.4 billion for clean coal; $650 million for even more digital TV conversion coupons; $600 million for new government cars; $7 billion for modernizing federal buildings; $150 million for the Smithsonian; and $54 billion for Economic Development Office and Small Business Administration programs that the OMB or GAO have already analyzed to be “ineffective.”

All of this deficit spending has a cost. And the Congressional Budget Office confirmed yesterday that the cost of servicing the mountains of new debt of all this government expansion pushes the total price tag of just the existing House spending plans (before a single cent of Senate waste is added) to over $1 trillion dollars. In a letter to Rep. Paul Ryan (D-WI) CBO director Doug Elmendorf writes: “CBO estimates that the government’s interest costs would increase by $0.7 billion in fiscal year 2009 and by a total of $347 billion over the 2009- 2019 period.” In other words, the Pelosi-Obama-Reid Debt Plan already weighs in at $1.172 trillion.

President Obama reportedly told Republicans yesterday, “I would love to not have to spend this money.” Every American is free to take Obama’s words at face value. Or you could believe the President’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Commenting on the left’s governing plans this November, he said: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before.” Exactly.

Predicting Obama’s Presidency

Predicting Obama’s Presidency

langeKit Lange is an Air Force veteran and military writer. Her blog, EuphoricReality.com, was named as one of the top 10 milblogs of the year.

My Predictions for the New Obama “Presidency”.

Now that America has shown us all that affirmative action even works in politics, I’ve compiled a list of things that you can probably expect to happen. These predictions are 80% gleaned from information all of us have access to, and 15% gut instinct based on many years of research, historical study, and being glued to current affairs. The other 5% is just anger at my countrymen’s stupidity–I admit it.

    – Israel will understand this election was the end of any type of assistance, military or otherwise, from the U.S., and will stop holding back their defense at the request of the American administration. Look for a first strike on Iran soon, as well as increased activity by the Israeli military in general. Israel is on her own now, and God help us all because of it.

    – Websites and mass emails offering “free grants,” courtesy of the government and “Obama’s wealth redistribution.” Actually, this one’s a freebie, because I have an email with a date and timestamp of literally minutes after Obama was declared the winner, offering exactly that.- Look for Iranian retaliation–against American targets. That goes doubly for other terrorist organizations. We just elected a man with the full endorsement of every major terrorist group in the world as leader of the free world. It’s the political equivalent of hiring a child molester to babysit your kids while you leave for the weekend. Not only is HE going to have fun with your child, but he’ll probably sit and watch while his friends come over and do it too.

    – Look for far-left justices appointed to the Supreme Court, effectively tying up the entire government in a trifecta of liberal humanism, the buzzwords of which remain empty platitudes like “hope and change,” and the ultimate goal of which is socialism–and soon, sharia law.

    – Military cases of troops being tried and convicted for killing the enemy in combat will continue to rise–and the conviction/plea-bargain rate will stay at nearly 100%, as the government seeks to use the best men and women this country has to offer as sacrificial lambs on the altar of global appeasement. Those brave and honorable men who currently reside in prison cells across the country, stripped of their rank, their careers, families, and their good name, will not taste free air again for many years. Their sacrifices and their stories will be forgotten by the general public, remembered only by those of us who continue to fight for them.

    – Look for the slow but steady erosion of rights you have enjoyed for your entire lives–all the while being told it’s “for your own good.” Restrictions on gun ownership, home schooling, encouraged dependence on the ever-growing federal government. More nanny-state provisions will be put into place to protect the “disadvantaged” and the “poor,” (read: lazy, uneducated, unwilling to better themselves) even while groups like the unborn, the mentally handicapped, elderly, and terminally ill are slowly pushed toward euthanasia. Of course, this will be done with feel-good phrases like “death with dignity,” “not wanting to be a burden,” and “merciful release from suffering,” all of which ignore the basic fact that we are killing people without their consent for the “good of the people.” Before you tell me I’m crazy, let’s just remember that Barack Obama was the ONLY senator in the Illinois state senate to vote against providing medical care for babies who were inconsiderate enough to survive an abortion.. Also, look for taxes to go up. Yes, they’ll go up.

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    – You think the economy is bad now? Just wait. You’ll have the most expensive “free” health care ever. Bread lines aren’t just for Russians anymore. We have traded experience for color, freedom for slavery–and the irony is that the average American sheeple thinks their vote somehow righted an ancient wrong, somehow ENDED the spectre of slavery and ushered in some beautiful era of liberty. In reality, we are about to be less free than you ever thought possible.

I watched the faces of those crowded into the mob (excuse the pun) in Chicago. They stared at Obama like he was a god, an idol, a panacea to their every want and need. We have truly failed as a nation if we are at the point where we feel we must look to one man to take care of us all, to be our father figure and our sugar daddy. We have lost not only the “can-do” attitude of past generations, but the “MUST-do” attitude of our forefathers. We have allowed ourselves to become reduced from Patrick Henry’s proud cry of “liberty or death” to the sniveling, whining idea that we are owed something. We have gone from being the honorable defenders of freedom to being told we are the problem.

The eyes of Obama and McCain were also telling. McCain acted with class and grace in his concession speech, offering the most honorable response I’ve seen yet. I don’t agree with all of McCain’s positions, but it cannot be denied that the man has served his nation–at permanent and severe detriment to himself–for half a century. His eyes were clear and sincere, honest. His speech underlined the very reasons why, of the two men offered, he was hands down the better choice.

On the other hand, Obama’s eyes were cold, calculating. His manner was smug and still carried the arrogance he has always had. His facial expression was one of barely disguised disdain for everything people like me believe in. His body language was smooth, polished–too much so. He talked of patriotism as though it is a value he is familiar with–and yet, his horrifying attitude toward the country he now leads is as well-documented as his friendships with those who seek its demise. He is charismatic to those who don’t know what to look for, and he is inspiring to those who cannot or will not think for themselves. However, too many who voted for him are guilty of the most dangerous kind of hypocrisy. You see, we are told daily that we must not see color, just mankind. (We are all family, you know–or so we’re told.) And yet Barack Obama was handed the White House on a silver platter by a fawning media, a bevy of foreign donors (who, to this day and in violation of U.S. election laws, remain nameless and unaccounted for), and a populace who voted based on color instead of right and wrong–even in the face of the most damning evidence against a Presidential candidate in many years, perhaps ever.

It is said that the people receive the government they deserve. Sadly, I fear that’s correct. We have become complacent, unwilling to see the writing on the wall, content to frolic in the warm water without bearing to notice that it’s been getting hotter by the minute. We are two seconds from a rolling boil–and perhaps it is already too late.

So, liberals, enjoy your victory. Jump around. Have a party, file for your free grants. Scream “Gimme my handout!” and make fun of those of us who fought to make sure your “messiah” didn’t get access to the most powerful position in the world. Just remember when it all comes crashing down: You own the White House, the Congress, and soon the Supreme Court. You have no one to blame but yourselves for the mess you just created.

That is, those who voted for him. Interesting commentary. Time will tell.