I’ve been pondering all the scandals – adding to or expanding on those of which originated in Obama’s first term, as detailed in 150 Reasons (you really should pick it up, in light of the latest revelations) – and I have felt a deep chill come over my American heart. There is a fundamental flaw here – a deep chasm has now opened between those like myself and those who, after these recent revelations, will continue to back President Obama.
The final straw has been the story of the Obama Administration’s pursuit of Fox News correspondent James Rosen – when coupled with the investigation of the Associated Press and the rampant abuse of power by the IRS, what we have here is an Administration which (a) does not care about the law, (b) is willing to act routinely in an un-American manner and (c) views its political opponents as worthy targets for criminal investigations. Furthermore, even slavish devotion to Obama (as routinely carried out by the Associated Press) is no defense: as in tyrannies past, all you need do to destroy years of being a toady is just once step out of line.
Of course, to set the record entirely straight, this isn’t all just Obama. For more than a century, now, we’ve had Presidents willing to cut constitutional corners. Indeed, the first Chief Executive to introduce extra-constitutional acts in to the Administration was Republican Theodore Roosevelt, honored to this day both on the left and the right as a great and good President – but it was Roosevelt who first asserted that unless the Constitution specifically forbade a government act, it was legitimate. This stands in stark contrast to, say, Grover Cleveland, Andrew Jackson and other, earlier Presidents who had, at times, vetoed legislation not because they thought the law wrong, but because they found no warrant for it in the Constitution. From Teddy Roosevelt through Wilson to FDR to Nixon to Obama is a straight line – with plenty of others along the way since 1901 also playing fast and loose with the law (really, only Coolidge in the 20’s put a brake on such actions). But there is a difference, now, in what Obama has done.
And once again setting the record entirely straight, there is a lot of similarity between Obama’s actions and Nixon’s in the early 70’s – especially in using the IRS as a bludgeon against opponents (there are also some strong indicators that Clinton used the IRS in a similar manner, though no where near the brazenness of Nixon and Obama). But, still, even with the record of Nixon before us, Obama stands in a world apart – taking steps which are not just corrupt or illegal or corner-cutting, but in direct contravention of all that Americans have fought and bled for over more than two centuries. The stories of IRS agents demanding what amounts of loyalty oaths from pro-lifers not to picket Planned Parenthood and demanding to know how conservatives pray are just disgusting – so horrific and un-American that I never imagined that someone sharing my citizenship could ever ask such things. These attacks against freedom of speech and religion are joined with attacks on freedom of the press – with the Administration seeking to intimidate reporters in to silence (doubly strange given that 90% of reporters are devoted to Obama). We have here an Administration which not only doesn’t like opposition (no Administration actually does, of course), but which is determined to stamp out dissent – determined, that is, that only Administration propaganda be allowed in America, all other voices silenced.
This is not – or, at least, should not be – a left/right issue. This is about basic, American freedoms. It is no business of government how I pray, whom I decide to picket or what news I choose to report or read. There is no legitimate reason for government to even query me on such subjects as no such actions can in any way, shape or form risk the liberty and safety of the American people which our government was created to secure. A thorough investigation needs to be conducted. All those involved – whether as actual law-breakers or those who knew of it but didn’t report it – must be dismissed from further government employment. Strict laws must be enacted prohibiting any such action in the future. Permanent, non-partisan oversight must be established over all federal law enforcement agencies – over any agency which can take an American’s life, liberty or property, that is.
As a final thought – shame on us, fellow Americans. We have sunk very low and our ancestors must be ashamed of us. Those who died fighting for our liberty must be turning in their graves. That it took such shocking actions to even partially wake us up is sad commentary on how used to government power we’ve become. Our ancestors would have been outraged over all this a long time ago. It is time to call a halt to this abuse of power – this tyrannical use of the federal government against dissenters. It is time to restore the balance – with the scales massively weighted in favor of the liberty of the American people.
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