Friday, June 7, 2013

Obama's Crash and Burn...and why the Republicans aren't benefitting from it


Yesterday, this interesting piece came out in the Telegraph of London:


I find that I can’t really disagree with the 10 reasons that are listed.  From the Imperial style of his Presidency to the continued lousy performance of the economy and the ongoing, ever-increasing scandals surrounding this administration, Obama’s Presidency is on fire, loosing altitude, and shedding parts left and right as it plummets towards the ground.  Can you say ‘crash and burn’?

Now, compare that to this piece from the editorial page of the New York Times:


Two telling quotes from the NYT piece:  "The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue." and "Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who as chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is supposed to be preventing this sort of overreaching, was absurd. She said on Thursday that the authorities need this information in case someone might become a terrorist in the future. Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the vice chairman of the committee, said the surveillance has “proved meritorious, because we have gathered significant information on bad guys and only on bad guys over the years.”

The first is a blatant statement that the love affair between the NYT and Obama is over, and implies that they're ready to move on (and stop throwing chips into the pot for him).  The second is perhaps the most chilling, especially the 'might become a terrorist in the future' and 'only on bad guys' parts.

Precrime, anyone?  The editors of the Times realize that this could easily be applied to them...and pretty much anybody else.  In fact, since the alphabet soup agencies have been using a ladle and not a strainer, the 'only on bad guys' bit applies ONLY if EVERYONE is considered a potential 'bad guy'.  No presumption of innocence, no due process, just 'you might become a terrorist at some time in the future'.

And who will determine just who's a terrorist?  Hmm....

My guess is that's what has the NYT so upset.  If all it takes is the stroke of a pen to make that determination, given that Obama has already established the precedent of 'Bring me his head' (actually, 'Blow his head and ass in different directions with a drone strike') without all that inconvenient mucking around with trials and stuff, then aren't we all at risk?

Truly, these are interesting times.  However, the odd thing is…as bad as Obama is doing in the polls and elsewhere, the Republicans can’t seem to do much better, and this is…strange.  At least, it seems so on the surface, but if you look a little closer, you can understand why.

Charlie Cook, who writes his own political report and also for the National Journal, has written several articles on and around this topic in recent days, the most telling of which is this one:


Basically, the Republicans who are attacking Obama, by and large, have even less credibility than he does.  Mitch McConnell?  Please.  Not only does everybody know he’s been there since, like, Roosevelt (the first one, not the one with the jaunty cigarette holder), but he stutters and has jowls down to his nipples.  Boehner?  Not quite as ancient, but also stutters and comes across as less likable than the average rabid pit bull.  (Here I must apologize to non-rabid pit bulls, having known several in my time that were very sweet, fun dogs.)  That Boehner is still vividly remembered for reading a scripted voice vote result at the convention (yep, Johnny Boy, we still remember that, and will remind you of it when we come for YOU with pikes!) gives him ZERO credibility with a large chunk of his own base.

Remember when the Republicans had not only the White House but both Houses of Congress, as well?  Did they reform the tax code?  Winnow down Federal regulations?  Reign in the EPA?  Cut spending?  Trim government?

Let’s see…no, no, no, no and no.  In that order.

In other words, “compared with congressional Republicans, [Obama’s] the pick of the litter”.  People still remember the Bush years (really, how could they forget?  Old Media, Comedy Central and MSNBC remind them every night) and the Patriot Act…and No Child’s Behind Left…and the Medicare Drug Plan…and…and….

That Obama has, by and large, continued any number of Bush’s policies (and suddenly, all we hear from the Left are crickets, but that’s another topic altogether) has seemed to slip under the radar somehow.  At least, in terms of the Idiot Voter (hell, they’re not uninformed, they’re just idiots and I refuse to call them anything but what they are) Squads.  Combine them with the small-l libertarian Republicans, the Paulbots and the Tea Partiers who have been urinated on by the RINOstablishment for years now, and you begin to understand why the Republicans can’t seem to gain any traction.

But, there may be a bit of light at the end of the Republican tunnel.  The College Repblicans have just released a scathing analysis of the GOP and why so many people hate it (a good article about it is here:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/05/college-republican-national-committee-report-has-grim-findings-for-gop.html).  ‘That’ 2013 CPAC survey on Personal Core Beliefs (the complete survey results can be found at http://www.scribd.com/doc/130778343/CPAC-Straw-Poll-2013) shows very clearly that the vast majority of CPAC attendees (77%) view their “most important goal is to promote individual freedom by reducing the size and scope of government and its intrusion into the lives of its citizens”.  This is more than FIVE times the number of people who said they were most concerned about “traditional values” (no gay marriage or abortion, 15%), and almost TEN times the neo-con “secure and guarantee American safety at home and abroad regardless of the cost or size of government” (8%).  Even more telling, 52% of CPACers were 18-25, and a whopping 74% were under 40.  That means they’ll be around and voting for some time to come…unlike the last two Republican candidates (and the scum who anointed them) for President…and most of those fossils in Congress today.

So, here’s the situation we now find ourselves in:  a President about whom few questions were asked by the MSM now finds himself loosing their support while scandals swirl about him…and an Opposition that is perceived as being as bad (by their own base) or worse (the rest of the country).

If that’s not a recipe for revolution, I don’t know what is.

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