Deja' Vu!

We know that this White House and its Justice Department are obsessed with “leaks”.  Attorney General Eric holder has prosecuted more “leakers” than John Mitchell, Ed Meese and John Ashcroft combined.

We know that the Justice Department has secretly subpoenaed the phone records of the Associated Press.  The subpoena’s wide net included not only reporter’s office and fax numbers but their cell and home phones as well.  All under the catch phrase:  “a threat national security.”

We are now learning that the AP was not the only organization to be swept up in the DOJ’s net.

Several news sources are reporting that in addition to the AP phone records the DOJ also subpoenaed more than 30 phone numbers associated with FOX NEWS and two phone numbers at the White House.

We don’t know exactly what is going on at the DOJ.  But those of us old enough to remember Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers are feeling a sense of déjà vu.

If you are a small government conservative...it does not get any better than this.

Perspective

Life has a way of putting things in perspective.

Today, as we view events in Washington through the prism of the death and devastation in Moore, Oklahoma…

 …we realize how trivial “politics” truly is.  

Mr. President: Keep The Country Moving Forward

This is interesting.

With all the “scandals” surrounding this administration over the past few weeks you would expect the president’s popularity to be taking a hit.  Actually quite the opposite is happening.

According to the latest CNN opinion poll the president’s approval rating stands at 53%; a 2% increase over last month.   Apparently the American people have been able to sort through the hair-on-fire machinations of the president’s opponents and see them for the political echo chamber that they really are.

The people like this guy.  It’s time for him to take advantage of his likability.  It’s time to go on the offensive.

The president is good at making speeches.  We’d like to see him make another one…on a big stage…with big specific plans about creating jobs and fixing the economy.  We’d like to see him draw a stark contrast between his looking to the future while his opponents wallow in the past. 

The president has acknowledged that mistakes were made.  He has expressed his outrage and vowed to correct the situations.  “But America can’t stand still.  We have to move forward.”

Tell us how Mr. President.  Give us the specifics.  And then stay on point like a pit bull on a bone.

Yes, the Republican led hearings will continue and the president’s opponents will do everything in their power to use this opportunity to halt his agenda.  But Washington should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. 

The American people don’t like what happened in Benghazi, or at the IRS or at the Justice department.  They want steps taken to make certain that these events never happen again.  The president needs to assure them that he gets it and that he will do what is necessary to make things right.

But what the people really care about are jobs, the economy and their livelihood. 

The president needs to tap into that and keep the country moving forward.

       

Missed Opportunity!

Every once in a while life presents each of us a golden opportunity to succeed.  We don’t necessarily deserve it.  We didn’t do anything to earn it.  It just falls in our lap.  And the manner in which we handle that opportunity can go a long way toward determining our future success or failure.

The Obama administration, by way of the IRS has handed the Republicans such an opportunity.  The question is how will they handle it.

The partisan divide that separates Democrats from Republicans stems from the very core of their beliefs.  Democrats believe that government can and should play an important role in improving the lives of the people.  They believe that government can be trusted to do what is best its citizens.   Republicans believe that government is intrusive and serves as an unnecessary impediment to our individual freedom.  They believe that government is incompetent at best and corrupt at worst.

The IRS “scandal” plays right into Republicans hands.  The events which occurred at the IRS are at the very least evidence of incompetence.  Whether corruption has permeated the organization is yet to be seen.  Either way, it is not good for the White House.

The IRS plays an important role in the lives of every American.  The agency has virtually unlimited power to make one’s life a living hell.  Therefore the credibility of the IRS must be sacrosanct.   Any question as to the credibility and fairness of this agency will have a rippling effect throughout the federal government.

So how will Republicans handle this golden political opportunity?  So far the answer is…not well.

“Nixon”… “Watergate”… “Criminal”…“Impeachment”…these are just a few of the “hair-on-fire” responses from Republicans on the Hill after learning that the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny.  Having learned that the president had fired the acting IRS chairman, Speaker Boehner said: “I want to know who is going to jail.”

This is the hate speech that we have come to expect whenever Republicans have a gripe against this administration.  Fear and loathing overwhelms common sense.  It seems that whenever the Republican Party has an opportunity to look its best in seems to look its worst.  Whenever there is blood in the water the wackos come out to play.  We haven’t seen right wing star Michelle Bachman since she was slaughtered in the Republican primaries.  But there she was this week spouting conspiracy theories at every turn.

This is Republican overreach at its finest.  Republicans don’t have to do anything.  The facts speak for themselves…their small government argument playing out for all to see.    The president is operating without a net.  Not only did he fail to cultivate relationships with his Republican opponents he didn’t bother to reach out to his Democrat supporters either.  Consequently members of his party have joined in the rioting in the streets.  “Ye shall reap what ye shall sew.”  Republicans can be the adult in the room while the Democrats implode and the press goes postal.  But they just can’t help themselves.

Republicans have an opportunity to follow their national chairman’s advice and “stop being the stupid party.”  The early returns are not promising.

             

Finally!

We doubt that the president read our recent blog, but somebody finally got his ear.

The president stepped out of the bubble yesterday and forcefully addressed the three “scandals” that have threatened to derail his administration.

He expressed his outrage over the actions of IRS agents who targeted conservative groups.  He fired the acting IRS commissioner and promised that future actions would be forthcoming.

The White House released over 100 pages of previously classified emails pertaining to the Benghazi incident.  The emails clearly show that that the White House played no part in “scrubbing “the content of the controversial talking points used by Susan Rice on the Sunday talk shows.  They show that the CIA wanted any reference to terrorist organizations removed from the talking points because there was an ongoing CIA and FBI investigation as to the perpetrators of the attacks that killed four Americans including Ambassador Stephens.  The emails prove that the Republican accusations of a White House cover up for political reasons are unfounded.

The White House addressed the AP scandal, announcing its support for legislation that would put into effect a federal “shield law” protecting reporters and their sources.  40 states currently have “shield laws” in place.  Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is expected to announce the bill at a news conference today.  The purpose is to protect the first amendment rights of reporters within the framework of doing their jobs.

On another matter outside the three highly publicized scandals…the president will meet today with the Joint Chiefs to address the highly publicized revelations of sexual abuse within the military.  The president condemned those in the military who prey sexually on their rank subordinates.  He called for their prosecution and dishonorable discharge.  It is believed that he will seek changes that allow victims to seek redress outside the military chain of command.  Sexual abuse is rampant in the military.  The VA reports that they are currently treating over 50,000 MEN who have been abused sexually by their superiors.

This is the Barak Obama that his supporters have been waiting for…visibly angry over the abuse within his administration…handing out punishment to the perpetrators…taking decisive steps to make certain the abuse of power doesn’t happen again. 

The president stepped up.  He “owned” it.  And he responded in a clear decisive manner.

This is not over.  The situation at the IRS in particular will have a long shelf life with the American people.  These “scandals” have handed the president’s opponents a platter full of red meat.  They will play loose with the facts to gain an advantage. 

The president likes to make a public pronouncement on a subject and move on.  As if his word should be enough.  That doesn’t work.  He has to stay on this and make sure that his statements are backed up by decisive and effective action.  Only then will he have any chance of executing his second term agenda.

The president had a good day yesterday.  We need to see more of that Barak Obama.

      

   

Who's In Charge?

The CIA muddies the waters on Benghazi.

The IRS targets conservative political groups.

The Justice Department taps the phone records of the Associated Press.

The president says he first learned about all of these events while watching the news.

It’s Christmas in May for the Republican Party!  Mitch McConnell almost peed himself.

Obama's second term agenda…forget about it.

Immigration reform…not gonna’ happen.

Tax reform…nope!

Revisit gun control…seriously?

The only thing you will hear coming out of Washington from now until the mid-terms is the constant drone of investigative hearings.

The president has only himself to blame.

We along with many others have criticized the president for his reluctance to cultivate relationships on both sides of the aisle.  He has recently dipped his toe in the “schmooze” waters but it is too little too late.  Now he finds himself operating without a net.  Republicans smell blood in the water and Democrats are showing him their back.

As for the press…  The president has always counted on the press to carry his message. 

Now?   This from an op-ed piece in today’s New York Times on the AP phone records:

“We will not allow these tactics to scare us off.”

This president likes to make public speeches and then sit back and watch as events play out.  He is comfortable wearing the cloak of plausible deniability.  “I first heard about it on the news.” 

If this president honestly first learned about his justice department’s investigation into press leaks exposing  operations that placed American lives in jeopardy and threatened national security on the evening news…then there is a serious, serious problem within his administration.   

While addressing reporters at a recent press conference the president lamented the constant turmoil that looms over Washington.  “I’d just like to govern” he said.

So govern!

Call in the people that were involved in these scandals.  Get the facts.  Take responsibility.  Express your outrage.  Fire those responsible.  Tell the American people what you intend to do to make certain it never happens again. 

And then ACT.

We have said time and time again that a president gets all the blame and all the credit for the events that occur on his watch.  Benghazi, the IRS, the AP mess…these are his whether he knew about them first hand or caught the headline on cable news. 

Own it!  Act on it!  Govern!

Treasury, Justice, State the CIA!  This is YOUR administration, Mr. President.  If you are not in charge who in the hell is?

Chris Mathews recently said that the only time that a voter has any say in the direction of the country is at the polls.  The voter makes a choice as to who he or she wants to drive the car.  Obama will steer the country a bit toward the left.  Romney would have chosen a road more to the right.  The voters chose Obama to drive the car.

Drive the damn car, Mr. President! 

Stop lounging in the back seat.

  

Tyranny!

The AP is reporting that the Cincinnati office of the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative political groups for extra scrutiny as they applied for non-profit status. 

According to the AP, organizations who used terms like; tea party, patriots, constitution, bill of rights, limiting/expanding government among other were sent to team of specialists for further investigation…adding months to the approval process.

Freedom of political speech in this country is sacrosanct. 

The IRS wields enormous power that affects the lives of every American. 

For the IRS to target any group because of their political affiliations is not only outrageous…

…it is tyranny.