Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY., is demanding President Obama order a complete review of his administration in the light of the IRS revealing Friday that it had targeted conservative groups that included the words ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ in their tax documents during the 2012 election, reports Politico.
“Last year, amid reports that the Obama administration was using the levers of executive power to harass conservative political groups in Kentucky and elsewhere, I issued a very public warning to the administration that the targeting of private citizens on the basis of their political views would not be tolerated.” (Source: Associated Press and Newsmax.com)
It all sounds well and good. But what does it mean ‘not to tolerate’ the suppression of dissension by the Obama regime?
As President Ronald Reagan (a conservative Republican) used to point out when he controlled the executive branch and the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives, no President can spend a penny without the authorization of Congress.
Will Republicans ever defund some of the Obama Administration’s pet programs—none the least of which, Obamacare—as a demonstration of refusing to tolerate abuse of power?
Not a chance. The minute the 2012 election was over, Republican House Speaker John Boehner (McConnell’s ally in Congress) rushed to declare that Obamacare was now ‘the law of the land’ and Congress would not do a thing to thwart it. The same applied to tax increases and spending cuts, for which Republicans have largely rolled over.
Apparently, the reelection of Obama was a mandate for tax increases, Bigger Government and socialized medicine. Then what was the reelection of the Tea Party-infused House of Representatives? Why is a Democratic victory always a mandate for leftist economic policies, while a victory on the other side means nothing?
The Obama administration reminds me of an abusive parent. When the abused spouse or kids repeatedly bow and take the verbal and physical thrashings, what happens? The abuse intensifies. The abuser, in this case Obama, has no accountability. His supporters enable and excuse everything he does, while his opponents tremble in fear. Yes, Obama had to run for reelection, but the voters told him that adherence to the Constitution and even the well-being of the economy do not matter. He–and his party, who controls all of the agenda even when out of power–are free to do pretty much whatever they wish. Their leader, Obama, has made it clear that what won’t pass legislatively will be imposed by executive fiat.
Of course Obama and his IRS are targeting political opponents. That’s what dictators do. That’s what dictators-lite do, as well. The American republic may be in its twilight, but it’s not dead yet. Obama’s idea of being practical is stopping short of outright dictatorship, but he has the mentality of a (second-rate) dictator. Obama is sure that he’s right, and anyone elected to power with views in opposition to his own was either an unfortunate accident—or a mistake. In both attitude and action, he proceeds accordingly. This explains Obama’s trademark disdain for the Constitution or any notion of checks on power — his own power and policies, that is.
The Republicans are getting exactly what McConnell’s own words predict they should expect. “Paper tiger” is too polite a term for hapless Republican leaders in Congress. They’re so worried about offending their opponents that they leave the door open for their opponents to roll right over them, whenever it suits them.
Senator McConnell goes on:
“Today’s apology by the IRS is proof that those concerns were well founded. But make no mistake; an apology won’t put this issue to rest. Now more than ever we need to send a clear message to the Obama Administration that the First Amendment is non-negotiable, and that apologies after an election year are not an sufficient response to what we now know took place at the IRS. This kind of political thuggery has absolutely no place in our politics.’
A ‘thug’ refers to a bully. A bully is someone who will have his way, because he feels entitled to do so.
The policy of the Obama administration—or as I call it, a regime—is one of initiating force. Increased taxation, increased regulation, coercion of people into government-controlled medical collectives, nationalization of entire industries’these are all policies of force. They’re no different, in principle, from what abusive kings, queens, czars, and dictators have always done. Democracy is no excuse, because nowhere is there a right for a 51 percent majority to vote away the rights of the other 49 percent (not to mention their own.) The U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights was ratified to prevent this very thing.
You don’t fight a bully with empty threats and words such as McConnell’s which amount to, ‘Now you had better stop’or else!’
Or else what?
The Republicans in Congress, especially the House of Representatives, have more power than they’re ever willing to use. I would say they lack the courage of their own principles, only the mainstream Republicans such as Boehner and McConnell have no principles about which to be courageous. It’s darkly amusing that they think they do. McConnell’s finger-shaking merely reinforces the impotence of fighting a welfare-entitlement state without the moral courage and principle to call these petty little despots in Washington DC what they are.
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