President Obama's Trickle Down Perpetual Campaign

During the 2008 presidential campaign, then candidate Barack Obama was asked to compare his experience to that of Vice Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin. Obama made a disingenuous comparison by only referencing Palin's mayoral experience, but he also tried to bolster his executive credentials by referencing his ability to manage  "large systems" and millions of dollars in campaign funds:



It is now nearly five years later, and little has changed. The President's executive experience still lies in running a campaign, but not one that comes at the expense of his donors (and actually often to his donors' benefit) . He has turned his executive branch cabinet level departments into components of this perpetual campaign at the expense of American taxpayers.

President Obama 's Treasury Department has turned into a campaign opposition research department by targeting Tea Parties, religious groups, and pro-life groups and combing through every detail of these groups and their memberships. When this department got their hands caught in the cookie jar, the President scapegoated the already lame duck IRS commissioner who wasn't even in the role of commissioner when these targeted audits were being performed.  His Department of Justice has also contributed to this effort by bugging the cloak room in the House of Representatives and seizing phone records of AP reporters who cover the GOP majority House. His elected colleagues, his constituents, and even his pals in the media became his political opponents.

During his campaign, the President would often offer a special opportunity for a donor to meet him. As President, he has done the same kind of thing, but on a much larger scale and at the expense of the American taxpayer and the American energy consumer. Instead of offering an expenses paid meeting, he is offering millions in taxpayer dollars and special favors. 80% of his Department of Energy stimulus loans went to companies tied to his donors. Meanwhile, the President has stalled on the development of Keystone Pipeline.  Several of his donors stand to benefit financially from the Canadian Sands Oil regardless of whether or not the pipeline is built, and just last week, scores of the President's donors are sent a letter petitioning him to not build the pipeline. Moreover, the President is not only trying to turn return the favor to his actual political donors, his Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is essentially acting as a fundraiser to promote the President's healthcare policy agenda. The President is repaying his donors with political favors and asking political favors to implement his policies.

Throughout the President's perpetual campaign, he has tried to redistribute the blame of the burgeoning scandals. Rather than being a leader and taking responsibility, he has allowed his politically driven administration to trickle down the blame. Four rogue IRS employees are being blamed for the targeted Tea Party audits, yet IRS employees are claiming they were only following orders. In trying to make sense of the attacks on the Libyan consulate last September, the Obama administration--the White House, the State Department, and the CIA-- has woven a complicated web of blame and responsibility in the midst of a presidential campaign.

When it comes to the President's campaign claim of being able to manage "large systems", it seems Obama has been disproved by his own former campaign adviser David Axelrod. In trying to defend the President's ability to deal with multiple, simultaneous scandals, Axelrod inadvertently made the case for smaller government when he said that there is only so much a President can know "because the government is so vast". The President has proven that when executive experience is manifested in a hybrid of small leadership and big government, it only perpetuates a campaign cycle that trickles down the blame.

Crossposted here and here.

Meanwhile in Cincinnati: When Tyranny Is around the Corner

Last week, President Obama gave the commencement address at Ohio State University where he mocked those who warned against the potential tyranny of overreaching government "around every corner" and accused such critics of "gumming up the works":

In recent days, leaks from a soon-to-be released inspector general's report have shown that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups starting in March of 2010 and that the IRS's chief counsel knew as early as 2011 that such groups were being targeted. The targeting of Tea Party groups included in depth questioning from IRS officials ranging from inquiries regarding interactions with the media to predicting event revenue, expense, and other details of future rallies. Despite earlier claims from the Obama administration aiming to pin responsibility on low level field agents, it has become clear that IRS offices in Washington and at least two other offices were involved in the targeting of conservative groups.  Additionally, IRS officials based in Cincinnati (just 100 miles from where President Obama gave his speech mocking government skeptics) disclosed confidential documents from Tea Party groups to Pro Publica, a left-leaning media group whose main funders also fund the Soros-backed Center for American Progress. 

The news of the last two weeks alone has proven that those who support limited government have reason to question the size and scope of government and how such a large, over-reaching government can truly be held accountable. The Obama administration has been able to feign ignorance over the dealings of several of his own cabinet departments. He has claimed no previous knowledge of IRS targeting of conservative groups, calling the IRS an "independent agency". The Obama administration has claimed only a stylistic role in the editing of Benghazi talking points by his own State Department and CIA. This evening, press secretary Jay Carney claimed that the Obama administration was unaware of that the Department of Justice obtained phone logs of AP reporters, again calling an executive branch entity like the Department of Justice, "independent". All of these examples are proof that government has become too big and leadership has become too small to take responsibility for its own failures. The Left hand doesn't know what the Left hand is doing.  

Late Leftist historian Howard Zinn quipped during the Bush administration that dissent was the highest form of patriotism. Now, dissent in the name of patriotism means that groups undergo harsh scrutiny from the government they wish to help restore to its proper purpose and size. Pardon us, for "gumming up the works", Mr. President.  We simply want our government to abide by the charter of liberties you swore an oath to uphold. We won't be silenced.

Crossposted here and here.