Saturday, March 21, 2009

Barack Obama: President or Puppet

We've had two months to watch our new President in action. During this short time, we watched helplessly as he nominated lobbyists to his cabinet, railroaded a record cost stimulus package and a record cost, earmark-plagued budget package through Congress, without allowing the Congress, let alone the American people, time to read and debate its contents. And he did this despite overwhelming outcries from the American people to the contrary. Why did this happen? Very simply, Barack Obama is not running the show inside the beltway.

You will remember, "Candidate" Obama promised not to appoint lobbyists into his cabinet, not to allow earmarks into legislation, to work with both parties and to give the American people FIVE DAYS to review and provide feedback on all legislation. Many are saying President Obama intentionally betrayed his campaign promises. As I stated in my article during the presidential campaign, Financial Meltdown: Which Party Is Responsible?, "You can't elect a president based on the promises made during a campaign. Those promises are made precisely to sway your vote. They are RARELY kept." But it is not that simple.

Do you not wonder why, with our economy teetering on depression, a newly elected President Obama left Washington, D.C. on a whirlwind campaign style tour making speeches to the American people and vacationing at Camp David and Chicago? Shouldn't he, as leader of our nation, have been in Washington with his sleeves rolled up providing leadership and input to the Congress in the drafting of these spending bills? Instead he left Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats on their own to draft highly partisan legislation while totally shutting out the very bipartisan input he had promised. Well, the answer is quite simple. Barack Obama was not calling the shots. Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Congress were. And they did not want the President in the way.

This is why the Democratic Party chose an inexperienced Barack Obama to be their candidate for President during the last election. He, certainly, was not a leader. He did not pioneer any legislation. He didn't, even, have the courage to vote "Yes" or "No" on many issues before him during his short time in the Senate. You may remember his modus operandi was to vote "PRESENT". Barack Obama was the perfect candidate for the powerful left wing majority in the Congress. He was a fine orator and a "pretty face" who would sell their agenda to the American people. He would be the shiny new puppet, and the Democratic Congress would pull the strings.

It is critical that we recognize the situation in which we find our nation. Understanding the peril of too much power in the hands of too few, our Founding Fathers carefully crafted our Constitution with a separation of power among the three branches of government. At this time, we do not have that separation. The powerful Democratic majority in Congress is, now, running our country unchecked. We, therefore, must maintain EXTREME VIGILENCE over an UNBRIDLED CONGRESS to ensure the will of the people is not ignored.