BY CINCINNATUS
To all those who speculated on a moderate Obama administration that rules with an even, centrist hand, I have only four words for you: I told you so. Obama’s Chief-of-Staff to be, Rahm Emmanuel, has promised that the administration will push a comprehensive “Big Bang” program that will cover health care, the middle-class tax cut (AKA: “the job killer”), an economic stimulus and an auto industry bailout as their first order of business upon taking office (see here). They will not, as many pundits speculated, pick their battles and sacrifice initiatives in order to give due deference to the economy. Obama will, as I have feared, push for his radical reforms as quickly as possible in an attempt to make full use of the overwhelming Democrat majority in Congress and the media cover he will have during the post-inauguration “honeymoon.” This policy blitz confirms that Obama will not govern in his promised “post-partisan” manner, but rather intends to ram as much as possible as quickly as possible down the country’s throat while he can get away with it.
Some of you may still be skeptical that Obama will pursue this hard-left strategy. I understand the need to hope for the best. However, if the above doesn’t convince you, I offer you the following for consideration. Obama has also promised, upon taking office, to issue a whirlwind rescinding of President Bush’s executive orders on offshore drilling, stem cell research, and other presidential mandates (see here).
It is perfectly clear that his plan of attack is one common for the Democrats: enacting as much as possible behind closed doors and in the dark of night. His enemy is time itself, as he knows that the longer these initiatives are delayed in Congressional debate, the more national attention will be focused on the details. When Americans see what’s actually being pushed on them, there will be a backlash like we saw during the amnesty bill debacle. I urge you to watch his administration and Congress very closely as these reforms are pushed; the slightest bit of obfuscation and spin on the administration’s part will confirm our worst fears. Obama will have to break his promise of transparency in order to enact his agenda.
We cannot afford to pin our hopes on a benevolent Obama governing from the center. The fact is he doesn’t have to, and he won’t. He’ll make token gestures by selecting a Republican for his cabinet and holding high-profile meetings with opposition leaders at the White House. But at the end of the day this will all be a dog and pony show to offer him the cover he needs to pursue all of the liberal policies he wants. This is only a bad thing in the short term, however, as it also signals his overconfidence that he has received a blank-check mandate from the electorate. He, like Clinton, is poised to overreach and face Republican gains in 2010 and 2012 if he makes good on the promises he’s made so far.
To all those who speculated on a moderate Obama administration that rules with an even, centrist hand, I have only four words for you: I told you so. Obama’s Chief-of-Staff to be, Rahm Emmanuel, has promised that the administration will push a comprehensive “Big Bang” program that will cover health care, the middle-class tax cut (AKA: “the job killer”), an economic stimulus and an auto industry bailout as their first order of business upon taking office (see here). They will not, as many pundits speculated, pick their battles and sacrifice initiatives in order to give due deference to the economy. Obama will, as I have feared, push for his radical reforms as quickly as possible in an attempt to make full use of the overwhelming Democrat majority in Congress and the media cover he will have during the post-inauguration “honeymoon.” This policy blitz confirms that Obama will not govern in his promised “post-partisan” manner, but rather intends to ram as much as possible as quickly as possible down the country’s throat while he can get away with it.Some of you may still be skeptical that Obama will pursue this hard-left strategy. I understand the need to hope for the best. However, if the above doesn’t convince you, I offer you the following for consideration. Obama has also promised, upon taking office, to issue a whirlwind rescinding of President Bush’s executive orders on offshore drilling, stem cell research, and other presidential mandates (see here).
It is perfectly clear that his plan of attack is one common for the Democrats: enacting as much as possible behind closed doors and in the dark of night. His enemy is time itself, as he knows that the longer these initiatives are delayed in Congressional debate, the more national attention will be focused on the details. When Americans see what’s actually being pushed on them, there will be a backlash like we saw during the amnesty bill debacle. I urge you to watch his administration and Congress very closely as these reforms are pushed; the slightest bit of obfuscation and spin on the administration’s part will confirm our worst fears. Obama will have to break his promise of transparency in order to enact his agenda.
We cannot afford to pin our hopes on a benevolent Obama governing from the center. The fact is he doesn’t have to, and he won’t. He’ll make token gestures by selecting a Republican for his cabinet and holding high-profile meetings with opposition leaders at the White House. But at the end of the day this will all be a dog and pony show to offer him the cover he needs to pursue all of the liberal policies he wants. This is only a bad thing in the short term, however, as it also signals his overconfidence that he has received a blank-check mandate from the electorate. He, like Clinton, is poised to overreach and face Republican gains in 2010 and 2012 if he makes good on the promises he’s made so far.
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