President Obama seems to be in perpetual campaign mode, using the State of the Union to pitch an unrealistic utopia in which the rich are taxed into poverty, and everyone else gets everything else for free. Now that this annual speech is becoming a distant memory, the focus is shifting to the policies he proposed, both in the speech and the days after. Yet, this focus on his policy proposals has me questioning a few things.
Why is he still campaigning when he’s already termed-out of the highest office in America?
Why is Mr. Obama aggressively pushing an ultra-liberal, divisive agenda rather than play nice with the new Congress? His debt-inducing, prosperity-killing ideas will barely make it up the steps of Capitol Hill, let alone reach the floor of the 114th Congress.
The Republicans control both the House and Senate. Not only that, this freshman class is full of constitutional Republicans who’ve pledged to be bulwarks in Congress. Obama knows this, so why isn’t he taking his cues from the 90’s version of President Clinton, the last Democrat president to serve with a Republican Congress. Interns and impeachment aside, Mr. Clinton deserves some kudos for his actions with Congress. (Halt the hate mail, I said “some” kudos.)
When the Republicans won control of the House and Senate in 1994, it was in large part due to Rep. Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America. Rather than block the Republican’s every move as they worked to implement the promises of this contract, Mr. Clinton simply signed his name to the legislation the Republicans passed. Mr. Obama would be wise to do the same. Mr. Clinton now gets credit for everything good that happened in the 1990s. He gets so much credit that it brought on national amnesia when it comes to the multitude of scandals that plagued the Clinton administration.
While Mr. Obama’s scandals may not be of the intern variety, his presidency is no doubt riddled with dozens of criminal controversies of his own: Banghazi; Solyndra; arming the Mexican drug cartel; spying on and bullying White House reporters; abusing the power of the IRS and FEC to target his political opponents. Even his own attorney general acknowledged criminal wrong doing in the IRS debacle, yet for some reason he chose not to prosecute. This list of this administration’s arrogant, illicit behavior goes on, but that’s not the point of this column.
For a few brief soundbites, Mr. Obama pledged to work with the new Republican Congress. Yet, like a fidgety child who can’t stay still, he quickly fell right back into the old habit of lashing out veto threats. But why? Why isn’t he trying to end his final term on a good note? Is he that undisciplined that he can’t play the political game and at least pretend to like Republicans?
Au contraire mon ami. With 2017 in mind, Mr. Obama knows exactly what he is doing and why.
By aggressively pushing an agenda full of unrealistic, socialist soundbites, this president accomplishes two things:
1.) The roles are reversed. Rather than become the do-nothing president who vetoed all of the Republican’s policies, the Republicans remain the bullies who blocked the Democrat efforts to arm all Americans with free wi-fi and cell phones.
2.) He is redefining the American value system, or at least trying to. As Republicans continue to swat at his unconstitutional mandates, Mr. Obama is working the social media scene as if he were Andy Warhol at Studio 54. He’s sending viral messages to millennials through Facebook, brown-nosing you-tube sensations, creating his own sort-of cult following by making Republicans the mean Grinch to his Santa Clause; all of which is nearly unnoticed by the rest of us in the world of brick and mortar.
Mr. Obama loves the power structure and game. Why let go of that once he’s out of office? He can be King of the Hill if he re-engineers the American value system. And that’s exactly what he’s trying to do. Let’s hope the new leadership doesn’t get distracted by his bait and can stay focused on restoring the principles on which our nation was founded.
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