Final thoughts before an election that, if it yields an Obama victory, might signal the end of Western civilization. I am reminded of the familiar joke about the instructions given to airline passengers preparing for a crash landing: Just lock your tray in the upright position, stick your head between your knees, and kiss your ass goodbye.
The President has given us reason to fear that, if he wins, this will prove to have been the last free election ever held for the American Presidency. The precedents for hardcore Leftist leaders holding onto power for life are ample, just in the 20th century, including the Republic of Cuba, the Bolivian Republic of Venezuela, the Third Reich, the Soviet Union, and, more recently, the infamous “one man, one vote, one time” experiences that are coming to define the President’s beloved Arab Spring. The clues as to the American President’s impatience with our Constitutional doctrine of separation of powers, and his willingness to bypass Congress and exercise dictatorial powers to achieve his goals, are equally ample:
- The President’s work-around for his inability to persuade Congress to adopt the DREAM Act – his decision to use a “Deferred Action” policy of not prosecuting violators of our immigration laws. In essence, the President was saying that if he could not get Congress to follow his directions, he would ignore Congress and do whatever he wanted by simply issuing an executive order.
- The President’s work-around for his inability to persuade Congress to approve ObamaCare – his bribery of two senators, his Justice Department’s use of prosecutorial abuse to illegally obtain a conviction of another (Sen. Stevens of Alaska, who consequently lost his re-election bid and whose replacement became another Yes vote), and his drafting of the ObamaCare law in the form of little more than a Power Point presentation that looks more like an outline of topics than a collection of substantive provisions, with the power to draft and create the truly substantive provisions (the “regulations”) being (unconstitutionally) delegated to various executive-branch agencies. In other words, he effectively bypassed Congress and retained for the executive branch the power to write the essential provisions of the law.
- The President’s inappropriate directions to his Justice Department – to abuse its power of prosecutorial discretion by ignoring violations of election laws by the Black Panthers, to ignore violations of numerous laws by federal agencies in the notorious Fast & Furious gun-running scandal, to ignore violations of laws relating to illegal immigration from Latin America, and to single-out and prosecute states like Arizona that adopted laws intended to facilitate the federal government’s identification and prosecution of violators of federal immigration laws.
- The President’s aggressive censorship of news regarding the government’s actions, achieved through an artful combination of carrots and sticks. Under the President’s direction, the news media – except for Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, talk radio, and the blogosphere – no longer report the news. One need not go into much detail on this one, beyond the most obvious recent example, which is the virtual blackout of news regarding the Benghazi tragedy and cover-up. We are not very far removed from total, Soviet-style censorship, and the administration has already shown keen interest (e.g., exclusions of Fox from White House briefings, and attempts to revive the “fairness doctrine”) in going the rest of the way.
- An almost endless list of additional examples, such as the President’s attempts at de facto nationalization (via absolute control, if not absolute ownership) of not just the healthcare industry but also the financial industry, the auto industry, the energy industry, etc.
- The President’s astonishing proposal, in his 2008 campaign, for a “civilian security force,” separate from our Armed Services. Some (who sound less and less kooky as we get to know our President better) think it is already in the making as the “Ready Reserve Corps” authorized under a little-known provision (Section 5210) of ObamaCare for dealing with public health crises and “national emergencies.” The “national emergencies” language does have a creepy sound to it, especially for those who know their World War II history and their Saul Alinsky.
If a man with this kind of crypto-socialist agenda, fully illuminated by 4 years of economic stagnation and a massive expansion of our national debt, cannot be defeated by the most attractive, experienced, and qualified Republican ticket that has been nominated by that party in half a century, and with demographic trends being what they are, it is hard to imagine what it would take to dislodge Mr. Obama if he were re-ensconced for (nominally) another 4 years. He might no longer have the original aura, the charisma, the ability to persuade people that he is a brilliant and gifted leader, but it might no longer matter. I am afraid it is now or never.