Titanic II—Obama’s Second Term!

[Jake Martinez]

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Posted on The Patriot Post-On June 15, 2012:

“The Foundation

“It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth—and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts. ... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.”—Patrick Henry

Government & Politics

‘Titanic II: It’ll Be Different This Time’

“The Democrats are saying something like this: ‘We found a big hole that we did not dig. ... Give us two more years. If it doesn’t work, vote us out.’” That’s what Bill Clinton said about the economy—in 2010. There’s plenty of blame to go around for that hole, of course, but it’s worth remembering that Democrats took control of both houses of Congress—and the purse strings—almost a year before the recession started. And we can’t think of a better argument for voting Democrats out than how they bound and gagged the economy for the last five years.

One of Clinton’s most trusted strategists, James “It’s the Economy, Stupid” Carville, is painfully aware that the languishing economy doesn’t bode well for Democrats in November, and he’s advising Obama to quit talking about his record—a strategy he says is “wrong” and “will fail”—and focus on the future instead. Carville wrote, along with fellow strategists Stanley Greenberg and Erica Seifert, “We will face an impossible headwind in November if we do not move to a new narrative, one that contextualizes the recovery but, more importantly, focuses on what we will do to make a better future for the middle class.” In other words, it’s like the sequel to “Titanic,” and the ship will sink all over again.

Barack Obama isn’t listening to Carville, though. He gave a 54-minute speech yesterday at an Ohio community college—ironically, the same place Clinton made his remarks two years ago—in an attempt to “reframe” the issue. “Rerun” might be a better word because there was nothing new offered, no deviation from the bigger-government-fixes-everything template, and it was full of the usual mix of self-congratulation and blame for everyone else. In fact, we think we’ve heard it 54 times before.

Obama blamed the “policies of the last decade” for the bad economy, while arguing that Mitt Romney would gut education, science and green energy programs, as well as “end [Medicare] as we know it.” Arguing that he needs four more years because of George W. Bush is less than convincing, though as he reminded us last Friday, “the private sector is doing fine.”

He then whined that Romney’s campaign will go negative: “The other side will spend over a billion dollars on ads that tell you the economy is bad, that it’s all my fault ... that I can’t fix it because I think government is always the answer or because I didn’t make a lot of money in the private sector and don’t understand it or because I’m in over my head or because I think everything and everybody is doing just fine.”

“No, I don’t believe that government is the answer to all our problems,” Obama joked—at least we assume he had to be joking—before turning around and saying of his “investments” of taxpayer money, “The private sector can’t do it alone.” In fact, he says, government investment is necessary to help “the next Thomas Edison, the next Wright brothers.” Also laughably, he hammered the Bush tax cuts and alleged deregulation in general, only to later tout his own tax cuts and supposed deregulation.

All in all, the speech was a tired refrain of Obama’s old standbys, class warfare and government solutions—so much so that even a panel at MSNBC panned the speech. But Obama did offer one bit of wisdom: “This election is your chance to break [the] stalemate” between economic visions for the country. Indeed, it’s time for a change.

The Obama Presidency in a Nutshell

“I think people are still hurting. I think the economy has not recovered, and it’s not where it needs to be.”—White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

On Cross-Examination

“Now you may have heard that President Obama is on the other side of the state and he is going to be delivering a speech on the economy. He’s doing that because he hasn’t delivered a recovery for the economy. And he’s going to be a person of eloquence as he describes his plans for making the economy better but don’t forget, he’s been president for three and a half years. And talk is cheap. Action speaks very loud. ... What he says and what he does are not always the exact same thing.”—Mitt Romney, just before Obama’s speech.

Hope ‘n’ Change: Collusion on ObamaCare

We have long known that the Obama administration pulled out all the stops, legal and otherwise, to make ObamaCare a reality, but recent evidence indicates a staggeringly high level of collusion between the White House and pharmaceutical companies in crafting the legislation. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is investigating the relationship between the Obama White House and the drug industry lobby, led by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The committee’s recent findings are the most glaring example of crony capitalism we have yet seen from this administration.

In 2009, when ObamaCare was coming together, drug makers eagerly stepped up to join the White House effort in order to protect their own interests from too much government regulation, and because they realized that the new entitlement might bring a wave of new customers their way. Emails from the drug makers and the White House show that the White House explicitly looked to Pfizer and other drug companies to provide financial and critical support for the bill, dangling promises of looser price controls and anti-re-importation provisions in exchange. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), then chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, took everything that PhRMA offered, and then pushed re-importation anyway. As part of the well-played skit, the White House stepped in, saved the drug companies from the re-importation provision, and PhRMA wrote a $150 million check for an advertising campaign that touted the virtues of ObamaCare to an increasingly skeptical public.

Democrats pretend to be the champions of the average American, but they had no problem cozying up to drug companies in order to get their own way. The drug companies in turn had no problem getting into bed with the White House if it meant bigger potential profits for them down the road.

Meanwhile, even if the Supreme Court strikes down ObamaCare, some of its provisions may live on with various insurance companies. UnitedHealth Group and other large insurers, for example, intend to keep the provision that allows families to keep their children on their plans up to age 26, and they will also maintain certain preventive measures with no out-of-pocket charges. On the other hand, they’re unlikely to stick to the portion of the law that requires them to take all comers regardless of pre-existing conditions, and they will probably ditch the requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of premiums on health-related costs.

Campaign Trail: Fundraiser-in-Chief

Barack Obama hit six fundraisers Tuesday in Baltimore and Philadelphia—tying the one-day record for fundraising events by a sitting president. The previous record, by the way, was held by ... wait for it ... Barack Obama. Obama has held a total of 160 fundraising events since officially kicking off his re-election campaign. To put that into perspective, by the same point in his first term, George W. Bush held 79 events.

On another campaign stop for barbecue, the president and his four guests left without paying the $55.58 bill. The White House did settle the tab before the end of the day, but the episode reminded us of a particular attack Obama made on Republicans. Rebutting their criticism of his deficit spending, he said it’s “like somebody goes to the restaurant, orders a big steak dinner, martini, all that stuff and then just as you’re sitting down, they leave and accuse you of running up the tab.” Just as with his budgets, he ordered something he didn’t pay for.

News From the Swamp: Federal Reserve Debt Holdings Skyrocket

Newly released numbers show that the Federal Reserve under Obama has become the largest shareholder in U.S. government debt. The Fed owned $302 billion in U.S. Treasury securities in January 2009. That portion rose an incredible 452 percent by April 2012, with the Fed now holding $1.67 trillion. In roughly the same time frame, China’s share of U.S. government debt rose from $740 billion to $1.17 trillion, and Japan’s share shot from $635 billion to just over $1 trillion. Together, these three entities possess 49 percent of all the new debt generated during Obama’s term, in which total debt rose 50 percent from $10 trillion to $15 trillion.”

Read More:

http://patriotpost.us/editions/13830/

Continue Reading:

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Nearly 80 percent of Americans don’t trust the government!

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/nearly-80-percent-don’t-tr...

Where Is America Today?

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/where-is-america-today-2/

Note: The following video shares my sentiments and hopefully yours-You Decide:

We The People!-Posted on YouTube.com-By nospopulus-On February 10, 2010:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVAhr4hZDJE

The Fightin Side of Me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32-OyyLJzHw&feature=player_embe...

Note:  If you have a problem viewing any of the listed blog posts, please copy website and paste it on your browser.  Sure seems like any subject matter that may be considered controversial by this administration is being censored-What happened to free speech?-You Decide.

“Food For Thought”

God Bless the U.S.A.!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E&feature=related

Semper Fi!

Jake

[M]

Here is something I found online to rally around, but it might be considered offensive by most of the Left Wingers so I say let's use it;