Many voters will be comparing Mitt Romney with Barack Obama
between now and election day. But what might be even more revealing
would be comparing Obama with Obama. There is a big contrast
between Obama based on his rhetoric (“Obama 1”) and Obama based on
his record (“Obama 2”).
For example, during the 2008 election campaign, Obama 1 spoke of
“opening up and creating more transparency in government,” so that
government spending plans would be posted on the Internet for days
before they passed into legislation. After he was elected
president, Obama said, “My Administration is committed to creating
an unprecedented level of openness in Government.”
This Obama 1 sounds like a very good fellow. No wonder so many
people voted for him.
But then there is Obama 2. He passed a mammoth ObamaCare bill so
fast that even members of Congress didn’t have time to read it,
much less the general public. It was by no means posted on the
Internet for days before the vote, as promised.
The Constitution of the United States requires transparency as
well. When people are nominated by a President to become Cabinet
members, the Constitution requires that they be confirmed by the
Senate before they can take office, so that facts about them can
become known before they are given the powers of their offices.
Although President Obama complied with this requirement when he
appointed Cabinet members, he also made other appointments to
powerful positions created by Executive Orders — people aptly
called “czars” for the vast, unchecked powers they wielded, in some
cases greater than the powers exercised by Cabinet members.
These “czars” never had to be confirmed by the Senate, and so
had no public vetting before acquiring their powers. We had unknown
and unaccountable rulers placed over us.
Another aspect of transparency was the Constitution’s
requirement that Congress pass a budget every year. The
Democratically controlled Senate during the Obama administration
has not passed a budget for three consecutive years.
Passing a budget makes the administration tell the public what
it will pay for, what it will have to cut to reduce the deficit —
and how big the deficit will be if they don’t cut anything. By not
even passing a budget, Obama 2 and his party are in effect saying
to the public, “It is none of your business.” Transparency?
In his oath of office, Barack Obama swore to see that the laws
are faithfully executed, as all Presidents do. But that was Obama
1. Once in the White House, Obama 2 proceeded to explicitly waive
the enforcement of laws he didn’t agree with.
The immigration laws are a classic example. Failing to get
Congress to pass some version of amnesty, Obama 2 simply issued an
Executive Order exempting certain classes of illegal immigrants
from the immigration laws on the books.
Too many people have gotten sucked into a discussion of whether
it is a good or a bad thing for people brought into the country as
children to be exempted. But the whole reason for Constitutional
government is to have all three branches of government agree on
what the laws of the land shall be.
Obama 2 has decided instead that if Congress doesn’t do what he
wants, he will do it by himself through Executive Orders.
If any President can unilaterally change the law, we are not
likely to have the same freedom under rule by presidential fiat as
under Constitutional government. This is especially dangerous in a
President’s second term, when he need no longer have to consider
what the voters want. With a couple more Supreme Court appointments
he can permanently change the very nature of American
government.
One of the most dangerous examples of a lack of transparency was
inadvertently revealed last March when Obama 2, unaware that a
microphone was on, told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that,
after he is reelected, and never has to face the voters again, he
will have the “flexibility” to make a deal with Russia on missile
defense systems.
In other words, Obama will be able to make a deal with a country
that has been America’s most implacable and most formidable
adversary for more than half a century — a deal he couldn’t make
if the voters knew about it before the election. Think about that
chilling prospect, and what it reveals about the real Obama.
COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM
