The pursuit of Constitutionally grounded governance, freedom
and individual liberty
"There
is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it
steadily." --George
Washington
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Romney was Right
about Russia and Obama Was Wrong by Gary De Mar
In their third presidential debate, President Obama
ridiculed Mitt Romney when he said that Russia remained a threat to the United
States. Here’s what Obama said in the debate:
PRESIDENT
OBAMA: “Governor Romney, I’m glad that you recognize that al-Qaida’s a threat
because a few months ago when you were asked, what’s the biggest geopolitical
threat facing America, you said Russia — not al-Qaida, you said Russia. And the
1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know,
the Cold War’s been over for 20 years. “But, Governor, when it comes to our
foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s,
just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the
1920s. You say that you’re not interested in duplicating what happened in Iraq,
but just a few weeks ago you said you think we should have more troops in Iraq
right now. “And the — the challenge we have — I know you haven’t been in a
position to actually execute foreign policy, but every time you’ve offered an
opinion, you’ve been wrong.” Here’s how Mitt Romney responded. Notice how Obama
tries to cut Romney off before he can make his point:
MR.
ROMNEY: I’ll respond to a couple of the things you mentioned. First of all,
Russia, I indicated, is a geopolitical foe, not —
PRESIDENT
OBAMA: Number one — [interrupting]
MR.
ROMNEY: Excuse me. It’s a geopolitical foe. And I said in the same . . .
paragraph, and Iran is the greatest national security threat we face. Russia
does continue to battle us in the U.N. time and time again. I have clear eyes
on this. I’m not going to wear
rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia or Mr. Putin, and I’m certainly
not going to say to him, I’ll give you more flexibility after the election.
After the election he’ll get more backbone.
In an interview, Wolf Blitzer had asked Romney if he
thought Russia is a bigger foe than Iran, China, or North Korea. Here was
Romney’s response:
“I’m
saying in terms of a geopolitical opponent, the nation that lines up with the
world's worst actors. Of course the greatest threat that the world faces is a
nuclear Iran, and a nuclear North Korea is already troubling enough. But when
these terrible actors pursue their course in the world — and we go to the
United Nations looking for ways to stop them — who is it that always stands up
with the world's worst actors? It’s always Russia, typically with China
alongside. And so in terms of a geopolitical foe, a nation that's on the
Security Council that has the heft of the Security Council, and is of course is
a massive nuclear power, Russia is the geopolitical foe.”
It seems that Romney was ahead of the game when it
came to understanding how Russia is still a major political player to be
reckoned with while Obama was is in the dark. Will the media notice? Don't count on it
~~~~~~
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Hope 'n' Change: Playing by the Same Rules
On Thursday, the House passed the "No Subsidies Without
Verification Act," 235-191, which would block ObamaCare insurance
subsidy payouts until the Department of Health and Human Services implements a
system to verify eligibility. Republicans aim to close a loophole that HHS created in July that allows
people to apply for insurance subsidies without proving their income or whether
their employer already provides federally approved health benefits.
HHS insists Republicans are overstating the opportunity for fraud and
abuse because fear of future HHS and IRS audits will keep people honest.
Yet this audit power hasn't prevented people from, for example, playing fast and loose
with the Earned Income Tax Credit. The Treasury Inspector General estimates
that a quarter of those credits go to ineligible recipients, and equivalent
fraud in ObamaCare would mean $250 billion in wrongful income redistribution
over a decade. Predictably, the Democrat-controlled Senate won't
consider the House measure, though Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced it, and
the White House issued a veto threat. Team Obama needs the bodies to make the
program work, and they don't want stricter rules blocking folks from getting
their "fair share."
~~~~~~
The Collapse of the Obama Presidency by
How
bad has 2013 been for Barack Obama? Let us count the ways. In the first year of his second
term, the president has failed on virtually every front.
·
He
put his prestige on the line to pass federal gun-control legislation–and lost.
·
He
made climate change a central part of his inaugural address–and nothing has
happened.
·
The
president went head-to-head with Republicans on sequestration–and he failed.
·
He’s
been forced to delay implementation of the employer mandate, a key feature of
the Affordable Care Act.
·
ObamaCare
is more unpopular than ever, and it’s turning out to be a “train wreck” (to
quote Democratic Senator Max Baucus) in practice.
·
The
most recent jobs report was the worst in a year, with the Obama recovery
already qualifying as a historically weak one. Immigration reform is going
nowhere.
·
And
then there’s Syria, which has turned out to be an epic disaster. (To be sure,
Mr. Obama’s Middle East failures go well beyond Syria–but Syria is the most conspicuous
failure right now).
In
watching the Obama presidency dissolve before our eyes, there is a cautionary
tale to be told. Every presidency falls short of the expectations that the candidate
sets. But no man has ever promised more and delivered less than the current
occupant of the Oval Office. All
of the extravagant promises and claims–of “Yes We Can!” and “we’re the ones
we’ve been waiting for;” of hope and change and slowing the rise of the oceans;
of claiming his candidacy would “ring out across this land as a hymn that will
heal this nation, repair this world, make this time different than all the
rest”–lie in ruin. (I’d urge you to watch this short video clip
from the 2008 campaign to more fully appreciate the crushing
disappointment that results from what Mr. Obama said he would achieve versus
what he’s been able to achieve.)
In
all of this one is reminded of the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs, which
warns that “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
The president has been shown to be a man out of his depth time and again. But
here’s the problem: Mr. Obama’s failures have inflicted great and durable harm on the
United States. This may be worth keeping in mind the next time an eloquent
community organizer decides he’s ready to be commander in chief.
~~~~~~
"It
is too true, however disgraceful it may be to human nature, that the nations in
general will make war whenever they have a prospect of getting anything by it,
nay that absolute monarchs, will often make war when their nations are to get
nothing by it, but for purposes and objects merely personal."–John
Jay, Federalist No. 4, 1787
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