Saturday, October 05, 2013

Partisan Delusion

I usually make allowances for Obamabots, but this comment took me all aback and left me in irons. (That’s sailing talk. I watched the America’s Cup too long.) I commented that Obama had largely ignored his liberal base and this was one of the responses,

The liberal base got national health care, championing of homosexual rights, an end to the “war on terror” and likely another amnesty coming soon, that’s not being ignored in my opinion.

Oh my goodness, let’s start with the “national health care” that the liberal base supposedly got. Even calling that legislation “health care reform” is a stretch, because it’s basis has nothing to do with health care but with health insurance, which it requires everyone to purchase from private corporations. That is a very, very long way from “national health care.”

His “championing of homosexual rights” is almost as much of a stretch. For four full years he said simply that “don’t ask don’t tell” would be repealed “at the right time” without saying what that time might be. It was repealed because Congress responded to gay activism and Obama responded to Joe Biden shaming him into action by acting first. As to gay marriage, his view on the subject is to this day still “evolving,” and his administration has declined to participate in two cases on the subject at the Supreme Court.

As to the claim that he has brought “an end to the war on terror,” one has to simply laugh and hope that the writer will seek mental help. We’re still at war in Afghanistan and seeking to maintain a troop presence there after the war nominally ends. We are still employing Hellfire missiles fired from drones to kill people whose names we do not even know in at least four Islamic countries because they look like they might be “extremists.” We’re still foaming at the mouth over Syria and Iran. The “national security” apparatus is at an all time high and still growing, there is still incessant fear mongering about Al Queda and the war on whistleblowers rages unabated.

Finally, anyone who thinks there is “likely another amnesty coming” is, at best, using a seriously bad choice of words. Obama championed immigration reform during the 2012 campaign season long enough to secure the Hispanic vote and has not spoken of it since, and even then he avoided the term “amnesty” like it contained four letters; was careful to promise that whatever he offered it would not be amnesty.

At least there was no claim of him ending the war in Iraq.

1 comment:

  1. bruce1:28 PM

    We do not have "National health care"only perhaps to seniors via medicare or to veteran via the VA, and both of those are underfunded and might be shaky. Not enough in the VA system and too many medical providers don't like medicare.

    As far as the rest of it, well, if you've got it great, if you don't you could well be still in trouble. National Health Care would solve a great many problems but likely piss off a great many too.

    It's likely he did want expansion of gay rights, but it was politically inappropriate to say so. It was easier for Big Mouth Biden to come out and say so, whether this was calculated or not in unknown, but once it was out there he didn't have much choice. Of course as President he can take the credit.

    Ending the War of Terror is a joke. It's still going on, just not on the front pages. Guantanamo prisons, drone strikes, military in Syria (maybe), it's still going on. If he was serious about helping the 'rebels' it would have happened a year ago when it would have done more good. Now there is even more chaos and confusion and extremeism and now he wants to 'help'? Geez. At least the UK said "no way"...

    It's not an "amnesty" because - again - it's not politically expedient to say so. ANd Bush 43 was championing immigration reform long before Obama was elected, even as senator. You see how that went. And what's being proposed is similiar to that (I think, I could be wrong).

    Don;t get me wrong, there are a few good things I like here. I just can't articulate them.

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