Originally published by Communities Digital News
SAN DIEGO, November 6, 2014 — In his Wednesday press conference, President Obama offered a predictable interpretation of Tuesday’s election results. It means Americans want their elected officials to “work as hard as they do.” I.E. The problem is not him, just Washington in general. What the people want is bi-partisanship.
Of course, long before the election, Obama reminded us that although he himself was not going to be on the ballot in November, his policies were. Evidently our president has evolved once again. Now he realizes that mid-term elections have nothing to do with his policies.
Republicans have much to celebrate after a wave bigger than anything the Beach Boys ever dreamed about. But to make the most of this historic opportunity, they would do well to ignore all talking points about “working together” and realize that they were put in power to stop a president who is out of control.
It always sounds noble to talk about “reaching across the isle.” Keep in mind that this sanctimonious unity lecture is embraced by Democrats only when they lose. When they win a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, it means “the people have spoken.” It means “elections have consequences.” But when Democrats are defeated by Republicans, it is NEVER a referendum on Democrats. Instead, it means “the people want bi-partisanship.”
Sure! That’s what’s going on! People placed Republicans in power on Tuesday night, not to stop Obama, but to merely get Washington working better on both sides.
In reality, they love Obama. After all, they put him in office twice. So they must be very happy with his job performance. The fact that they are now finally tasting his policies a little closer to the pocket book has nothing to do with it.
They haven’t stopped to figure out that although the Affordable Health Care Act was passed during Obama’s first term, most of it did not go into operation until after his 2012 re-election. They haven’t noticed that this maneuver is now starting to smell like nothing more than crafty, crooked, underhanded politics.
They aren’t bothered that their own president lied about being able to keep your own doctor and health care provider. Neither do his lies about Benghazi concern them, or the IRS scandal, or Fast and Furious.
They also admire how he ignores the Constitution and rules by fiat, illegally hiding behind a misused legal function, “Executive Order.”
And of course the president’s reaction to ISIS is not an area of concern. Nobody cares that he rushed to the golf course after offering a few obligatory comments about an American who had just been beheaded.
Because of this stellar record, people love Obama and loath Republicans. Yet, somehow, for reasons which don’t seem entirely clear, they want the man whom they admire to be held in check by the party they can’t stand.
Just imagine people stepping into their voting booths saying to themselves, “Obama has done a remarkable job and Republicans are too extreme. So what we need is to put more Republicans in office. That way, the good policies of Obama will be tempered with the bad policies of the Republicans.”
Does any thinking person really accept this as the true interpretation of Tuesday night?
Our new Republican congress would do well to listen to the people who put them in office instead of losing sleep over how their actions will be viewed the next morning by the New York Times editorial page, or Democratic pollsters, or the President himself
That’s not to say that Republicans in office should offer nothing to Obama at all. Why not buy him a new set of golf clubs? That way he can have something to do while they run the country.
This is Bob Siegel, making the obvious, obvious.
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