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Townhall...
Obama’s Domestic
Imperialism
by Mark Baisley
Is it just me, or did everyone else feel a sudden shift in the tectonic
plates of national discourse? For decades, the American political
debate could be summed up as government provision versus private
innovation.
While the conservative position seems to remain, “That government is
best that governs least,” the liberal priority appears to have advanced
from, “That government is best that governs most” to an all-out
campaign of domestic imperialism.
The momentum seemed to begin building in October of 2009 when the
Secretary of Defense Comptroller issued a decision to reduce contractor
funding 13 percent by converting civilians to civil service.
In other words, a Lockheed Martin engineer could remain in his position
supporting base operations at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, but now
as a direct employee of the federal government.
Well over half of the $12 trillion mortgage market is now owned or
guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; Not to mention the remaining
TARP investments in General Motors, Citigroup and Bank of America.
The assimilation continues with Obamacare and the $787 billion Economic
Stimulus Package of 2009.
When President Obama delivered his “Framework for Deficit Reduction”
speech on Wednesday, I kept thinking that America was being treated to
the slickest example of bait-and-switch since the Music Man came to
River City. A professional persuader will soften up the
opposition by first agreeing with them.
The President’s opening statements could have come from Ronald Reagan
himself, using terms like rugged individualism, self-reliance, and “a
healthy skepticism of too much government.”
Then, Obama delivered his transitional slight of hand; “We believe in
the words of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, ‘Through
government we should do together what we cannot do for ourselves as
well.’” Thanks to the Washington Examiner’s research department,
we now know President Lincoln’s words in context.
The actual quote: “The legitimate object of government is to do for a
community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at
all, or cannot so well do, for themselves, in their separate and
individual capacities. In all that the people can individually do
as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere.”
I encourage President Obama to continue researching and quoting Abraham
Lincoln. Let me suggest the following Lincoln statements:
“Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty
as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit
and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors.”
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the
courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who
pervert the Constitution.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man’s
initiative and independence.”
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
And last, but seemly and certainly not least, “You can fool all the
people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you
cannot fool all the people all the time.”
Read it at Townhall
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