By Dr. Robin McFee ~
The skies above my home sounded like the outtakes from “Apocalypse Now,” with enough helicopter traffic to resemble an Israeli chopper base the morning of a mission. My house apparently is on the flight path to several of the airports the advance team requires in order to airlift all the necessary security measures for a presidential excursion. President Obama Comes to Worcester – sounds like the title for a children’s book, in the spirit of Rush Revere or Mr. Dickens Visits America. Perhaps this is a fitting title for an article, given the only people truly believing Obama is a successful leader of the greatest nation in the world, are ones who have the ‘wishful thinking’ or ‘fairytale thought process of a child. Although, an argument can be made for the Obama foster children – that increasing number of allowance takers or those who feed off the government mammary glands, who are bought and paid for by his paternalistic policies as the father of the largest welfare industrial complex in our history.
POTUS is arriving in Massachusetts on Wednesday June 11th to honor a local vocational high school during their graduation. That in and of itself is a good thing. I have long opined I wish this president – a highly educated man – should and could do more to recognize academic achievement, and less to recognize entertainers and sports figure. So in recognition of his popping in to my neck of the woods to recognize school kids, I thought it was time to recognize some of the achievements – domestic and foreign policy – that President Obama has brought to the United States in his most recent term. Those being non-existent, I found myself staring at a blank sheet of paper. I really did try to come up with something positive to say. I really wanted to credit the President with leaving the United States better than he found it, in at least one area of policy.
I tried, point for point, starting with his Middle East Policies, something I know up close and personal, having covered the second intifada, the Arab spring, terrorists in various parts of the Gulf, and Africa. The Obama Middle East Democracy Myth, and his failed actions have led to a dead ambassador, nations in turmoil that had been far more stable under President Bush’s global watch, a loss of influence internationally, vulnerable subpopulations being attacked such as Christians and Kurds residing in nations we have allowed to slip into radical hands. Al Qaeda franchises are teaming up with other Islamic groups – the myth that Sunni and Shia can’t play nice together should be abandoned, and the world starting with expanding radicalism, is far more dangerous. Iran has emerged as a major power broker, in spite of the sanctions. Let’s recap – our allies are in disarray and looking for a new ‘big brother’ protector – enter Vladimir Putin and Russia, exit the US influence in Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Turkey and soon to be Saudi Arabia. Iran has created and grown some of the most dangerous series of weapons under Obama’s watch – from public relations victories that Tehran outplayed Washington (it did!), to Hezbollah which is essentially an extension of the Iranian Republican Guard Corps, a vaunted military presence and significant threat to Israel, much of the Middle East, including the Emirates, Bahrain, as well as Yemen and Lebanon. Oh and is growing a presence in Mexico and Venezuela. That’s in addition to weapons exports, monetary support to other terror organizations, and oh yes, the nuclear threat. As an aside, tell me Mr. President, how did Iran pay for all those activities under your watch, when you imposed sanctions? OK moving on to Europe. Let’s see now. Who is France making deals with? What political shift is spreading through Europe or at least the more solvent nations? How do you spell “repudiate Obama?” Even Iran is now making commercial inroads with Europe. What nation is moving a large military force closer to former Warsaw Pact members? Hmmm, could it be Russia? OK let’s move on to Asia and play the Energy version of the game Jeopardy. Alex for 400 billion dollars, I’d like the category, “Who ate the US’s lunch in recent business deals?” That would be Russia snagging a gas deal with China; something the US needed and wanted. So while the save the spotted salamander constituency forces the EPA into paralysis, and Keystone Pipeline advocates must do environmental gymnastics, the pipeline linking Siberian gas fields moves closer to creating a major commercial venture for Putin, and allowing his nation to rely less upon Europe. And this in the aftermath of Crimea. So much for Obama’s global influence! Oops. How’s that “Reset” button doing Hillary?
I could go on, but it’s just too painful to see the failures of my nation’s leaders, which are resulting in a better life for competitor or adversary nations, while the US remains disadvantaged.
So let’s try domestic policy. Our Southern border is about to become the northern province of Mexico with drug cartels, illegals, and gun runners destabilizing several regions in sovereign US states – to which our President chooses to side with Mexico and fight it out with Arizona and Texas. We have Homeland Security secretaries imposing idiotic rules of engagement upon Immigration agents that will imperil them and cost US lives. Amnesty cities have emerged, and ICE agents get penalized for focusing on illegal activities. Our debt and deficits will crush the solvency of our nation. The energy and environmental policies this administration has sponsored are guaranteed to raise the GDP and quality of life for many citizens – just not ours. Think China and Russia. The narrative has been hijacked such that words do not have meaning, only code. “Infrastructure” is meant to imply bridges, schools, roads. But in Obama speak it means entitlements. So the insatiable appetite for increased taxes, which the DNC pundits all infer will result in economic stimulation, and any suggestion of tax breaks brings with it cries that our nations infrastructure will suffer (as if pare pasu the tax dollars will go to “shovel ready jobs”) all gut guarantees the welfare industrial complex (government workers hired to run these expanding programs, political shills employed to promote them, and the growing number of people expecting/relying/clamoring for/signing up to get government subsidies. Then there is the boondoggle of them all – Obama Care, using the misnomer “Affordable Care Act.” It is a gravy train for the insurance industry, a disaster for patients and doctors, will continue to drive up the cost of care for all but those who have nothing to begin with, and allow the government to influence another large part of our lives.
Bummer! I really wanted to find something good to say about President Obama’s policies on the eve of his arrival to recognize a group of kids graduating from a vocational school that the pseudointelligentsia of Worcester initially fought against creating, and that even some of the education leaders in the city treated as a stepchild…that is until the recognition started to flow.
The irony is of course President Obama recognizing people of achievement – measurable, with report cards, class projects, teacher evaluations and peer recognition – at a time when he has none to speak of in the real world during his two terms, unless we accept the media’s illusionary and wishful thinking ‘achievement surrogates’ – future possibilities not realized.
Sometimes I feel like I am trapped in a children’s book – Alice in Wonderland – where upsidedown is rightsideup and visa versa. Where the media report on achievements and policies that have no hope of accomplishing any sustainable good, and yet write about the actions as if they were grand events, instead of grand illusion.
There isn’t an aspect of President Obama’s policies – ok the policies of George Soros and the one world, ultraliberal socialist puppeteers that hold POTUS’ strings – that has or will move the United States or its people to greatness as a society or enterprise.
But that’s not the point. Most of us still capable of converting oxygen to carbon dioxide can see on a daily basis the innumerable failed policies of this administration, created by the amateur participants in the Obama circus working out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, and the resultant damage done to the United States. What can we do to redirect our national policies to allow our nation, and our citizens, to flourish?
Fortunately the story is not fully told. There is a chance the US can emerge to her fully glorious self, with her people re-embracing the philosophies that made this nation great – a work ethic, ingenuity, individual responsibility tempered with a social compact, compassionate welfare that ties community service with the paycheck, and inculcates a sense of pride through work. Policies that demonstrate our resolve in international affairs, homeland security, international trade and emerging technologies. But for that to happen the GOP MUST get with the program. Starting with taking a page out of the DNC playbook.
You can learn a lot about the United States, and DNC politics, by visiting Massachusetts – arguably one of the most important sources of leadership, patriotism and heroics in the 18th century that fostered the American Experiment, and ultimately helping to lead the nascent colonies into becoming the greatest nation. A tiny area geographically, Massachusetts nevertheless has exerted a disproportionate influence on the evolution of the American enterprise. Many of the great movements affecting the nation have connections to the Commonwealth in one way or another – if not the Northeast. For better or worse, this small state remains influential in national politics, finance, medicine and education.
It is no accident therefore that President Obama selected a high school from Massachusetts as a whistle stop, after which, the fundraiser in chief will head out to Boston to do some walletectomies (defined as the procedure whereby a wallet is removed for the sole purpose of obtaining its contents, which are then placed in the offering plate of a charity, enterprise or political party), and solidify the blues for the next round of elections.
For starters, one of the newest rock stars in the DNC is Senator Elizabeth Warren. Insiders recognize she is a favorite with POTUS. Moreover, she has political aspirations that rival Hillary’s. My sources go so far as to suggest Sen. Warren’s name will be on a national ticket within two election cycles. This is especially true if Hilary’s campaign takes a dive.
Then there is the vulnerable governor’s office. Current Governor Duval Patrick – often considered “Obama Lite” – having the same charisma, same empty suit, half the calories, half the damage of Obama, as his political clone. Well Governor Patrick’s seemingly endless terms as chief executive of Massachusetts have left a similar trail of fiscal irresponsibility, amnesty cities, growth in welfare recipients, illegals running rampant, state organizations left disorganized, much akin to Obama’s track record. Net result? There have been more than a few disgruntled “blues” who are glad to see him leave Beacon Hill, and more worrisome for democrats – a growing number of frustrated independent voters to give the Republicans a flicker of hope to capture the executive branch.
And last but not least, and something the GOP ought to pay close attention – the “politics university” that the DNC runs out of the Commonwealth.
I knew a long time ago, even during the Reagan years, that the GOP was going to be in trouble, and the future was not going to look so good for our nation – all based upon a 1 inch classified ad in a local weekly newspaper. Going from memory it read something like this: “Ever want to run a political campaign? Join us, and attend our free political university.” It was sponsored by the DNC. Over one summer I saw many of those ads, and variations on a theme have occurred over the years. Yet to this day I have never seen an ad like that sponsored by the GOP in any city I have visited, or the equivalent level of pipeline development in the GOP that I have with the DNC. From mailings about getting a DNC credit card to grass roots development, to twitter hit teams and the myriad ways the democrats leverage social media, to vocal sponsorship of educational programs at leading universities, in addition to their near universal control of the mainstream media. And that is the real message of Obama’s visit to Massachusetts – to make certain the heart and soul of the DNC in the Northeast is alive and well – to support the darlings of the Harvard Salon Set, to promote a long term pipeline of supporters and participants, and to strengthen a growing farm team that will take the democrat party well into the next decade.
So while the GOP team is playing against itself on the one hand, and on the other hand, playing defense badly against the DNC, the democrats are tying up loose ends, filling in the gaps, and developing a dream team for the next series of elections.
It is not all bleak for the GOP or our nation. But the clock is ticking. The demographics are changing, and the national philosophy is shifting. We are not the 1940′s where “work” was a privilege. We are the decade that will define our future – will it be the 40 plus percent who believe they are “entitled” to being taken care of and where “work” is a 4 letter word? Where responsibility is a punishment, not a component of privilege? The good news – it isn’t a 52 – 48 or 50 – 50 or even 40 – 60 battle. The Patriots in the Colonies only had about 1/3 of the hearts and minds. The Loyalists about the same. And then there are the ubiquitous sideliners who lick a finger and hold it up to the breeze to see which way the wind blows.
We don’t need many to reclaim the Republic, but we need more! And the clock started in 2008.
Conclusion
As someone who has been blessed with excellent educational opportunities, I am happy a sitting president is honoring high school students, Scholastic achievement. I wish he would make greater efforts on a weekly basis to honor kids who work hard and accomplish wonderful things. Tomorrow will be an event to tell their grandchildren some day, and worthy of celebration for a community. But let’s not lose sight of the fact President Obama is always in “election mode” and always on the campaign trail. It is not an accident that Massachusetts has contributed four out of our 44 presidents (and an additional 5 unsuccessful presidential nominees); only Virginia, NY and Ohio have produced more, or that POTUS is in the Commonwealth at this moment in time. He knows it is a numbers game. And he is using the power of the presidency to promote the DNC agenda, recruit future leaders, and support the growing farm team within the party.
Where is the farm team of the loyal opposition? The emerging rock stars? The powerful voices on campuses and in the media?
Obama is coming to Worcester. With several months to the mid-terms, and two years before a new POTUS is elected, BHO will remain at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Once again the GOP is playing catch up. But the GOP, like the kids at graduation will experience tomorrow, politics is exciting, the future possibilities are exhilarating, it is time to examine what we have learned, fix what we screwed up, and oh yes…school is over. Time to get going!
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Robin McFee is a physician and medical toxicologist. An expert in WMD preparedness, she is a consultant to government agencies, corporations and the media. Dr. McFee is the former director and cofounder of the Center for Bioterrorism Preparedness (CB PREP) and was bioweapons – WMD adviser to the Regional Domestic Security Task Force Region 7 after 911, as well as advisor on avian and swine flu preparedness to numerous agencies and organizations. Dr. McFee is a member of the Global Terrorism, Political Instability and International Crime Council of ASIS International. She has authored numerous articles on terrorism, health care and preparedness, and coauthored two books: Toxico-Terrorism by McGraw Hill and The Handbook of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Agents, published by Informa/CRC Press.
Read more excellent articles from Family Security Matters