Re: 'Is This How a President Should Act?' (Updated) :: Political News and commentaries

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February 18, 2011

Re: 'Is This How a President Should Act?' (Updated)

Topics: Political News and commentaries

From Matt Welch at Reason comes this jewel of a perspective on Obama's heavy-handed involvement of himself (and his party) into the business of the state of Wisconsin (emphasis mine):

Just think - there once was a time (for more than a century, actually), when the president of the United States thought it too imperious to deliver the State of the Union via a speech to a joint session of Congress, since that would smack of telling a co-equal branch of government what to do. Now we have a president not just taking rhetorical sides in a state issue, but actively mobilizing his political organization to affect the outcome(s), even though (to my knowledge) nothing that Gov. Walker or any other belated statehouse cost-cutter is doing has a damned thing to do with federal law.

... We are witnessing the logical conclusion of the Democratic Party's philosophy, and it is this: Your tax dollars exist to make public sector unions happy.

What Welch is referring to in his comment that "the President is actively mobilizing his political organization to affect the outcome" is what was initially said and made to look like a grassroots movement turns out to be nothing of the sort -- Obama and the DNC have been caught red-handed - the protests have been churned up by Organizing for America, Obama's campaign arm now under the umbrella of the DNC ... complete with phone banks, union thugs, social media - the works (hat tip - Ace of Spades):

Organizing for America, Obama's campaign arm now under the umbrella of the DNC, has been mobilizing union members and supporters to rally against a proposed Wisconsin budget measure that would strip workers of collective bargaining rights and force them to contribute more for benefits.

Leaders have initiated phone banks and on-the-ground canvassing, and relied on a social media blitz on Facebook and Twitter to build turnout.

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine also reportedly spoke with Wisconsin union leaders and state legislators ahead of the protests, the Huffington Post reported, signaling his direct involvement in coordinating the effort.

And from the same source we learn that House Speaker John Boehner subsequently lashed out at the White House yesterday, accusing it of complicating governors' efforts to put their fiscal houses in order ... and provided this disturbing bit of info:

"According to news reports, the White House has even unleashed the Democratic National Committee to spread disinformation and confusion in Wisconsin regarding the governor's courageous actions," he said. "I urge the president to order the DNC to suspend these tactics. This is not the way you begin an 'adult conversation' in America about solutions to the fiscal challenges that are destroying jobs in our country."

It would seem that even liberal-progressives would see a certain bit of impropriety here ... the President of the United States and his party taking an active role in supporting the unions that have been one of the largest sources of cash to him and his party - taking sides against the government of a state and the taxpayers who are the actual source of the cash to pay its members.

On the other hand, we are after all, talking about liberal Democrats and their liberal media apologists who have no such scruples.