The politics of red herrings

Barack Obama and his sycophantic Democrat Party are attempting to play the American people like a musical instrument. Only problem is that, as a band, Obama and the Democrats are tone-deaf, as is proven by this week’s Pew Research poll that shows eight out of ten Americans do not trust the government.

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I’m frankly surprised that the number of people who view their government with suspicion is this low, but then it’s likely that the 20% of Americans who do trust the government are dependent on government largesse and do not mind trading their liberty for the few crusts of bread the government gives them. So far Obama has taken over the US auto industry in a maneuver that might make even Hugo Chavez blush. The American auto industry represents approximately 3.5% of the US economy, however, that’s only for the sale of cars. When one adds parts, tires, etc. the auto industry represents more like 10% of the total economy. The takeover was completed in a classic fascist ploy by screwing shareholders and creditors and giving their assets to unions who also happen to be strong supporters of the Democrats. Then through bribes, lies and coercion he’s begun taking over the healthcare sector, which currently represents about 16% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In order to do so, Obama has vilified both doctors as mercenary uncaring moneygrubbers, as well as health insurance companies that revel in refusing care to their policyholders. Again, there were a plethora of bad guys vilified by Obama to convince the less sentient among us that the takeover was warranted and would result in a better healthcare system for all Americans. A few words of caution: don’t hold your breath. The latest sector of the economy now looking at a government takeover is the financial sector (Wall Street and the Big Banks), which represents somewhere in the neighborhood of 15% of GDP. The Obamites have long vilified bankers and insurance companies in efforts to divert blame for the financial meltdown from government sponsored organizations. The latest salvo fired at the financial industry happened late last Friday when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil fraud suit against Goldman Sachs, accusing the Wall Street giant of selling poisoned investments to hapless investors at the behest of hedge fund Paulson and Company, a Goldman Sachs client. Perhaps the most interesting and damning thing about the SEC’s action isn’t the suit itself, but the timing of making it public. To make these charges public on a Friday afternoon means that the company targeted can’t defend itself for at least two days, allowing the regime’s mouthpieces time to convince the public of Goldman’s guilt, as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner did on the Sunday talk show circuit. The suit is very likely to be thrown out of court, because of its obvious legal flaws. If the SEC had something solid against Goldman Sachs, who lost 90 million in the alleged fraud scheme, you can bet that the suit would be criminal and not civil. But even if the suit gets thrown out, it serves to further Obama’s end game, which is the initiation of draconian banking regulations that would essentially make the banking sector a division of the US government and if the legislation is passed, then the government will in fact control 41% of the entire American economy. Next you will see the energy sector under attack, as it already is with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) declaration that carbon is a “toxic pollutant”; This, despite the scientific fact that without carbon life on earth could not exist. You may recall that the Congress has already passed the Waxman-Markey Bill, the massive cap and trade scheme the Democrats are afraid of carrying further because of its extreme unpopularity with the people. But that bill is guaranteed to rear its ugly head again immediately following this November’s mid-term elections. The “bad guys” the government will name in its attempts to pass this bill will be oil companies and climate change. The one thing that Barack Obama and his brain trust are good at is to identify hard-to-defend villains in their quest to socialize the country. Many pundits have pointed out that Obama is following the precepts laid down by Saul Alinsky in bringing about change. But in truth, Alinsky is by no means the first radical to marginalize and dehumanize his targets. There were many before him who achieved their ends through similar means: Hitler, Stalin and Mao come to mind. It is important for normal Americans to remember that Obama is not an omnipotent force, despite his control over both houses of Congress. His skillful use of red herrings notwithstanding, marginalizing one’s opponents is a sword that cuts two-ways. Let Obama and the Dems continue on their foolish course until 2012. I firmly believe that he, like Jimmy Carter, will be a one-term wonder that will slide into bitter obscurity.