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Obama and his toadies recognize that their attempt to graft the leftist playbook onto the classic American societal structure is doomed to failure

Do the Obamacrats Really Believe the Economic Garbage they Espouse?



The Obama presidency is in tatters. From ObamaCare to numerous scandals (e.g., Benghazi, IRS, Fast & Furious) to economic stagnation to palpable American decline, the shards of disaster over which the big O presides – and much of which he has caused – are bleeding the Republic and torturing its people.
How does Obama respond? Why, of course, by doubling down on the very policies that have brought the US to its current sorry place:
  • We shall continue to cripple the industries that develop classic carbon-based energy resources -- to which we have dramatically improved domestic accessibility that could afford us energy independence – and foolishly pursue and subsidize cost-ineffective and inadequate "green energy."
  • We shall continue to eviscerate our military, coddle our enemies, browbeat our allies and otherwise "play nice" in the international arena – so that the world will like us better.
  • We shall reaffirm that the US has a checkered history (slavery, maltreatment of Indians, discrimination against women and minorities, nuking Japan and firebombing Dresden) and the notion of American Exceptionalism is unwarranted and counter-productive.
  • We shall open the doors of citizenship to 10-20 million illegal aliens.
  • And more than anything, we shall re-emphasize the economic policies in which we fervently believe – Keynesianism, redistribution of wealth, high taxation, government management of the economy and fundamental distrust (and so therefore severe regulation) of American business – large and small.

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It is already a trite and overworked aphorism, but still apt: The definition of insanity is to repeatedly perform the same exercise expecting a different outcome. Well, the US – following the progressive playbook – has numerous times: raised the minimum wage; increased taxes on the "wealthy"; pumped federal stimulus money into the economy; established welfare programs to benefit the poor, disabled and downtrodden; created a plethora of government programs and agencies to improve the economic health of the country; regulated, re-regulated and over-regulated virtually every aspect of American economic behavior; and finally, hatched the most heinous Rube Goldberg contraption (ObamaCare) designed to insure the roughly 10% of the nation that either could not or chose not to purchase health insurance, all at the expense of the 90% of the population that was mostly satisfied with the then-current situation. The economic policies and programs of Obama, indeed of the progressive movement over the last century, have utterly failed. They have taken America – which enjoyed the freest, richest, most dynamic economy on Earth – and reduced it to a debt-ridden, unconfident, increasingly stagnant and poorer nation, poised to fall from prosperity to penury, from riches to rags, from powerhouse to poor house. And yet, they continue to pursue, with renewed zeal, the very policies and programs that brought us to this sorry place. How can that be? Are they insane? Well, I can think of only three possible explanations. Obama and his minions either:
  1. do not see it. They reject the above interpretation. Indeed, they believe that a century of liberal economics has made America a better place. They see the status of women, minorities and gays as improved. They believe that this would not have occurred sans the implementation of their collectivist policies. They are certain that more of the same will further improve America. Even if they recognize the drawbacks, they see the overall economic stagnation, the loss of freedom, the diminished standard of living, the huge indebtedness, as worth the price.
  2. see it, but attribute the failure to the left over effects of "supply side economics" and "unfettered capitalism." We need to give the collectivist policies more time to work, and we need to reapply them with increased vigor. The benefits they yield are just around the corner.
  3. see it and welcome it, because it is part of the game plan. This interpretation assumes that Obama – and many in his coterie – are true Alinskyites. The goal is a radical remake of the United States of America. The entire legal system based on the Declaration Independence and the Constitution goes in the trash. The cultural structure founded upon the classic ideals of Western Civilization follows on the dung heap. And most importantly, free market capitalism is banished forever. America shall be remade according to the collectivist/statist playbook. Equality will reign supreme. Economic equality, cultural equality and political equality shall be the goals to which we aspire and which we shall attain. An all-powerful government will impose this nirvana on its fortunate subjects – err, that is, its citizens.
For this to come about, the current structure must be destroyed. Obama and his toadies recognize that their attempt to graft the leftist playbook onto the classic American societal structure is doomed to failure. The host cannot support the graft. The chaos that ensues will help to convince the public that it is the underlying host that is sick, not the alien graft. Once achieved, the full implementation of the radical transformation will be welcomed by a populace that is beaten down by the chaos and ready for radical change. So which is it? Is Obama hiding behind door number (1), (2) or (3)? I believe that much of liberal America, the "useful idiots", to use another well-worn aphorism, is behind door (1). The higher ups in the Obama food chain are likely lurking behind door (2). They are sharp enough to understand that $17 trillion in debt is a problem caused by profligate government spending, but they also believe that we'll be able to deal with it when we get the economic playbook implemented. Finally, the cave behind door (3) is certainly not empty. Clearly people like George Soros, Van Jones and Valerie Jarrett are plotting in there. Is Obama one of them?


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Ron Lipsman -- Bio and Archives

Ron Lipsman, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the University of Maryland, writes about politics, culture, education, science and sports at Ronlipsman.com. Follow him on Twitter @rlipsman


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