Americans went to the polls in droves in the midterm election of 2014 in a clear repudiation of the policies of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, handing Republicans control of both houses of Congress.
They did the same in 2010, giving Republicans control of the House of Representatives.
But, both times, those who went to the polls to give Republicans a chance to govern, or at least to hold Obama accountable to the will of the people and the Constitution, saw little difference in the direction of Washington.
- The debt continued to skyrocket;
- Obamacare expanded;
- Immigration law was rewritten with a stroke of the executive pen;
- Foreign policy remained in chaos;
- Federal judges acted like tyrants;
- Secrecy in Washington became pervasive;
- Government continued to target Obama's political enemies;
- The executive branch became less accountable and less transparent.
Today, Republicans in Washington, empowered by two elections, are floundering, directionless, acting like they are part of a disenfranchised minority, afraid to challenge Obama, without an agenda, fighting among themselves.
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Is this a recipe for success in 2016?
Let's take just one recent example – the nomination of Loretta Lynch as attorney general to replace Eric Holder.
Most of the arguments we hear for forestalling confirmation by the Republican majority in the Senate are based on the notion that she is a political clone of Holder. It's certainly true. But is it a winning argument? Is it an argument designed to rally unanimous support of Republicans while possibly peeling off a few Democratic votes as well?
No, it is not.
The compelling, persuasive argument against Lynch – the one that will put Democratic senators in the uncomfortable position of defending her – is what she did as a U.S. attorney in charge of investigating the largest banking scandal in history.
With the help of a whistleblower in 2012, WND exposed the massive corruption of HSBC, one of the largest banks in the world, forcing a Justice Department probe of rampant money-laundering for drug cartels and terrorist groups. Hundreds, perhaps thousand or tens of thousands, of innocent HSBC customers had their identity misappropriated by the bank as vehicles for laundering this dirty money. No one can be sure of just how much drug and terrorist money HSBC was laundering, but it was certainly in the tens of billions – perhaps much more.
What did Lynch do when she had the chance to punish executives and directors of this unbelievably corrupt bank?
She gave them a pass.
She negotiated a fine – one that made it profitable for HSBC to do its dirty business.
And the evidence suggests nothing has changed at the bank. No one went to prison. No one was even fired – except, of course, the whistleblower.
The Republican U.S. Senate has a chance to hold Lynch accountable for that action by exposing it to the American people, to champion the little guy, to show that Republicans are not stooges for big banks and corrupt corporations, to put Democrats on the defensive for supporting Lynch.
Will they ever wise up and do it?
I'm stunned by how little understanding most Senate Republicans and even major conservative talk-show hosts understand about the HSBC scandal and Lynch's role in the cover-up. This is how you defeat a nominee for an important position like attorney general of the United States – you show how she blew it when she had the chance to execute justice, and you exploit it when she is vying for the top justice job in the country.
It's not enough to say she is a political clone of Eric Holder. That's just making a partisan, political argument – certainly a valid one, but not the focus of her incompetence, her bad judgment or perhaps even her own corruption.
If Republicans ever want to escape this prevailing ethos that they are defenders of the status quo and protectors of the 1 percent, they need to expose the banksters and their real defenders – people like Obama and Holder and Lynch.
For those who missed all the history in this matter, please catch up with the full story told in the following links, and share them with every member of the U.S. Senate – Republican and Democrat – before they vote on Lynch's confirmation:
THE FULL STORY ON LORTTA LYNCH AND HSBC
New headache for Loretta Lynch's nomination
Tide turns against Obama's Loretta Lynch
Launder-gate settlement seen as sellout
Whistleblower: AG nominee in $1 billion cover-up
AG nominee eyed in massive Obama cover-up
Explosive! Stunning backstory in HSBC scandal
Media wishing to interview Joseph Farah, please contact [email protected].
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