As the details of the Godzilla “stimulus” bill become known, it is increasingly obvious that the American capitalist economy will not be stimulated – it will be stomped on. The good news is that Obama’s vision of big government on steroids is built on the quicksand of unprecedented borrowing of trillions of dollars no one on the planet has. Better yet, conservatives know socialism doesn’t work no matter how much money is thrown at it. I don’t want Obama to fail. Obama will fail because he pursues a failed faith.
Sens. Spector, Collins and Snowe have done conservatives a favor. They have helped galvanize and unify conservatives, and they have given this president the rope with which he will gleefully hang himself. Oh, there will be a price to pay – a huge price – before Americans regain the freedoms we took for granted for so long. Elections have consequences, and the awful consequences of this last election are now coming into focus for an increasing number of Americans who were caught up in the fervor of “hope” and “change.”
Last weekend, the president called upon his campaign juggernaut to organize “house parties” all over the country in support of the “stimulus” bill. Few people turned out in places where hundreds did during the campaign. Opinion polls indicate a sharp drop in support for the “stimulus,” and even for the president.
Obama has promised that the almost $1 trillion “stimulus” bill is just the beginning of the transformation of America. This week, our assumed meritocracy will be undercut when the tax cheat Treasury secretary announces a bailout of those who can’t pay their mortgage by those who can. In weeks to come, the Obama administration will seek to nationalize the banks, automakers and doctors. Future plans include expanding to a majority those who pay no taxes. This new majority will make Democratic dominance at the polls permanent and make taxpayers a minority without a voice.
Increasing opposition among Americans to these steps will be met by an increased campaign of intimidation. The war on talk radio will heat up even as the war on terror fades. The Obama campaign will be made permanent, as community organizers funded by the “stimulus” bill entrench themselves in every community and then in every block to become the eyes and ears of the new order. Money and jobs will be dispensed to Obama supporters; opponents will be marginalized.
Do I have a crystal ball? No. Socialists act the same way everywhere, every time. They have a utopian vision and will not hesitate to force that vision on you if you falter in your devotion. Just ask the people of Venezuela.
But Americans have been free too long to put up with what is to come. The backlash is inevitable. Obama will fail.
History inspires. FDR took a federal government that was 2 percent of the 1932 GDP and transformed it into a World War II leviathan that commanded the whole American economy. President Truman wisely slashed the federal budget, dismantled the bureaucracy and repealed most of the taxes and wartime regulations to free the American economy. A boom followed that lifted the whole devastated world to unprecedented prosperity. Americans are alive today who remember that history.
President Kennedy cut tax rates permanently on individuals and businesses rightly claiming the “a rising tide lifts all boats” – that is, reducing government and leaving more money in the hands of individuals would lead to better times for all. Many more Americans are alive today who lived through those times and remember that history.
Ronald Reagan inherited a devastated economy in which Americans suffered interest rates as high as 22 percent, inflation that topped 14 percent, double-digit unemployment and long lines at the gas pumps. Reagan and the Democratic Congress in a real bipartisan effort, cut taxes for all, reduced government and all boats began to lift again. Many more Americans are alive today who remember the sustained boom of the ’80s and how it was created.
Lincoln was right. An American president can only fool some of the people all the time. President Obama has fooled all the people (or at least a majority of voters) some of the time. He will only fool the mainstream media all the time.
The American people will not be fooled – not for long.
