A few days ago, I wrote a column saying Republicans didn’t deserve to win the election next month, strengthening their control of the House and taking over the Senate, because they did not offer a clear-eyed sweeping alternative to the leadership plague of Barack Obama and Harry Reid.
Within a day of publication, Republicans offered a tepid and not-very-inspiring list of principles to fill the void. It looked like it could have been thrown together to answer the criticism.
But a day later, Republicans got a gift from Obama that is probably more valuable than a well-crafted manifesto and all the television time they could ask for.
Obama gave a speech in which he said: “I’m not on the ballot this fall … but make no mistake, these policies are on the ballot – every single one of them.”
Hallelujah!
This may be the first time Obama has told the truth in six years.
If he wanted to motivate the Republican and independent base to turn out in November, he couldn’t have provided a more beautifully wrapped package in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season.
This was an ill-conceived moment of candor worthy of Joe Biden.
Even former White House adviser David Axelrod had this to say about it on “Meet the Press”: “It was a mistake.”
Before Obama could even scoot to the golf course, the line was being used in ads to revive the moribund campaign of Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican who has been in Washington too long and who is facing a tough re-election campaign from an independent.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who came up with the 11 Principles of American Renewal to help rally the party’s lackluster election bid, also seized on the line on “Meet the Press.”
“The president said that his policies are on the ballot. If Barack Obama is on ballot and his policies are on the ballot, it’s going to be a pretty bad year for Democrats,” Priebus said.
Maybe so. I hope so. I hope it’s enough to carry the day. Because, as bad as Republicans have been in opposing Obama’s policies over the last two years, even with control of one house of Congress, they will need all the help they can get from Obama and Biden. Thankfully, that pair and a third stooge, Harry Reid, seem more than up to the task.
Don’t get me wrong. We need to vote for Republicans this year. We need to vote out as many Democrats as possible. It’s a matter of saving the republic. It’s a matter of national security. It’s a matter of life and death.
I just wish Republicans could articulate that message and were presenting a clear agenda for stopping Obama before he does any more to “fundamentally transform” America.
Ebola, ISIS, the tanking economy, the corruption of a politicized Internal Revenue Service, the Benghazi debacle and cover-up, a coming executive order for amnesty, the border disaster – it’s like the ultimate perfect storm for the destruction of America.
Most Democrats still don’t see it. That’s because Obama is doing what most of them want him to do. They’re not called “low-information voters” for nothing. By the time many of them realize the destructiveness of Obama’s policies, it will be too late.
So this column is really a plea to Republican and independent voters for some electoral triage Nov. 4: No matter how much you despise House Speaker John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, this is no time to punish them.
This Election Day is about saving the country from imminent disaster by handcuffing Obama – even if you don’t have any confidence in the two sheriffs in Congress.
Media wishing to interview Joseph Farah, please contact [email protected].
|
