Now He Means It
"When President Obama met with House Republicans shortly after his inauguration, he was – in his own words – “dismissive and even derisive” of their concerns, tersely reminding them “I won.” With Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, Obama then embarked on the most radical agenda in recent memory, fully intent on fundamentally transforming America with a legislative agenda dubbed the “Big Bang” – stimulus, bailouts, cap and trade, socialized medicine, etc.
Republican Scott Brown was sworn in today as the junior senator from Massachusetts. Brown’s historic victory shocked the establishment and dramatically altered America’s political landscape. While President Obama has tried to ignore the impact of the Republican’s Massachusetts victory, he cannot ignore that Democrats have been denied their Senate super-majority and with it their ability to ram legislation through Congress. Key items on the president’s agenda are on life support.
With 41 votes in the Senate, Republicans are relevant once again. And with this change in the dynamics on Capitol Hill, President Obama has suddenly discovered the concept of bipartisan cooperation. That’s why he’s holding question and answer sessions with members of Congress, and once again reaching out to Republicans by promising to hold monthly meetings with the GOP leadership.
Obama spoke to Senate Democrats yesterday and appeared to extend an olive branch to the GOP, saying, “I told [the Republicans], I want to work together when we can, and I meant it.”
Really? How often have we heard White House officials, from the president down, refer to the GOP as “the party of no”? Remember Nancy Pelosi calling the town hall protestors “un-American”? Or Harry Reid mocking some concerned taxpayers as “evil mongers”?
The president also told Senate Democrats, “But I also made it clear that we’ll call them out when they say they want to work with us, and we extend a hand and get a fist in return.” This is nearly the same rhetoric Obama used last year in describing his outreach to the Islamofascists in Iran when he said, “…if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.”
Republicans were offering ideas, but Obama, Reid and Pelosi had been ignoring them because they could. (Watch this video to see the deception in Obama’s statement.)
Until today, Republicans couldn’t stop Obama’s agenda. That cap and trade and socialized medicine haven’t passed has nothing to do with GOP obstruction, and everything to do with division among Democrats. That Obama’s own party couldn’t agree just proves how radical his agenda really is. Republicans should feel no temptation to embrace it."
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