Gary L. Bauer
AMERICAN VALUES
The Weekly Standard reports that the barricades around the World War II Memorial have been reinforced so they cannot be easily taken down or removed.
Supposedly the National Park Service decided to allow our World War II veterans to visit their memorial. So who made that decision and why?
According to The Weekly Standard's John McCormack, "Carol Johnson of the National Park Service told me that the White House's Office of Management and Budget 'sends everything down to all other departments.'"
In other words, Obama is demanding the memorial be closed. Obama won't get tough with Iran's mullahs, but he is a bully when it comes to 90 year-old World War II vets. Obama will build a wall around our memorial, but not on our border.
Shutdown Showdown Continues
As the government shutdown enters Day 4, there are signs that Democrats are starting to feel the heat. In the past two days, House Republicans have passed bills to fund veterans' services, the National Guard and the National Institutes of Health. A total of 57 House Democrats have voted for those bills. Yet Senate Democrats refuse to consider them.
Remember that when you are discussing the government shutdown and ill-informed friends or family members try to blame conservatives for denying cancer treatments to sick kids.
House Republicans and dozens of House Democrats are trying to keep the government open. But Senate liberals refuse to budge on Obamacare's individual mandate and the special exemption from Obamacare that Obama granted to members of Congress.
Compromise On What?
The polls overwhelmingly show that huge majorities of Americans, Republicans and Democrats, just want everybody to get along. They want more comity in Washington. They want government to work for the people. They want both sides to compromise.
Here's the problem: The "go along to get along" approach, or business as usual in Washington, has resulted in our $17 trillion national debt. That's well in excess of $50,000 per person.
If you take into account future unfunded liabilities for programs like Social Security and Medicare, that figure skyrockets to nearly $90 trillion.
Business as usual has bankrupted us. Something has got to change.
I am often asked why the left and the right can't just cooperate for the greater good of the country. But cooperation assumes that two sides share the same goal. For example, if both sides agreed that we need to reduce the size of government, an argument over which programs or agencies to cut could be easily solved by a compromise.
That is not the case in Washington today. One side is determined to dramatically expand (Obamacare) an already bankrupt government, and other side is determined to stop the out-of-control spending. Where is the compromise between two opposite goals?
And one side is clearly refusing to compromise. As one commentator noted, "Harry Reid and President Obama's single message during this impasse has been 'no negotiation, no compromise.' 'I shouldn't have to offer anything,' Obama said."
The Weekly Standard reports that the barricades around the World War II Memorial have been reinforced so they cannot be easily taken down or removed.
Supposedly the National Park Service decided to allow our World War II veterans to visit their memorial. So who made that decision and why?
According to The Weekly Standard's John McCormack, "Carol Johnson of the National Park Service told me that the White House's Office of Management and Budget 'sends everything down to all other departments.'"
In other words, Obama is demanding the memorial be closed. Obama won't get tough with Iran's mullahs, but he is a bully when it comes to 90 year-old World War II vets. Obama will build a wall around our memorial, but not on our border.
Shutdown Showdown Continues
As the government shutdown enters Day 4, there are signs that Democrats are starting to feel the heat. In the past two days, House Republicans have passed bills to fund veterans' services, the National Guard and the National Institutes of Health. A total of 57 House Democrats have voted for those bills. Yet Senate Democrats refuse to consider them.
Remember that when you are discussing the government shutdown and ill-informed friends or family members try to blame conservatives for denying cancer treatments to sick kids.
House Republicans and dozens of House Democrats are trying to keep the government open. But Senate liberals refuse to budge on Obamacare's individual mandate and the special exemption from Obamacare that Obama granted to members of Congress.
Compromise On What?
The polls overwhelmingly show that huge majorities of Americans, Republicans and Democrats, just want everybody to get along. They want more comity in Washington. They want government to work for the people. They want both sides to compromise.
Here's the problem: The "go along to get along" approach, or business as usual in Washington, has resulted in our $17 trillion national debt. That's well in excess of $50,000 per person.
If you take into account future unfunded liabilities for programs like Social Security and Medicare, that figure skyrockets to nearly $90 trillion.
Business as usual has bankrupted us. Something has got to change.
I am often asked why the left and the right can't just cooperate for the greater good of the country. But cooperation assumes that two sides share the same goal. For example, if both sides agreed that we need to reduce the size of government, an argument over which programs or agencies to cut could be easily solved by a compromise.
That is not the case in Washington today. One side is determined to dramatically expand (Obamacare) an already bankrupt government, and other side is determined to stop the out-of-control spending. Where is the compromise between two opposite goals?
And one side is clearly refusing to compromise. As one commentator noted, "Harry Reid and President Obama's single message during this impasse has been 'no negotiation, no compromise.' 'I shouldn't have to offer anything,' Obama said."
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