Posted by
Patrick Henry on Wednesday, February 04, 2009 8:30:20 AM
Amateur hour has officially begun in our nation's capital as inexperienced President
Barack Obama and his coterie of artful (tax) dodgers begin their term in disarray and
confusion. It was former Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean who first used the term
"culture of corruption" in a political context. Little did he know that it would soon
pose an apt description of his own party, or that with the Democrats' ascendancy to
power it would be accompanied by a "culture of incompetence."
It has quickly become evident why Democrats like to raise taxes. A number of their
leaders simply don't pay what they owe. This week alone has seen the withdrawal of
two Obama nominees -- Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer -- who joined
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel
as "challenged" when it comes to the matter of ponying up to the IRS in full and on
time. So America now finds itself in the unenviable position of having Rangel who,
as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee has a great deal to
do with setting tax rates, AND Geithner, who is in charge of collecting them, BOTH
caught not paying their own taxes. Apparently the new policy being conveyed is, "Do
as I say, not as I do." And it is shameful!
Combine these mea culpa meatheads with indicted Democratic congressman
William Jefferson (who you just KNOW didn't pay taxes on the $80,000 in
dirty money found in his freezer), exposed liar and cheat John Edwards, impeached
and removed Governor Rod Blagojevich, withdrawn nominee Bill Richardson who
is under grand jury investigation, and you have a pretty good start on a Dem-heavy
rogues gallery less than thirty days into Obama's term. Howard Dean, where are you
when the shoe fits?
Then there is the small issue of competence. Who was responsible for vetting all
these flawed nominees? (Breaking news flash: Obama says, "I screwed up"). What
in the world is the problem here? The problem is that instead of bringing genuine
change to Washington, the Messiah has simply handed America a warmed-over
version of the Clinton administration. This is just more dirty politics with a
decidedly sleazy Democratic stripe.
And the problem will persist as long as presidents insist on appointing polticians
to powerful positions instead of those who really understand the issues involved in
an apolitical way. Consider: CIA nominee Leon Panetta is a career politician with
no direct experience in the intelligence field. Daschle was a highly partisan politican
with no direct knowledge or training in health science. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton's claim to diplomatic fame is that she traveled the world as first lady and
orchestrated "hit squads" to protect her philandering husband from his jilted lovers
and the "vast right wing conspiracy." Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack never drove
a tractor or harvested a crop in his life. The list is endless. These people all know
Democratic politics, but there is little evidence that they know anything about the
fields in which they are supposed to bring about "change we can believe in."
So let's announce the closing of Gitmo befiore we have in place a policy of where
to put the murederous lot detained there. And let's trumpet the end of "don't ask, don't
tell" because everyone knows that the rights of gays to publicly trumpet their sexual
preference trumps the esprit de corps of our military. Let's also not miss the first
chance to restore funding to groups providing overseas abortions, because anxious
Americans are undoubtedly demanding to have their tax dollars spent that way. IT
IS AMATEUR HOUR IN WASHINGTON!
A sage writer has nicknamed the pending Obama stimulus bill "Porkulas," and
rightly so. With porcine promises of billions for new ATV trails, sod for the
National Mall, coupons to convert to digital TV, an unspecified crusade against
sexually transmitted diseases and electric cars for governments employees,
Porkulus guarantees the creation of new "green" jobs. NOT! The only thing
"green" in Washington is Barack Obama and his comedic troupe of political
nimrods who seem to be plumbing the riddle of how many Harvard eggheads
(Geithner, Summers, Obama) it really takes to screw up a government.
But at least we can quit worrying about Iran's nuclear threat, because our new
president assures us he's going to talk to the mentally stable and objective president
of Iran. I feel better already. And if talking nice doesn't work, he can always send in
his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to blast Ahmadinejad with a blistering tirade of
profanity, thus making optimum use of yet another skill set the Democratic team
brings to governance. Don't worry, be happy.