This Year’s Administration Scandals

Just in case you begin to believe those who blindly praise the Obama administration for being scandal free, Michelle Malkin provides a list of the past year’s scandals that makes it hard to keep one’s head in the sand. For a Chicago-bred politician like Obama, they may seem like standard operating procedures, but they are blots on his administration and good reasons to deny him a second term.

From Michelle Malkin

…the year kicked off in January with the departure of lying eco-radical czar Carol Browner. In backroom negotiations, she infamously bullied auto execs to “put nothing in writing, ever”… the White House’s own oil spill panel had singled out Browner for misleading the public about the scientific evidence for the administration’s Draconian drilling moratorium.

…Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, whose death came at the hands of a Mexican cartel thug wielding a Fast and Furious gun walked across the southern border under Attorney General Eric Holder’s watch…

…In February, federal judge Martin Feldman in Louisiana…called out the administration’s culture of contempt and “determined disregard” for the law…

…This spring saw rising public anger over the preferential Obamacare waiver process. Some 2,000 lucky golden ticket winners were freed from the costly federal mandates – including…restaurants in Aloha Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district, the entire state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s Nevada, and scores of local, state and national Big Labor organizations…

…Obama’s health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, faced separate legal questions over her overseer role in a hair-raising document-shredding case when she served as governor of Kansas…

…the politically driven half-billion-dollar Solyndra stimulus “investment” went bankrupt, prompting an FBI raid and ongoing criminal and congressional probes of the solar company…

…two high-ranking witnesses exposed how the White House had pressured them to alter their congressional testimony and play down concerns about LightSquared’s interference threat to military communications…

…Dem. Sen. Clair McCaskill of Missouri demanding a probe of the smelly $443 million no-bid smallpox antiviral pill contract with Siga Technologies – controlled by big lefty donor Ron Perelman…

… massive voter fraud in Indiana, where a Democratic official resigned amid allegations that “dozens, if not hundreds,” of signatures were faked to get Obama on the state primary ballot in 2008…

Read it here:  Year in scandals

DJH

Who Knew? Poetry “Saves and Creates” Jobs

If you haven’t heard the latest from the nut named Harry Reid, he’s now railing on the Republicans because, in an effort to rein in spending, they want to do away with such “job-creating” programs as National Public Radio, the National Endowment of the Humanities and National Endowment of the Arts.

And by doing such, they would do away with such valuable job creators (and apparently people creators) as a northern Nevada “Cowboy Poetry Festival.” According to Senator Reid:

“The mean-spirited bill, H.R. 1, eliminates National Public Broadcasting,” said Reid in a floor speech. “It eliminates the National Endowment of the Humanities, National Endowment of the Arts. These programs create jobs. The National Endowment of the Humanities is the reason we have in northern Nevada every January a cowboy poetry festival. Had that program not been around, the tens of thousands of people who come there every year would not exist.”

Read the story at the Washington Examiner.

Note to Senator Reid, if the Cowboy Poetry Festival is such a great draw, I’ll bet the folks in northern Nevada will run it without government funding.

In the spirit of bipartisanship, here’s my entry for the Cowboy Poetry Festival:

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue,

Senator Harry Reid, Hasn’t a Clue.

Where do I collect my prize?

aln

Was Harry Reid’s Re-election a fraud?

From the Canada Free Press

Harry won his hometown, Searchlight, Nevada by a whopping 3 votes…Sharon Angle’s attorney, Cleta Mitchell has filed a complaint with the Justice Department alleging voter intimidation on behalf of the Reid campaign…She noted in a letter to the Las Vagas Sun, that the Democrats and their cronies are up to their same old tricks, of trying to manipulate the election in hopes of skewing the results in their favor. “Harry Reid has been offering free food and, according to other reports, some Democratic allies such as teachers’ unions are offering gift cards in return for a vote for Reid”…Attorney Mitchell said that “what Harry Reid was doing is clearly illegal”…

A collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Clark County and SEIU Local 1107 puts the union in charge of servicing all voting machines…Given that SEIU Local 1107 technicians run Clark County voting machines, any glitches in the end must be the responsibility of these workers. And these glitches appear to have been more than an accident…during early balloting, for example, a number of voters in Boulder City complained Reid’s name already was checked.

Read the rest here:  Ballot Fraud

DJH

Reid’s Racist Ramblings

While campaigning recently, Senator Harry Reid told an audience of mostly Hispanic voters: “I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican”. If that isn’t a racist comment, or at least a race-baiting comment, the definition of racism needs comprehensive reform. In fact, it actually does need reforming because so much rhetoric like this goes on with no backlash.

The identity politics that Reid is espousing is a big reason that the “post-racial” presidency Obama was sure to bring has come and gone. The continual and unfounded accusations of racism against conservatives have divided the country and now Reid wishes to fragment it even further along racial lines.

It has been a progressive strategy to link racism with everything, particularly immigration reform. As Senate majority leader, Reid sets the tone and his latest comments are a disturbing example of the direction he is leading his party. He often rivals Vice President Biden’s propensity for putting his foot in his mouth, but this comment was no gaffe. It is a deliberate talking point being issued for all Democrats to echo.

It is already an oft-repeated myth that Republicans hate poor people and black people. The illegal immigration issue has progressives lumping Hispanics into that myth for political leverage. The damage this is doing to the country seems to be of little concern. Perhaps one could say that Democrats hate this country. There certainly are enough examples from the highest political ranks of that party to warrant another stupid myth.

David J. Hentosh

Reid Finally Reads Health Care Bill

From The New Ledger

…a letter from Majority Leader Harry Reid to HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius sent on July 21st…seems to indicate that Reid has finally read the health care bill, and after discovering it hurts Nevada hospitals more than it helps them, is complaining to the administration.

Read the story here: Harry Reid Reads Bill

Polls Show Democrat Weakness

The latest polls are indicating that Democrats may be losing ground with the American people. It starts at the top with confidence in Obama hitting an all time low where six in 10 voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country. This may be trickling down to Democrat candidates.

In much-watched California, Meg Whitman is leading Jerry Brown in the race for governor. In a poll conducted by SurveyUSA, Whitman’s lead is 46% to 39%. Although some of that lead may be attributed to Brown’s delay in starting his campaign full swing, it remains a positive sign for Whitman and a concern for Brown.

In that same poll, Carly Fiorina leads the three-term incumbent Senator Barbara Boxer 47%-45% in California.  Fiorina’s attempts to align herself with the Tea Party movement were expected to be a detriment to her chances, but she has been steadily gaining on entrenched Barbara (“Don’t Call me Ma’am”) Boxer and is now running neck and neck. Boxer has long been considered unbeatable, but that is now in doubt.

In Nevada, incumbent Senator Harry Reid (D), considered more beatable than Boxer, is polling slightly behind Republican Sharron Angle. Reid’s dislike of Arizona’s immigration law may help him with Latino voters who make up approximately 12 percent of Nevada’s electorate, but the majority of Nevada’s voters favor the Arizona law. It remains to be seen whether Obama’s recent campaign visit for Reed will be a plus or minus. With his dwindling public confidence, Obama may not be much help.

November is still four months away and many campaign strategies hold back the big guns until closer to the election. However, the increasing lack of public confidence in Obama and Congress weakens incumbents and there is little on the horizon that looks to be a positive boost. Perhaps we will get the “change” we deserve.

David J. Hentosh

Reid and Obama are Tied Together

For better or for worse, Nevada Senator Harry Reid and President Obama are tied together. This November, we will see if the pair can survive the mid-term elections. Obama was in Nevada Thursday night campaigning hard for Reid and it is debatable whether this was good or bad for either of them.

Obama’s agenda has depended heavily on Reid’s backing and Reid has been a more-than-willing supporter. In fact, it has been very difficult to distinguish who’s agenda is really in play, and many believe it is actually Reid (along with Pelosi) running the show. Either way, they are dependent on each other.

Many Democrats are beginning to show uneasiness about having Obama campaign for them because of Obama’s low (though stable) popular opinion poll numbers. The country is beginning to sour on Obama and many Democrats seeking election are trying to distance themselves from him. Reid needs all the help he can get and it is impossible for him to distance himself. He can do nothing but quietly accept Obama’s kiss of death if, indeed, that’s what it is.

If Reid loses his bid for re-election, Obama will be set adrift to navigate turbulent political waters by himself. He is not used to sailing on his own and his glowing inexperience will become even more evident. A loss for Reid could very well mark the beginning of a lame duck term for Obama where he ineffectively awaits removal from office in 2012.

If Reid is successful, we can expect more of Obama/Reid’s progressive agenda to be rammed through Congress. It would probably bolster confidence and increase the arrogance which they have already been displaying.

Nevada’s election is of the utmost importance this coming November. Removing Reid could be synonymous with stopping Obama’s runaway administration. At the very least it could severely limit an agenda that does not sit well with the majority of the American people. Perhaps it would even help bring back the once prominent idea of “The Common Good”.

David J. Hentosh

The Obama-Pelosi Lame Duck Strategy

John Fund’s excellent column in the Wall Street Journal:

Democratic House members are so worried about the fall elections they’re leaving Washington on July 30, a full week earlier than normal—and they won’t return until mid-September. Members gulped when National Journal’s Charlie Cook, the Beltway’s leading political handicapper, predicted last month “the House is gone,” meaning a GOP takeover. He thinks Democrats will hold the Senate, but with a significantly reduced majority.

The rush to recess gives Democrats little time to pass any major laws. That’s why there have been signs in recent weeks that party leaders are planning an ambitious, lame-duck session to muscle through bills in December they don’t want to defend before November. Retiring or defeated members of Congress would then be able to vote for sweeping legislation without any fear of voter retaliation.

Read the rest here: The Obama-Pelosi Lame Duck Strategy

Drug lobby showers money on its hero Harry Reid

This story from The Washington Examiner, if accurate, tells us that Harry Reid is in bed with the drug industry.

The drug lobby has begun a pro-Reid TV blitz in his home state of Nevada…and the rest of the drug industry’s generosity toward Harry Reid — is a big thank you for the corporate-welfare “reform” bill that Reid shepherded through the Senate…top drug lobbyist Billy Tauzin…formerly public enemy No. 1 for the Obama campaign…visited the White House twice and hashed out a deal on health care…pledged to support Obamacare if the White House would keep its hands off the government favors the drug industry was already receiving…Democrats loaded up the bill with plenty more drug company goodies including subsidies, mandates and unprecedented 12-year, government-enforced monopolies on complex drugs…drug industry political action committees began pumping cash into Reid’s endangered campaign…

Read the entire story here:  Drug lobby showers money on its hero Harry Reid

NRA Endorsing Harry Reid? Are You Kidding Me?

From the PhiladelphiaExaminer.com:

Following NRA head Wayne LaPierre’s endorsement of extremist Leftwing Democrat Harry Reid in Nevada, the organization has been embroiled in a controversy that threatens its credibility and relevance.

NRA members by the hundreds, if not thousands, have expressed outrage that the organization’s leading spokesman would go out of his way to extol the virtues of Reid at a time when the nation faces its most dire Constitutional crisis since the Civil War.

And now, the controversy has flared  up again as organization insiders report that the NRA itself, in addition to LaPierre, will endorse Reid over patriot Sharron Angle, the Tea Party favorite, in the race for the U.S. Senate in Nevada.

Conservative Examiner reported previously that Wayne LaPierre’s endorsement of Reid is a signal that the NRA as an organization is on the same page.  And unless NRA members inundate the central offices of the organization to protest the pending endorsement, then the thing is a done deal.

Read the rest here: NRA Controversy Flares Up Again Over Harry Reid