From hope and change to corruption and intimidation
It has been tough as a conservative these past couple of weeks trying to keep up with all of the scandals coming out of D.C. My head is spinning. What I need is for an articulate Obama supporter to reassure me that all is not as bad as it seems. Please tell me that the great Hope and Change President has not morphed into the Corruption and Intimidation President?
The first scandal was Benghazi. On the surface it appears some Americans were left to die at the hands of terrorists, a fact that was subsequently covered up. Please convince me, Obama voters, that I am crazy to think this was a deliberate act from an administration during campaign season trying to protect the narrative that there was no terrorism on their watch. And for goodness sakes, please tell me that the smartest man ever to live in the White House didn't really push the make-believe story of the attack being provoked by a YouTube video with less hits than the video of a goose chasing a dog.
Next came the IRS scandal of unfairly harassing conservative groups because they had crazy words like "Tea
Party" or "Patriot" in their names. Would the administration of an inexperienced community organizer from Chicago really resort to this sort of heavy-handed bullying? Not like millions of us didn't see that coming. Luckily, though, we found out President Obama is blissfully unaware of anything going on under his nose as he apparently learned the news the same time the rest of us did. I used to think our "The buck stops everywhere but here" President was a back seat type of leader ... now I am not sure he is even in the car. A hermit holed up with a cable television may be a more accurate depiction. Can a smart liberal explain to me again why conservatives shouldn't break out in a cold sweat when reminded that the IRS will enforce Obamacare or have paranoid concerns about a national gun registry? No chance for government abuses there, right?
The final for now, at least scandal involved the Department of Justice seizing Associated Press phone records and fishing through the emails of a couple of Fox News reporters. Surely the most transparent administration ever would never trample on the 1st Amendment, would they Surprisingly even Chris Matthews and Jon Stewart had some harsh words to say about President Obama's leadership style. I am not nave enough to think the media will ever stop propping up this President and looking the other way when necessary, but at least reassure me that Chris Matthews hasn't lost the tingle.
As the Obama apologists seek to defend the abuses of power coming from D.C. I will continue to wonder how our federal government became such a third world operation. As difficult as it is in the midst of these scandals, I guess all we can do is keep the faith, remain in prayer for our country, and hope the next election brings a little real hope and change to Washington. Our nation deserves better. Will the true leaders with ethics please stand up?
Chad Scarola is a Coeur d'Alene resident.