Sunday, November 09, 2014

Forum: What Is Your Take On The Election? What Do You See In The Future?



Every week on Monday morning , the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher's Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question: What Is Your Take On The Election? What Do You See In The Future?

The Independent Sentinel : Mr. Obama said the election was a referendum on his policies and 70% of Americans believe we are headed in the wrong direction. Therefore, the election was a vote against his policies and the American people want to change direction.

Over the next two years, Mr. Obama will put out memorandums, executive orders, and rule changes but he will not work with Republicans. We have no history of him trying to work with anyone but Iran and other enemies of the United States.

He met with Republican leaders today and told them again he was going to legalize millions.

The first thing Mr. Obama did the day after the election was invite Al Sharpton up to the White House for advice. That says it all.

He's dangerous and nothing will stop him.

The Noisy Room : I see the election as the last chance for the Republicans to get their act together and remember who put them in power - the voters. They have a mandate to stop Obama, period. The Republicans know that the American people want Obamacare gone... they want the IRS gone... they want the borders secured and Amnesty nixed. We, the voters, want smaller government, less regulations and intrusions and a return to Constitutional principles. Will we get it this time around? Not likely. The only sure thing here is that McConnell will become Senate leader, which is a disastrous turn of events. But the mafia of leadership in the Senate is not just on one side of the aisle.

Unfortunately, what I see transpiring is that the Republicans will betray us once again. The very first day after the election, McConnell gave the power of the purse back to Obama -- declaring that there would be no government shutdowns, etc. That was your first clue as to how this will go. I hear lots of proclamations that the Republicans won't stand for Amnesty - that Obama is playing with fire and could be impeached. But that is a total switch up for the RINOs in charge. Not a month ago, almost all of them were for Amnesty and actively pushing it in league with the National Chamber of Commerce. So, let me translate bullcrap here. The Republican leadership will strike a grand bargain with Obama over Amnesty, if he doesn't do Executive Orders first, which he could very well do. If the RINOs strike a deal, it will be at the last moment and they will claim they had no choice. They will give the Dems most or all they want on the Amnesty issue, while claiming victory for the Conservatives which will be non-existent. The Republicans will most likely pound the final nail into the American coffin. Hope I'm wrong on that. I really do. If I'm wrong, it will be due to somebody's extraordinary efforts - probably Tea Party. The Tea Party that the Republicans will do all they can to shut out, no matter the cost.

Republicans have already been in negotiations on the budget and will tout what they claim is another victory, but it won't be. It will still increase spending and the debt. Very little will be done on taxation either, except possibly that the corporate tax rate will be rectified and the pharmaceutical equipment tax will be done away with. There will be no job growth and inflation will keep rising as will the national debt. The unemployment numbers are total fiction and will continue to be such, as more and more propaganda is spewed from Obama's minions. In reality, the unemployment rate will continue to skyrocket and unrest will grow among the people. I would not be surprised to see a false flag event or the Bubba Effect come into play that causes even more widespread chaos.

Terrorism will increase as I predict the Republicans will not actively address Obama's executive orders as they pertain to the military or to the Jihadist threat. Our enemies will not be brought in line and Iran will go nuclear. Israel will stand alone in the end as foretold.

Ebola and the Polio-like virus hitting children will spread. The media has agreed to keep mum on both and if something is not done, we could see more and more deaths across the US. I do not see the media becoming more friendly or transparent any time soon -- look to the bloggers, Drudge and foreign sources for reliable news.

I guess what I am saying is that there is the serious potential of things getting much worse over the next two years. And if the Republicans try to elect a moderate, they will lose to the Dems. We need a Constitutional Conservative to run and not be afraid to say what he or she believes in and stand against the powers-that-be. We need a miracle. I'm not holding my breath.

JoshuaPundit : A few things I noticed about the last election...first, the historic nature of it, much more of a game changer than 2010. The GOP gained major ground in every category and at every level of government. Races that were supposed to be close turned out to be blowouts. According to the polls, Mitch McConnell was supposed to be barely hanging on - he won by fifteen points. Pat Roberts in Kansas was supposed to be dead and gone - he won easily by almost 10 points, and that was with a fake Democrat-funded 'libertarian' third party candidate taking over 4% of the vote. Joni Ernst, who was supposedly in a race too close to call romped to victory by 9.5 points. The Republicans increased their margin in the House and  gained so many seats in the state legislatures that there are only five states that still have totally Democrat controlled state legislatures..and those states no longer include California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania or even Massachusetts.

This was a total rejection of President Obama and his policies, rather than a love affair with the GOP. Despite the media happy talk, people are desperate,  we only have a two party system and one party has obviously failed in all areas.  Even much of the the president's  core constituencies 'voted' by staying home, regardless of gender baiting and race baiting attempts to scare them into going to vote. And in case no one's noticed, the media sponsored polls were part of it.

Most of these polls stopped releasing their mechanics back in 2012, after they were busted for cooking the results to vastly oversample Democrats. The normal tactic they use  is to pump up Democrat numbers but tighten things up just before the election to retain a semblance of credibility. This time, in order to help the Democrats scare certain groups like blacks into hitting the voting booth, the numbers were deliberately kept very close, coupled with mailers likening the GOP to the KKK and claiming that if the Republicans took the Senate they'd impeach the president. Keeping the senate to avoid a reckoning on this president's policies was deemed important enough to risk that credibility, and I hope it's a lesson people remember in the future.

And the future? The president has already showed he's not only arrogant and narcissistic,but frankly stupid. Anyone who saw his presser after the election saw that. Both Mitch McConnell and John Boehner threw him what amounted to an olive branch and his response was to be combative, telling them he is going to impose amnesty for illegal aliens by executive order and nominating a new radical attorney general candidate who is in the same mold as Eric Holder and trying to shove her through during the lame duck session.

Rather than waste time trying to work with him, the Republicans, if they're smart ( a big if, perhaps) will block any new appointments this president wants to make in committee, use the nuclear option to appoint their own nominees especially on judges, dismantle ObamaCare the way McConnell suggested by outlawing the individual mandate and starving the exchanges of funding, and pass a steady stream of legislation starting with the bill Harry Reid tabled and kept from coming to a vote in order to do what they were elected to do -  destroy and roll back this president's agenda.Yes, the president will veto these bills, but the perception, no matter how the media tries to spin it will be that it is this president and those of his party that vote in lockstep with him that are the obstructionists keeping the people's business from being done.

At the same time, congress should also turn the heat up on him by a appointing their own special prosecutor to begin gathering evidence for an impeachment trial. Amnesty by executive order, a clear Article 2 violation would be a good place to start, but by no means the only area.

Many of the Democrats whom survived last weeks' purge and have future political ambitions are already angry with this president for endangering them.  Although few openly express it, he has become toxic for them, which is why few of them wanted him campaigning for them and many were upset because he kept referring to 2014 as a referendum on him and his policies. If the Republican majority passes common sense bills this president refuses to sign and compelling evidence is put before the House on impeachment, don't be at all surprised if a Democrat delegation has a chat with the president some time in 2015 similar to the one the GOP senators had with Nixon at the height of Watergate.  In that case, we could definitely see Barack Obama's  resignation, followed by a per-arranged full pardon for 'any offenses he may have committed' by interim president Joe Biden.

GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD : GOP should rapidly move to kick off the Keystone pipeline and begin the process of dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency - after all, we are so high tech and green now - we could certainly handle any incidents that Fracking Unlimited may pose.

Control the border. As in sealing the border. Way back in the last millennium - East Germany (with Soviet resources) sealed off a tiny tiny border maybe 40% the size of Texas. True - the Wall was a death trap of mines, guards, dogs and nasty general purpose device made to kill. America could certainly seal the border in a fun to be with friendly way that is non lethal - yet pretty much produce the same results, i.e., controlling the border.

Roll back Sequestration mainly for the Defense Department.

Smaller Government

Aside from the EPA, real Departments need to be placed on the chopping block. Department of Energy, Department of Education and Homeland Security (as Maureen Dowd once LOL'd - "We have a Homeland Security Department - it's called the D.O.D.")

Depart of Ed simply rewards a state's bad fiscal decisions by transferring wealth from states with decent fiscal policies to finance their educational systems. Let education sink or swim in it's own state.

Defunding. There are tons of stuff on the Federal Teat that need to be weened off. Planned Parent Hood for one. If people want to abort, why should anyone else pay for it? Finance it yourself.

And—maybe, just maybe—letting a Supreme Court seat sit vacant until after the next presidential election.

George Will has a wonky list of smaller things that would certainly help.

Laura Lee Rambeau, Right Reason: After six years of the Obama administration, the American people who came out to vote expressed their complete and utter disgust with the stagnant economy, countless scandals, the rising costs of energy, food, and health care, and demanded a change. The Republicans should introduce bills promoting economic growth which will provide tangible improvements in all of our lives.


  • They should approve and pass the Keystone XL Pipeline.


  • They should heighten security on our borders to keep out illegal aliens. There should be no discussion of comprehensive amnesty until we are convinced our borders have been secured. The President does not have the constitutional authority to issue an executive order granting blanket amnesty. If he attempts such an action Congress should engage Americans and show them how devastating such a move would be to our safety, security, and economy.


  • They should ease tax burdens and regulations on individuals and businesses to allow all of us to keep more of our hard earned money.


  • Since we know Congress does not have enough votes to repeal Obamacare, they should chip away at whatever they can to ease the burdens to individuals and corporations, such as eliminate the medical device tax, eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), and restore the 40 hour work week by repealing the employer mandate.


  • They should act to stop the EPA regulations that are closing coal plants across the country and causing energy prices to skyrocket.


  • It is also imperative that Congress eliminate the Common Core State Standards mandate and return public education decisions to the states and local school boards.



  • President Obama said he is looking for common ground with Republicans. I don’t believe there is any common ground between Republicans and the president. It is up to Republicans to find common ground with Americans. It is important that what the Republicans do noticeably improves the lives of all Americans over the next two years to assure a Republican president is elected in 2016. Of utmost importance, if the Republicans do not want to see a replay of 2012 in 2016, they must engage conservatives and conservative members in Congress over the next two years and not marginalize them.

    Robert Avrech, Seraphic Secret:

    In a speech at Northwestern University last month, Barack Obama said: “I am not on the ballot this fall.... But make no mistake: These policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them.”

    Obama’s bottomless vanity, his clinical narcissism, compelled him to tell the truth.

    Of course, when the polls saw the coming bloodbath the Democrats would suffer in the 2014 midterm elections, Obama quickly and characteristically played the victim, shifting the blame to an electoral map that was stacked against him.

    But everyone realized that Obama and his radical policies were on the ballot: first among them Obamacare, unfolding in terrible slow motion, a destructive Rube Goldberg monstrosity that is raising health care costs while degrading the quality of care for most Americans.

    And of course, there are the scandals: Fast & Furious, Benghazi, the IRS, the VA, the JV Islamic State, the nonexistent red line in Syria, the surrenders in Iraq and Afghanistan, amnesty for illegals, the refusal to secure the southern border, Obama’s disgraceful appeasement of Iran’s Islamic fascists as he throws Israel into the snake pit, high taxes, lack of jobs, an ever-expanding welfare state, the suicidal budget cuts to America’s military even as Russia and China are on the march -- and, most recently, Ebola. How’s that Ebola czar working out, folks?

    And the lies… the litany of appalling lies that spills from Obama’s lips with such pathological ease.

    All of the above speaks to the corrupting and corrosive effects of bloated government, the refusal to recognize constitutional restrictions on presidential power, the incompetence of big government, and the naivety, if not the downright stupidity, of smart power.

    And, of course, Americans are sick and tired of the shameless race-hustling that is the centerpiece of Obama’s world view.

    For the American people, the thrill is gone.

    As to the future: Obama will double down on executive action regarding illegal immigrants. It remains to be seen if the Republicans will be able to stand up to this postmodern totalitarian.

    And Obama will continue to demonize Bibi Netanyahu and the Jewish state, simultaneously aiding the Jew-hating, genocidal-yearning Iranians achieve their nuclear ambitions.

    In short, Obama's ghastly work is not yet done.

     Well, there you have it!

    Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every  Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks' nominees for Weasel of the Week!

    And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

    It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

    And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?


    7 comments:

    Moishe3rd said...

    The voters are tired of Obama and Democrat flim flam politics.
    The problem is, the Republicans will accomplish nothing if their objective is to maintain Republican control.
    Seriously.
    The things that this Congress needs to advocate for involve battling the overwhelmingly popular mythos of global warming; free money; and big government.
    Quite frankly, I don't know that the Republicans are up to the task. They certainly weren't under President Bush when they had control of Congress.
    For FEAR of Losing they pissed away their majority and saddled the country with more government boondoggles the Democrats only built upon...
    My friends tell me that the Conservative movement has shaken all that up and that we have a young, "do something" Republican Congress.
    With G-d's help...

    Rob said...

    Omein.

    B.Poster said...

    "With G-d's help..." Frankly that's what it's going to take at this point. That's really about all that can save America right now. Frankly it's hard to be optimistic. The three biggest problems right now are 1.)the United States in arguably the stupidest foreign policy move ever made by any major power in the history of civilization chose to intricate itself into the Russian/Ukrainian situation. We need to be working to extricate ourselves by any and all means necessary. where are the adults who are working on getting this done? 2.)The dollar will lose its role as world reserve currency very likely within the next two years. The world is in pretty near unanimity that this needs to happen. The problem is getting all of the parties to agree on the replacement and how to implement it. This situation has given us some breathing space to deal with this but this breathing space is about to run out. If the US government properly plans for the loss of the dollar as world reserve currency, good outcomes are still possible but I don't see anyone in government leadership who is aware of the problem much less planning on how to deal with it. 3.)The threats of Iran, ISIS, and the nations who support them (Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE to name a few) pose a greater threat to America than our WWII enemies ever did or ever could have. Other than limited ineffective air strikes that only serve to score political points while further depleting our already badly worn down military I've seen no coherent plan to deal with this. Any effective plan would start with us extricating ourselves from the Middle East and redeploying to positions that allow our military and our brave warriors a fighting chance to defend our country along with upgrades to the nuclear deterrent to ensure it remains viable should it be needed.

    As you correctly point out, "With G-d's help..." Hopefully he will shed his grace upon us. He has before in our history!! All be it at that time the nation had a more Judeo-Christian culture than it does now. Perhaps there still are enough of us who are actively seeking Him for Him to intervene on our behalf.

    Moishe3rd said...

    Well, yes except...
    Russia is undergoing its own gradual self destruction. Putin will eventually discover that "money can't buy you love," and his efforts to regain the former Soviet Empire will collapse into some kind of peculiar civil wars. Anything the US can to do to kick his butt is not going to hurt America.
    And, unfortunately, there is no other currency on planet Earth that can handle the international world market.
    Churchill is quoted as sayging: "Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
    Well the US currency may be the most bankrupt on Earth, except for all of the others (including China - maybe not Switzerland and Singapore...)

    However, as for Islamism - you are 1000% correct.
    The Great Muslim/Arab Sectarian Civil War; their Reformation, has been growing exponentially more destructive over the last 100 years and, if left as is, will eventually wipe out billions of human beings and leave large portions of planet Earth uninhabitable.
    This is a problem.

    Rob said...

    Hi Moishe,
    I'm no sure I agree with you completely on some of this.

    One of the characteristics of Russia if you look at the history is its ability to survive far worse catastrophes than anything they're likely to have to deal with thus far and regenerate themselves as a nation.

    The biggest problem Russia faces is demographic. Like much of Europe, Native Russians aren't having children at anything like replacement rates, and Russia's Muslims are. But unlike much of Western Europe. I think the Russians are far more likely to take drastic measures to deal with this situation. Remember, they've been fighting Muslims for over 400 years.

    I also think, if it comes to it in the end, that a good part of the West will awaken, meaning America, some parts of Europe,Canada, Australia, America, Israel, India and BION, China, which has its own problems with Islamism..and like India, increasingly closer ties with Israel.

    Given the reality that we are dealing with countries that mostly cannot even feed themselves, there may be a lot of dead humans but they will predominantly be Muslims. Nor do I expect large areas to be devastated, since after the first couple of times you will see Muslim nations hurrying to give up any nukes they have, ensure us of their peaceful intentions and play very, very, nice.

    Remember what happened after Saddam Hussein was captured with the Saudis, Syria and Qaddaffi?

    With an honor/shame culture, they're either at your throat or at your feet. It's how they see the world.

    B.Poster said...

    Moishe,

    "Anything the US can do to kick his butt is not going to hurt America." Actually there's very little America can do to kick his "butt." Russia has the advantage of America in tactical and strategic nuclear warheads, human intelligence capabilities, and cyber attack capabilities. In short, Russia is the most powerful military force on earth right now. If we rewrite your sentence to state "anything Russia can do to kick America's butt is not going to hurt Russia." We need to be doing anything and everything necessary to extricate ourselves from this foolish blunder of inserting ourselves into the Russian/Ukrainian conflict.

    I suspect the replacement for the US currency will be a basket of currencies. Each nation will likely be represented based the size of their economy minus their national debt to determine how each country is represented. This type of currency situation should be able to handle the international world market. I suspect American leaders will be given an ultimatum to "play ball" or else be shut out entirely. There's nothing America supplies that cannot be gotten elsewhere, there's nothing Americans buy that can't be sold elsewhere. On the other hand, there are things America needs that it lacks the capability to make or produce in sufficient quantities to meet its needs.

    When the change takes place, I suspect America's leaders will be caught flat footed like they have been on almost everything else from the 911 attacks, the rise of ISIS, the beginning of the Russian/Ukraine conflict, inability to find WMD in Iraq, and the list could go on. Were it not so serious watching their "deer in the headlights" loom when it happens could prove most entertaining.

    B.Poster said...

    Rob,

    I think you are spot on about Russia's ability to survive and regenerate themselves as a nation. Frankly, no one has done it better than they have over the centuries. You are spot on about the demographic problems faced by Russia. Mr. Putin has taken steps to try and address this problem. I suspect his policies will work in the end. At least this is more than we can say for America or Western Europe who simply double down on stupid for their policies.

    I like your optimism about America waking up to the threat posed by Islamists. I pray you are right. On aspect about Russia and China that is different from the US and much of Western Europe is many Americans especially feel shame toward their country. Russians and Chinese have no such problem.

    While Russia has been fighting this for over 400 years, the threats they face from this may be able to destroy buildings which is VERY serious. The threats we face from this enemy are capable of destroying entire cities.

    As for the last sentence, you are spot on it seems. Unfortunately we lack the military depth to be able to put them "at our feet." The best we could hope for is some kind of bloody stalemate similar to what we have right now while we further wear out our military. Since they have greater depth and greater resources, this is to their advantage and it weakens us further so trying to fend off threats from nations like Russia and China becomes even more problematic than it already is. The best choice, to me at least, would seem to be some type of redeployment that gives us some semblance of a chance to defend our nation.