Gregory D.

Lee

Read Greg's bio and previous columns here

November 5, 2008

Will the Real Barack Obama Please Stand Up?

Like the decades-old television game show, To Tell The Truth, it’s time for Barack Obama to stand up and tell us exactly who he is and what he intends to do as president now the election is over. Is he a centrist who can reach across the aisle to Republicans, a pseudo-conservative tax cutter or a socialist who wants to redistribute wealth?

The last few weeks of the campaign have been revealing. Obama professes that he will cut taxes for “95 percent” of all Americans, yet only about 60 percent of Americans pay federal income taxes. He says anyone making under $250,000 will definitely receive a tax cut; or is it $200,000 like he said in his infomercial? That figure may even deteriorate down to $150,000 as Joe Biden has said. Which is it? Either way, the math doesn’t add up. When Obama lets the Bush tax cuts expire in 2010, your taxes will go up for sure, assuming you pay income taxes.

And, when confronted with an innocent question by “Joe the Plumber,” Obama was most candid. With his off-the-cuff remark about “spreading the wealth around,” Joe successfully unmasked the covert socialistic candidate for what he really is. In Obama’s mind, when you pay no federal income taxes but receive a check from the IRS, that’s somehow a “tax cut.” In my mind, it’s welfare under the guise of spreading the wealth.

If you voted for Obama, then I’m sure you’ll like his picks to replace the two most liberal Supreme Court Justices who are expected to retire soon. Why not expand the number of Justices on the Court and fill them with his cronies? The Constitution doesn’t mandate a certain number. Because liberal Democrats control both houses of Congress, what will stop them? 

Obama also said that he wants to create a “Civilian National Security Force.” At a campaign rally he said, “We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.” Can anyone explain to me what that is? He wants this new bureaucracy to have the same funding as the Pentagon. That’s another $400-plus billion right there. But wait! He wants to cut the Pentagon’s budget, so maybe it will only be $300 billion more after he cuts the Department of Defense 25 percent as Rep. Barney Frank says will happen with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.

Either way, the concept is scary and reminds me of a secret police force that will take conservatives to a re-education camp for compulsory lessons on sharing, tolerance and why abortion is a good thing.

On the energy independence front, Obama said that the coal industry will be bankrupted because of his policy of capping greenhouse emissions, and this would “necessarily” raise energy costs. So you can count on higher electricity costs as well as higher taxes, because he will not expand domestic oil drilling.

The American system allows the opportunity for an extreme liberal, closet socialist, who has American haters and domestic terrorists as friends, and advocates higher taxes, a weaker national defense, direct talks with dictators, and has the middle name of “Hussein” to be president. What a country.

At least I will have four years of material to write about.

Gregory D. Lee is a nationally syndicated columnist for North Star Writers Group. He can be reached through his website: www.gregorydlee.com.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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