I read a Charles Krauthammer column the other day that was so clear, concise, and devastatingly accurate that I want to share some of his thoughts. It has to do with the number one national concern right now—no, not Casey Anthony—the huge debt and what to do about it. He trains his incisive analysis on the hubris that comes from the top of our government—the president himself. Obama has been quite vocal lately, telling the Congress to take responsibility. As Krauthammer notes, in his own words, this is from the man who:
- Ignored the debt problem for two years by kicking the can to a commission.
- Promptly ignored the commission’s December 2010 report.
- Delivered a State of the Union address that didn’t even mention the word “debt” until 35 minutes in.
- Delivered in February a budget so embarrassing—it actually increased the deficit—that the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected it 97 to 0.
- Took a budget mulligan with his April 13 debt-plan speech. Asked in Congress how this new “budget framework” would affect the actual federal budget, Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf replied with a devastating “We don’t estimate speeches.” You can’t assign numbers to air.
So, in effect, President Obama has done absolutely nothing about the debt for which he and his party are largely responsible, then goes to the airwaves in interviews and news conferences to point the finger at Republicans. Wait a minute. Aren’t they the ones who passed a budget in the House? So who is actually working and who is merely pontificating?
Krauthammer identifies the Democrat strategy in this way:
Do nothing; invite the Republicans to propose real debt reduction first; and when they do—voting for the Ryan budget and its now infamous and courageous Medicare reform—demogogue them to death. And then up the ante by demanding Republican agreement to tax increases. So: First you get the GOP to seize the left’s third rail by daring to lay a finger on entitlements. Then you demand the GOP seize the right’s third rail by violating its no-tax pledge. A full spectrum electrocution. Brilliant.
What about Obama’s fascinating proposal to take away tax breaks from corporate jet owners? Well, it plays nicely to people’s envy of those who have more than they do, but do they ever stop to think how many jobs might be lost with that policy? Krauthammer did the math on that class-warfare tactic: if the amount of money the government would get back from that policy were received annually, it would take roughly 5,000 years to equal the new debt Obama created in the last year alone.
In other words, this is not a serious proposal. It’s meant to ramp up feelings against the ever-present, and always evil, rich people. How do we know they’re evil? President Obama tells us so. This is the height of political cynicism and opportunism. It deserves to be exposed for what it is.
