Recent openings, cracks, and rare opportunities have been laid at the feet of the GOP regarding nefarious acts by the Obama White House that are actually being reported by the mainstream media. Reince Priebus made subtle mention of such opportunities in his CPAC speech on March 16, which can be construed as a clarion call that the GOP should capitalize on widespread light being exposed on the administration as something conservatives can unite around.
The first post-election crack among the old guard was when Obama overplayed his hand on the sequester by — instead of governing and leading as a president is to do — he went on one of his usual all out campaigns: a mission to scare people with apocalyptic-type rhetoric of massive jobs loss and looming economic doom if the sequester were to happen.
Specifically, we were told by the administration that airports would grind to a halt but they haven’t, and the Washington Times reported as much. Obama also said sequester meant that janitors who clean the U.S. Capitol would have their pay cut. The Washington Post printed letters from management to Capitol employees making it clear that this was “not true.” The WaPo Fact Check gave Obama the worst rating of Four Pinocchio’s for that whopper.
The Washington Post also gave Four Pinocchios for Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s claim that teachers were getting pink slips because of the sequester.
When the sequester did occur, Obama acted out (because he did not get what he wanted) by immediately announcing, effective March 9th, that White House tours would be closed and that has now turned into a public relations nightmare. There were whispers of tours opening up for school field trips soon after the Washington Post Editorial Board voiced its disdain on March 13th for the tour closure.
Again, another Obama ploy that blew up in his face.
But the most scrutiny Obama has likely received ever from beltway and network journalists in the White House press pool is for using Organizing For Action (OFA) to raise unlimited money for him and the White House to access. You’ll remember OFA was the 501(c)(4) SuperPac that raised significant amounts of money for Obama’s presidential campaign that, under the Citizens United case that Obama railed against, allows for unlimited funds to be donated. This is likely Obama’s greatest hypocrisy while in office. Obama campaigned and promised to end special interest money in Washington, but he’s now collecting $500,000 a pop for platinum White House packages whereby the wealthy can purchase access and face time with the President of the United States. Obama using OFA to sell access led even NBC’s Chuck Todd to pepper Jay Carney during the daily White House press briefing on March 11th.
Why is all this significant (and not just garden variety) Obama bashing? The press is finally doing its job with the Obama Administration.
The media appears to be actually chipping away at the arrogant hypocrisy of buying access to Obama through OFA as well as hyperbole from the administration regarding sequester.
All of this appears to be affecting Obama’s numbers, as evidenced by a CNN poll released March 19 revealing his favorability is underwater with 47% approving and 50% disapproving of his job handling. This is a dramatic reversal from 55% approval 43% disapproval in another CNN poll just two months ago.
Here is the larger point: This is a major opportunity that all conservatives within the GOP should be discussing and capitalizing on, something that the entire movement can get behind. It is no secret that the GOP has found itself splintered in the aftermath of the November 6th presidential election, with far too much finger-pointing and faction-forming going on that is frankly growing tiring. The “RINO of the Week” announcements by some is demoralizing and counterproductive. We are the Grand Old Party that has always been about big tent ideas and a broad range of candidates — not the movement of late that has been eating its own, castigating anyone not meeting pure standards, and shrinking the tent. Trying to get a feel for the purity game criteria, in light of Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan (and others) being deemed liberal Republicans or RINOs by some, has become an inexacting exercise in futility.
Many within the GOP must get back (or in some cases be introduced) to Reagan’s 80/20 rule which states one’s 80% friend is not his or her 20% enemy.
The fact that the media is asking hard questions about Obama’s actions and that his poll numbers are significantly dipping (The Hill reported March 20 ‘The Obama Honeymoon May Be Over’ ) should excite all conservatives and unite us in taking our fight out of our tent and taking it to the enemy — Barack Obama and his band of his brand of liberalism that is decaying our country. Obama will not be able to accomplish his second term agendas if he remains as unpopular as he finds himself now, only two months post-inauguration.
So conservatives of all stripes should focus on this opportunity and discontinue cannibalizing the GOP.