And this at least partially explains my distaste for the part-time senator from Illinois.

From the Bulletin.


11/14/2008
What To Expect From An Obama Administration
By Herb Denenberg, The Bulletin

I find one of the more amusing although important questions is how will President-elect Barack Obama govern? As a moderate and centrist, or as an extremist, radical and liberal?

I can answer such questions with another question: When your whole career and resume shows you are a leftist, an extremist, a radical, a liberal, and a 96 percent pure party line Democrat, are you are likely to be just that no matter what you say in the campaign?

Mr. Obama ran far-left to win the primaries and then veered quickly to the center to win the general election. And now the heavy odds are that he will revert to form, to his basic record, positions and values. He is adept at separating his rhetoric from his action and his speeches from his agenda.

I could answer the first question with another question. When you spend your whole career associating with radicals, bigots, racists, terrorists, subversives and crooks will you suddenly be transformed into the great centrist, moderate, uniter and non-partisan?

If those questions aren't enough to convince you and point you to the answer, let me try to provide some answers, clear and certain and not needing any further connecting of the dots.

Mr. Obama's designated chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said Mr. Obama "will push a comprehensive program of social and economic reform beyond an immediate stimulus package." (Financial Times, U.S. edition, Nov. 10) That's a double-barreled answer, as it suggests that not only will Mr. Obama trot out the full liberal agenda but also that he'll do it right away. Expect no gradualism and no moderation. If you're looking for the rule appropriate for a center-right nation, you're in for a rough ride on the wrong side of the street.

Mr. Emanuel made it clear that the new administration is not concerned about taking on too much too soon. According to Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Obama will seize on "the financial meltdown as an historic opportunity to deliver the large scale investments that Democrats had promised for years."

He said there would be no delay in moving for far-reaching education and health-care reforms. He is not going to heed the advice of Karl Rove, President Bush's political architect, who thinks any president should focus on a few items and avoid a total program that can often spell total failure.

Mr. Obama's own comments make it clear that he will push not only for a short-term stimulus package but also for long-term investments in infrastructure. In addition, the stimulus package will include the often-promised middle class tax cuts.

However, neither Mr. Obama nor Mr. Emanuel made any attempt to explain how all these goodies and welfare checks and new, expensive programs will be paid for, the coming deficit already estimated to be doubling to $1 trillion or more like $1.5 trillion. Yes, that's trillion with a "t." Mr. Obama better be the Messiah, as he is unlikely to carry out all his promises, and in a hurry at that, barring some miracle and a lot of divine intervention. Incidentally, that's not even to mention the $10 trillion national debt.

The head of Mr. Obama's transition team, John Podesta, also chimed in on why the new administration will go all out right away in pushing Mr. Obama's comprehensive leftist agenda. He argues that the support Mr. Obama received in Republican states and in some conservative counties gives the new president-elect, what he called a "transformational figure," a mandate to pursue his agenda aggressively. Again, when you hear the word "mandate" fasten your seat belt and guard your wallet.

Mr. Podesta also noted that without even waiting for Congress, Mr. Obama, as president, will be able to use his executive authority to get some things done on day one, without waiting for Congress to act. That would probably include executive orders ending drilling for domestic oil and opening up money and support for abortion, in any form and anywhere. As the record has demonstrated, Mr. Obama is the most radical abortion advocate in the Senate, and is on record as favoring the end of all restrictions on abortion and even the green light for infanticide, as per his vote in the Illinois State Senate. The pro-abortion groups are already beginning to turn on their campaign for legislation to eliminate all state restrictions on abortions, legislation which Mr. Obama has enthusiastically endorsed.

If nothing else, everyone agrees Mr. Obama ran a tight, disciplined campaign. So when all his top people are out on national television programs saying the things I've quoted above, you can be sure that they are stating Mr. Obama's clear intention, and, what's more, they are the opening wave of an attempt to sell his comprehensive, radical agenda to the American people. In addition, the nature of their pitch, suggests Mr. Obama's lieutenants are not only trying to sell his program, but trying to pressure for certain actions by the outgoing administration, even before Mr. Obama gets the key to the White House. The Obama people, for example, are pressing for bailing out the auto industry immediately, as they really want to bail out their benefactor, the United Auto Workers.

The Obama people also made their thinking clear when it was revealed they were studying FDR's first 100 days, in which the Great Depression was used to lever all kinds of legislation.

At the same time, the mainstream media is working hand-in-hand with the Obama transition team to sell his program. That media segment was a key cheerleader in getting him elected, and now they are cheerleading for his administration in transition. Consequently, the mainstream media is now painting a picture of total crisis and an atmosphere of the sky falling to lay the groundwork for immediate, comprehensive, radical reform. Rush Limbaugh pointed out that the Obama people and the mainstream media are now joined at the hip, both pushing the same liberal, radical agenda. And he adds that the mainstream media has so much invested in Mr. Obama, it is not likely to turn on him at any time soon no matter how he performs.

Perhaps the best example of that is the now infamous Associated Press dispatch comparing the environment Mr. Obama now confronts to that encountered by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt. When you set the scene as a combination of the Civil War and the Great Depression, you have pronounced "Open Sesame" for the most radical and immediate answers imaginable.

At the same time, the liberal pundits are also calling for aggressive and comprehensive moves immediately. E.J. Dionne Jr., writing in Investor's Business Daily (Nov. 11), calls for the kind of bold action taken by President Reagan after his election: "His first moves were bold, and Obama should not fear following his example ... In fact, timidity is a far greater danger than overreaching."

What this adds up to is that you can expect a full court press to get the radical liberal agenda enacted into law. The pressure from the Obama administration, from the heavily Democratic Congress, and from all the Democratic special interest groups is going to be turned loose without any restraint. Such groups as the ACLU and MoveOn.org are already circling the wagons with their radical agendas. So Republicans, conservatives and others better be prepared to do battle against this agenda. Here are just a few of the pieces of that agenda that are about to become flying onto center stage:

Health Care
This top priority of the Obama administration is especially dangerous as it has so many reverberations throughout the economy and the health-care system. In addition, unlike tax increases that can be repealed, the damage to the health-care system inflicted by Mr. Obama's proposal will be much more difficult to fix and more lasting.

It will create a bankrupting cost, as we're talking about bringing about 47 million more people into the system, without increasing the supply of health-care providers. That is likely to lead to rationing, chaos and probably worse. Everyone will fare worse, but senior citizens will be hurt the most as they usually are last in line in a rationing system involving health care. In addition, it will create additional cost at a time of unprecedented deficits, national debts and spending.

We're still trying to figure out how to pay for Medicare and control Medicare costs. This will take a monstrous problem and compound it by a large multiple.

In addition, the health-care reform will wreck the health care delivery system. Finally, as documented by Dick Morris, whose works appears in The Bulletin, in his book Fleeced, it will grant coverage to about 10 million illegal aliens. And once enacted, it will be wrecking health delivery for a long time. Ronald Reagan knew that when he said, "The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program."

Card Check For Union Elections
Cutting through all the technicalities, a card check union election is a way to eliminate the presently required secret ballot and a way to open to the way to getting unions authorized by coercion, intimidation and harassment into signing cards that if obtained in majority numbers result in union authorization. You don't need a secret ballot. You only need a majority of workers signing a card, in the presence of union organizers. I don't have to paint that picture for you of the possibilities for coercion and intimidation.

The Democratic Party and Mr. Obama are on record of abolishing the secret ballot in union elections, and they are pressured in this direction by one of their major special interest groups, the unions. This is a top union priority, as they are in the process of moving toward extinction. The card check authorization of unions may breath new life into the union movement.

The card check issue should enlighten observers as it shows that the Democrats are long on power and short on principle, and are quite willing to abandon something as important as the secret ballot in their quest for power and in their willingness to pay back special interest groups like unions that support them. The unions, by this legislation, would be able to grow again and organize on a massive scale. The Democrats would strengthen one of their key supporters that provide financing and manpower during election cycles.

Mandatory Arbitration
This proposal is usually coupled with the card check. It requires that if the newly authorized union and management can't agree to a contract within 120 days, then an outside arbitrator can decide on the terms of the contract. Steve Forbes (Forbes Magazine, Nov. 24) writes, "Naturally these arbitrators know on which side their bread is buttered - they won't get the job unless they've been approved by the unions."

The card check plus mandatory arbitration mean that any business, no matter how it treats its employees, will be subjected to unionization and a decreed labor contract, setting the stage for crippling work rules and bankrupting pension, health-care and other compensation packages. Observe what happened to America's auto industry, with work rules and compensation packages that made them unable to compete and now have brought them to the brink of bankruptcy.

Other Changes In Labor Laws
Mr. Obama has made all kinds of promises that would impose higher costs on business, especially damaging to business at a time of an economic downturn. For example, he would require all employers offer seven days of sick leave and raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2009. The Democrats are not likely to say no to the unions. And along with his spread the wealth tax policies, such labor law changes are sure to contribute to further economic downturns and less job creation. The Democrats love these mandates, which along with their tax increases are still another way to spread the wealth around.

Fairness Doctrine
This is another favorite Democratic Party proposal that also shows it is willing to sacrifice any democratic principle to achieve and retain political power. The Fairness Doctrine, abolished by Reagan, would make it impossible for talk radio to operate. It would call for balancing every point of view, something that is often impractical economically, and too complicated and expensive administratively to comply with. Talk radio came into its own only after the Fairness Doctrine was abolished.

But it has become the one sector of all the media that is not dominated by the liberal left. But the leftists are not satisfied to control newspapers, television, magazines, and radio. They want total media control, so Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Cal., is leading the charge to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine, and silence the one media voice of dissent to the liberal/radical agenda about to be imposed on America by the Democratic Party.

Spending
When asked what programs will be cut, Mr. Obama has never been able to give one specific example of any consequences although he was asked to do so on more than one occasion during the presidential debates. In fact, in one of the answers, while avoiding programs to cut, he talked about programs that need more funds. He has already proposed about $1 trillion in additional spending, and the Democratic Congress is warming up in the legislative bullpen to add all of their favorite projects.

Despite campaign rhetoric to the contrary, you can expect the White House and the Congress to go on the usual Democratic path of tax and spend and regulate and centralize. Mr. Reagan put it perfectly when he said, "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." He added that the taxpayer is someone who works for the government but doesn't have to take the Civil Service exam.


Abortion
Mr. Obama is on record during the campaign as saying the first bill he will sign, as president is the Freedom of Choice Act, which would nullify any federal, state or local restriction on abortion. This should surprise no one as Mr. Obama is well-known as the most radical advocate of abortions in the Senate, perhaps best exemplified by his vote in the Illinois legislature to legalize infanticide (when an infant is born alive during a botched abortion). He has never voted in favor of a restriction on abortion. Of course, even before legislation, Mr. Obama can advance his abortion agenda through executive orders, which he might sign as early as Jan. 20.

Defense Spending
Mr. Obama has already made all kinds of pronouncements on cutting back on defense spending, and his liberal, extremists in Congress are already calling for cutbacks. That anti-defense spending crowd is led by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who has already called for a 25 percent cutback in defense spending. Ironically, Mr. Obama can't seem to see defense as a priority, but he has made proposals to end world poverty, by a multi-billion annual contribution to the U.N., a corrupt, anti-American body, which has already demonstrated how it would administer such funds with the famous food-for-oil Iraq scandal. He would reverse the famous cry directed against the Barbary Pirates, "Millions for defense; not one cent for tribute," to "Millions for tribute; not one more cent for defense."

Patriot Act And Related Matters
"Barack Obama would water-down the Patriot Act dangerously, leaving Americans far more vulnerable to terrorism." That's the view of Mr. Morris and is documented in detail in his book, Fleeced. Here's an example that will give you the kind of changes Mr. Obama is likely to impose. Under the Patriot Act, the government can conduct a secret investigation of a terror suspect and need not give the suspect notice of that investigation for 180 days. Mr. Obama wants to change the period allowed for the secret investigation to seven days. This would be so early in the investigation, the suspect would have ample time to cover up, issue warnings, and escape if necessary. Mr. Obama views the U.S. Constitution as a suicide pact which makes it impossible to wage an effective war on terrorists and impossible to stop them before them repeat 9/11 or some like catastrophe.

Taxes
This is one issue that was discussed to death. Mr. Obama promises tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans but heavy increases on the 5 percent of the wealthiest, which includes the small business that are the engine of job creation and prosperity. So even if he can deliver on this tax cut, despite his ever spiraling spending plans, those that got the tax cut might find that their jobs are disappearing as is economic activity.

I could go on, but the above is enough to destroy the economy, weaken national defense and make us vulnerable to terrorism and our enemies. So we can only hope public opinion can be mobilized so effectively it can stop all or major portions of the Democratic agenda. We can also pray that the Republican Party gets its acts and programs together so it can effectively play the role of the loyal opposition.

Herb Denenberg is a former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner, and professor at the Wharton School. He is a longtime Philadelphia journalist and consumer advocate. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of the Sciences. His column appears daily in The Bulletin. You can reach him at advocate@ thebulletin.us.