For weeks, President Obama has been using the threat of Sequestration to scare the pants off ordinary Americans. He’s tried to convince us that cutting $85 billion (about 2.3%) from a $3.6 trillion federal budget will cause massive job losses and dire cuts to everything Americans hold dear- teachers, firemen, police, military personnel and contractors, medical research, children’s Smart Start programs and immunizations, massive delays in airports because of an understaffed TSA, national park closings, and on and on. When announcing these cuts he spoke for a solid 12 minutes outlining horrors his cabinet secretaries had scraped up for the best possible “scare value”. Obama’s objective was two-fold: (1) To make Americans think they simply cannot get along without every penny he plans for government to spend, and (2) To make any impact felt by citizens the fault of congressional Republicans.
And remember, Sequestration cuts are a decrease in the amount of increase over the previous year’s expenditures. It’s definitely not a cut as normal folks would understand “cuts”.
Even before Sequestration started (the evening of March 1), the Department of Homeland Security began releasing illegal aliens from holding facilities in several states. First, there were hundreds, then we were told perhaps 10,000. But we have no idea how many were simply here illegally and how many were detained for a criminal offense. DHS says “Releasing them is OK. We’re monitoring them.” Ha! In a pig’s eye! What a complete whopper! Pardon me for asking, but isn’t Job 1 of the federal government to keep our citizens safe and secure? How does releasing thousands of criminals (yes they are all criminals) do that? That was Black Eye #1 for the White House. And it was the most visible sign that irresponsible and intentionally painful actions were the Order of the Day in Obama’s administration.
But now the White House has gone so far over-the-top with this sequestration scare scam that even school kids can see through it. To earn Black Eye #2, Obama directed that White House tours must be stopped. The Tour Guides are volunteers, so their time costs the White House nothing. It’s the Secret Service folks who must be paid, and we can’t spare even one of them. Nor can we spare part of the $100,000 per year Visitor’s Office Director who was given a $30,000 raise over the last four years. Just think of all the school kids who saved their nickels and dimes for a year or more to pay for a trip to Washington, DC and a White House tour, only to be told “Sorry, we can’t find anywhere else in our entire budget to save 2.3%.” Of course these kids made a video pleading “The White House is our house! Please let us visit!” Nope, this scam was not going the way the White House wanted. Not one bit.
take our poll – story continues below Completing this poll grants you access to Freedom Outpost updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
But wait- the story gets even better! When Fox News anchor Eric Bolling heard about this, he immediately offered – on the air – to cover the cost for a week of tours estimated at $74,000. Immediately, Sean Hannity also made the same commitment, along with Charles Krauthammer. And not to be outdone, Newt Gingrich committed on Greta Van Susteren’s show to find a string of donors who would be willing to chip in to cover even more costs. Let those kids see the White House! If you Obama Democrats are too sorry to find 2.3% in cuts that won’t affect American school kids, Republicans will carry the load for you. It ain’t rocket science, it just takes work. You probably can’t do it from a golf cart. Well, actually, you can do it from a golf cart, but first you must give a damn about your fellow citizens.
And will any of these Obama Democrats ever recognize that if ordinary folks all over America tightened their belts for four years, perhaps a few folks in government jobs should be asked to accept their “fair share” of the burden? After all, who works for whom, here? This should be especially true for the “well-off and well-connected” bureaucrats in and around Washington, DC. And for that matter, cuts in government spending should jolly-well include the First Family, arguably the best “well-connected” family in America. Their golf and beach paradise outings appear to be unaffected by those pesky Sequestration cuts. If 6th graders from St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Waverly, Iowa can’t enjoy their White House tour, then the Republicans should be asking why the First Family can enjoy their perks, almost 100% paid for by the taxpayers.
So now we can definitely smell blood in the waters around Sequestration. It’s time for Republicans to attack, to step up and show the country that government must look for responsible places to make cuts without any more impact on citizens than absolutely necessary. And for gosh sakes, please use this as a vehicle for showing some of the thousands of places we should cut! Sen. Tom Coburn’s “Waste Book” listing 100 of these opportunities is a good start. And that effort must include repealing or restructuring our massive and unsustainable entitlement programs- Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Having supper with the President does NOT mean you can’t attack him for irresponsible management of Sequestration cuts, nor does it mean you can’t attack him for pushing the need for more taxes, nor does it mean you must quietly accept anything he says about “we don’t have a spending problem”. After all, telling the truth is just not his way.
Please join us at our Facebook page, “Impacts of Sequestration” to help document any irresponsible spending cuts, unnecessary limitations to the lives of Americans, or missed opportunities for cutting waste, fraud, or abuse you might find.
Don’t forget to Like Freedom Outpost on Facebook and Twitter, and follow our friends at RepublicanLegion.com.
