Thursday, November 24, 2011

AIM: “We Can’t Wait” For the Media to Act Responsibly


AIM.org Report 

While the media largely continue to do their best to protect and defend the administration of President Barack Obama, there have been a number of recent examples indicating that such support can no longer be taken for granted. However, criticism remains the exception to the overall coverage, which has shown a reluctance to acknowledge any scandals by this administration, or any policy blunders.

If you go to WhiteHouse.gov, you will see “We Can’t Wait” as one of the main features. Until recently, it said, “We Can’t Wait on Congress. The Time to Act is Now.” The message from the Obama administration is that they are trying to promote their jobs bill, and the Republican-led House is refusing to cooperate. So damn the separation of powers, they’re going to enact their legislative priorities through executive orders and arbitrary actions. The liberal media are perfectly fine with this, because they largely support the Obama agenda. If not in every detail, at least they support the re-election of Barack Obama, so they’re not going to make a fuss.

Obama Running Against Congress, Not on his Record

But the reality is that instead of running on his record as President, Obama is trying to run against what he is in essence calling “a do-nothing Congress.” From January 2009 until January 2011, Obama had large majorities in the House and Senate, got his stimulus bill passed, ObamaCare, and a host of other bills that he brags about. What he failed to do, however, much of which upset his base, included passing or even pushing for comprehensive immigration reform and “Cap and Trade,” closing Guantanamo, and ending the Bush tax cuts. In some cases it was because he didn’t want the political heat, in others it was because he couldn’t get enough Democrats to go along.

In the meantime, the House passed a budget in April that the Senate voted down in May, and the House has passed 15 bills that they call jobs bills, and the Senate hasn’t voted on any of them. But it is in fact the Senate, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid, which has failed to fulfill its constitutional requirement of passing a budget, since April of 2009. So which chamber is the do-nothing Congress? If the Republican bills are so bad, the Senate should take pride in bringing them up for a vote and voting against them. That’s how the process is supposed to work.

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