The Conservative Edge

Blitskrieg. That word comes to mind as I watch the Democrats smash through Constitutional principles in an attempt to establish a new American order. While they have the congressional and presidential advantages, they are fervently implementing their socialist and collectivist ideologies.

The ideas coming into shape are manifold. First, there is an obvious war against personal wealth. In a country that offers the greatest opportunity for an individual to be successful, it is amazing at the number of people who heap the blame for our country’s problems on the wealthy. The liberals have become proponents of this view, seeking to take from the “rich” to give handouts to the poor. The only problem is, wealth is not transferred to the poor—no one can amass any kind of fortune on government stipends. The government, instead, is the beneficiary of its plundering of the wealthy. Not only does the government reap increased revenue for additional spending, but government bureaucrats earn nice salaries and benefits as well.

There is also a grand notion that government is somehow better suited to make our life decisions than we are. The leading congressional Democrats, and the Democratic president, are working in tandem to pass massive amounts of legislation that will give them unprecedented control. They accept no debate or questioning of their actions. They forced a 2,600-page health care bill through Congress, and are now working on a 1,600-page financial overhaul bill. Meanwhile, a revised cap-and-trade bill is being readied for a vote, with Senator Harry Reid circumventing any ordinary committee process that could slow it down.

These bills are designed to give the federal government more control of our lives (and livelihoods), and more reason to increase revenues, also known as taxes. A first analysis of the health care bill, for example, reveals that costs won’t likely decrease as expected. The Associated Press reported that, “Economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department concluded in a report issued Thursday that the health care remake will achieve Obama’s aim of expanding health insurance — adding 34 million to the coverage rolls. But the analysis also found that the law falls short of the president’s twin goal of controlling runaway costs, raising projected spending by about 1 percent over 10 years. That increase could get bigger, since Medicare cuts in the law may be unrealistic and unsustainable, the report warned.”

The Democrats know this. That is why President Obama has spoken of the possibility of a national VAT tax being imposed. Of course, higher taxes and a redistribution of wealth have been the liberals’ prime goals all along. They can only impose taxes after first authorizing massive expenditures like health care, financial reform, and climate change legislation. Meanwhile, Obama has reneged on perhaps the primary campaign promise—reviving the economy. The White House would like to rejoice about a tiny drop in the unemployment rate, but it still remains that there is a record number of people who have been unemployed longer than six months. So much for that “quick jolt” Obama promised.

Perhaps the best response to all of this heavy-handed legislating will come in November. As someone once famously remarked, we should “Throw the bums out!”