No, Obama does not deserve four more years

By Gayle Strickland
President Obama has demonstrated in all aspects of his administration that he does not deserve to be re-elected. His domestic policies have resulted in high unemployment, a soaring and unsustainable deficit, the first downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, an increased dependency on government programs and less opportunity to realize the American dream.
The economic policies of the Obama administration have been catastrophic, contrary to his lofty promises in 2008.
The Obama administration had two years of complete Congressional control and they chose to use that time to pass a stimulus that didn’t work, to pay back his union campaign contributors and to pass a health care bill that no one read or understood, that had no Republican participation, and that was and still is unpopular.
The over $800 billion stimulus that was supposed to “save the economy” and fund infrastructure projects instead went to states with large deficits primarily due to public union pension over-commitments and state overspending, and to green energy pet projects that went bankrupt. This money allowed states to postpone their own fiscal reckoning as they spent the money to keep public union employees temporarily employed as obligated in the 2008 campaign.
The stimulus didn’t work, but the massive spending of the Obama administration has driven the national debt to over $16 trillion – a number that threatens our future and is completely unsustainable. As deficits soared, Obama has made no proposals to reform entitlement programs that drive the deficits and that would save those programs. ObamaCare has already been a disaster, with cost projections tripling, the cost of health insurance going up $2,500 instead of $2,500 down as promised, and portions of ObamaCare are already being abandoned as unrealistic.
In 2009, the Obama administration invested $85 billion taxpayer dollars in GM and Chrysler in order to “save” the auto industry. But it turns out this was essentially a union payback that has been a bad investment for the American taxpayer. General Motors and Chrysler did not go through standard bankruptcy proceedings and form leaner, revised organizations as this would not have allowed President Obama to award a larger share of the companies to the United Auto Workers (giving priority over other bond holders), and would have required UAW members to make pay and pension sacrifices typical of a standard bankruptcy proceeding.
The Obama economic recovery has been the slowest in history due to the unwise formulas used by Obama and his fellow Democrats. Unemployment has continued to be excessively high: there are currently less people employed than when Obama took office. Obama’s policies have created uncertainty in business and a reticence to hire due to significant increases in government regulation that is not yet written (Dodd/Frank and ObamaCare), business taxes that are the highest in the world, and new requirements for employee health care. The poverty rate has soared, families have lost significant wealth during this “recovery”, and the number of people on food stamps has soared to over 47 million. In 2011 / 2012, President Obama’s “jobs bill” proposals continued to offer the same tired solution used by the stimulus with no plan to reduce spending; these bills have been defeated in Congress. President Obama has proposed the continuation of these failed policies.
Obama’s weak, naïve foreign policy has resulted in four dead Americans in Benghazi; increased anti-American sentiment across the Middle East and Northern Africa; more aggressive activities from Iran, Russia and other rogue nations; and a more dangerous world.
Our enemies don’t respect us and our allies are not sure they can trust us. In Iraq, Senator Obama opposed the surge that led to success, and as president he simply completed the detailed program that the Bush administration had begun.
In the one area that was the responsibility of the Obama administration, negotiating a small American presence in Iraq to maintain the peace and to support American interests, they were unsuccessful. In Afghanistan, the Obama administration has fought a war without a winning objective and announced early the troop departure date. So clearly the Taliban have a date when they can reappear and take back control – another smart move of informed diplomacy? And, President Obama has dictated new rules of engagement that put our troops in greater harm while fighting a war.
Yes, Bin Laden is dead, but Al Qaeda is surging, as has been demonstrated since September 11 when protesters at embassies across the world shouted “We are all Osamas, Obama”. The campaign narrative of the Obama administration that Bin Laden is dead and Al Qaeda is no longer a threat is not only untrue, but a dangerous and typically naive position by the Obama administration. The cover-up of the Obama administration for weeks that said the Benghazi attack was due to a YouTube video has been directly contradicted by the sworn testimony of the State Department and is currently being investigated by the House and the Senate.
A few of the many other issues are:
n Shut down the school voucher system for low-income children in Washington, DC under pressure from unions
n The rejection of the Keystone Pipeline to defer to his base
n The use of Executive Orders to circumvent Congress and constitutional process
n Significantly lengthened the permit process for oil producers
n The use of the EPA to implement policies that were rejected by Congress
President Obama does not deserve to be re-elected. His economic policies have been disastrous for jobs, our national debt and our children’s futures. His foreign policies have been naïve, ineffective and dangerous. He has not shown leadership and has singularly been unable to bring people together to solve difficult problems. Let’s elect a proven leader with experience in business and job creation, an understanding of the world, and a proven ability to work with those on the other side of the aisle. That man is Mitt Romney.
Gayle Strickland lives in South County and is the author of “The Obama Illusion.” Anyone wishing to submit a guest column may contact Editor Mark Derry at ed****@ga****.com