Posted by
Mark MacBayne on Wednesday, September 03, 2008 1:40:45 PM
Taking the train to work in San Francisco means I get to meet many liberals in my daily journey. I usually just try to blend in and go unnoticed, which is at times difficult passing through Berkeley, as I do not have bright blue hair or multiple pieces of metal stuck through my face. As the proverbial fly on the wall, I often just listen to the conversation around me, especially during an election year. All I have to do in order to take the pulse of the left, er I mean Democrats, is to listen to the conversations on the train. Last Friday, the train conversation was, of course, about Obama’s acceptance concert in Denver. The folks were generally beside themselves with enthusiasm for Obama. Many in particular seemed to like the line about McCain voting with Bush 90% of the time and his (Sen. Obama’s) unwillingness to take a 10% chance on change. Senator Obama has made change the cornerstone of his campaign with its slogan “Yes we can”, but the question for me becomes yes we can, but what?
I think Obama’s policies likely will be different from those of Bush and I think we have a good idea what Obama’s presidential policies will be if elected. If you examine Obama's voting record in the Senate you find he is one of the most liberal in that legislative body. I’m sure Obama would nominate liberal judges cut from the same cloth as Ruth Bader Ginsberg who would legislate a leftist agenda from the bench. I’m sure Obama would increase federal spending even faster than W did regardless of the fiscal consequences. I’m sure Obama would open a dialogue with the madman from Tehran, Ahmadinejad, who would be all too happy to get favorable world press by talking with the President of the United States, all the while making his nuclear bombs and laughing at the gullibility of the west. I’m sure Obama would take drastic action against the right to keep and bear arms, perhaps resurrecting the Clinton assault weapon ban for starters. I’m sure Obama would busy himself promoting universal health care. In fact, from his address last Thursday, I’m sure Obama would increase the role of the federal government in our lives across the board.
Yes, there are plenty of changes Obama may try to make as President, however that begs the question is would they be good for the country? I think not. One of the greatest dangers, given the likely duration of the appointments, would be Obama’s Supreme Court picks. There will likely be two vacant seats during the tenure of the next President. Obama could significantly tilt the Court towards the left. This would, of course, have wide ranging implications. As for federal spending, we are already in a dangerous deficit position at the federal level. While I am not as pessimistic as some on the state of the economy I do see several fundamental problems. Our domestic economy is built on consumers spending beyond their means. Irresponsible federal spending seems to trickle down too. The average American has more personal debt and less savings than 30 years ago. This position cannot go on unchecked. The economy, like nature, will right itself, but it may take a lot of casualties along the way. The downturn in the housing market is just one example. I predict consumer spending will not recover for some time. I think we will limp along for the next three to five years posting neutral to very modest growth in the economy. No, I am not predicting a recession, but also not a period of tremendous growth. With the government running record deficits additional spending is not at all what we need. This country needs fiscal discipline, which Obama will not give us.
Obama has stated he will open a dialogue with Ahmadinejad who is on record calling for the destruction of Israel and death to America along with denying the holocaust. We know Iran is pursuing nuclear technology. Iran absolutely cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. I think approaching Tehran will only signal weakness and embolden them. Iran is not Russia and the cold war approach will not work in this case. We are facing an enemy in radical Islam that has done things the Soviet Union never did in the 40 plus years of the Cold War. On the Second Amendment, which actually is a Constitutional right unlike abortion or homosexual marriage, I think Obama gave us a tell tale sign with his one sentence on the subject during his address. I wager he will start by reinstating the assault weapons ban and that will just begin his assault on the Second Amendment. Overall, I think Obama will represent change. If elected he will be the first socialist President of the United States.