Obama and The New American Landscape

Whenever politically-entrenched Americans encounter a philosophy they disagree with, one of the first go-to assumptions is that proponents of that philosophy suffer from some kind of mental deficiency. You see it on both sides of the aisle, liberals accusing conservatives of idiocy and vice versa. Sometimes the charges are accurate, sometimes not.

It’s perhaps only natural that the President of the United States find himself attacked as an incompetent idiot. As the most visible member of his party, he comes to represent not only his own ideas but those of the ideology at large. Such was the case with Bush and such is the case with Obama. But while it may be easy to dismiss Obama as an idiot, to do so is to gravely underestimate him. While he may, at times, seem less than 100% invested in his role of America’s leader, there is little evidence to suggest this is a failure of his intellect.

Transformation and Shared Blame

In 2008, candidate Obama promised America he would “fundamentally transform” the country. And he is in the process of doing just that. While his liberal supporters have found themselves marginalized by his failure to take action on some key issues, it’s becoming clear that the president still has transformation on his mind. When it comes to climate change, illegal immigration, healthcare, and the role of the presidency itself, things may never be the same once the nation’s first black president leaves office.

Again and again, Obama has thwarted the Constitution in his attempt to remake America in his own liberal image. Eschewing the traditional means of politics, he has bypassed Congress on numerous occasions to instead act alone. In the process, he has redefined the meaning of “executive authority” to encompass whatever it is that he wants to do. Republicans, it must be said, have done a lazy job of keeping him in check. Whether that will change in January remains to be seen, but there are signs that the GOP is more interested in 2016 than in asserting their congressional power. That could prove to be a costly choice.

Thinking conservatives like Rush Limbaugh saw this disaster well before the rest of America. Even before he emerged victorious over Hillary Clinton, Obama showed signs of being more than the typical Democrat. Yes, he was of a different race and yes, he brought a certain youthful charisma, but the differences went deeper. Here was a man not only committed to the liberal wing of the Democrat philosophy, but one whose ideas had been forged by Chicago radicals. With a populist campaign, he managed to overcome that tainted background. Only now are we seeing his true colors.

If Republicans stand by and willingly fund his lame duck executive actions, they are just as culpable for the changed America that results. If the Supreme Court stands by to allow these constitutional violations, they too are responsible. History may place the blame at the feet of Obama, but we must never forget those who let it happen.