Obama's Confession of Seeding Disunity

Divide and Destroy

The View from the Middle

If you have read my article on the President’s last SOTU speech, you know that I actually liked half of it.  It gave me hope when he admitted that the rancor (bitter deep seated ill will) in Washington has gotten worse under his leadership.  While he didn’t technically claim responsibility for the division, it sounded much like the admission of an alcoholic at an AA meeting.  It was as if he was saying, “I’m a divider, and I need help.”

 I actually experienced a warm feeling of hope.  I thought, maybe the President is going to pursue the vision he painted back in 2004.  His now famous words were, “there is not a Liberal America and a Conservative America… there is just a United States of America.”  Unity IS sorely needed in our country today.

This week, however, I have heard liberal pundits try to let the President off the hook by blaming the rancor on Republicans.  It was as if they have lived the last seven years with blinders on, ignoring any acts of disharmony perpetrated by President Obama.  Well, let me remind all of you vision-impaired partisans of the President’s contributions to our current contentious atmosphere.

Shortly after he was elected, the President told Republicans to “drop dead” in four ways.  First, he boasted that elections had consequences, and HE won.  I’m sure he was feeling full of himself.  He had a big majority in The House and a filibuster proof majority in The Senate.  He didn’t need the Republicans and he wanted to let them know it.  Drop dead #1.

Next, he said that Republicans could participate in the legislative process, but they, of course, would have to sit in the back seat.  This was particularly insensitive for obvious reasons, but again, he was cocky and wanted to put Republicans in their place.  Wow, even explaining that comment sounds incredibly insensitive.  Drop dead #2.

Then he went on Univision (the Hispanic TV Network) and called Republicans “the enemy”.  His exact words were, “We’re going to punish our enemies” in this next election, speaking quite obviously about American citizens who disagree with him.  This statement was so egregious that he later had to admit that it was probably not the best choice of words.  Drop dead #3.

Finally, he had Democrats pass Obamacare without a single Republican vote in either house of Congress.  They even had to resort to the reconciliation process in the Senate when Ted Kennedy died and they fell short of the 60 votes needed in the Senate to avoid a filibuster.  They only needed one Republican vote.  They could have included a couple of conservative ideas like tort reform or health savings accounts into their 2,700-page monstrosity to get some bipartisan support.  However, they chose to totally shun Republicans. Drop dead #4.

I’m sure that Republicans have been divisive in return.  Back in 2010, Mitch McConnell said his most important objective was to deny President Obama a second term.  I denounced that statement then and will continue to denounce vitriol from either side of the political spectrum.  The President, however, must take responsibility for his own divisiveness and recognize his special position as President to impact the atmosphere in Washington.  Let’s hope he will.