TREASON

Treason - the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance…with that defined…follow me.

The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. As an African American male I knew…at that moment the psychological impact that these four years would have on my 11 month old daughter. What seemed impossible to my father, grandfather and myself would be nothing out of the norm for her; her president was black and so was she.

But little did I know…on that same proud day that 66,882,230 million Americans voted to see and millions more patriotically supported, at a private dinner in Washington at the Caucus Room (a high-end D.C. steakhouse), top Republican lawmakers and strategists were conjuring up ways to submarine his presidency. So I’m up all night watching inaugural ball after ball, Beyonce singing Etta James’ classic “At Last”, and these guys are plotting on tearing down the guy we are currently lifting up.

The guest list that night (which was just over 15 people in total) included Republican Reps. Eric Cantor (Va.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Paul Ryan (Wis.), Pete Sessions (Texas), Jeb Hensarling (Texas), Pete Hoekstra (Mich.) and Dan Lungren (Calif.), along with Republican Sens. Jim DeMint (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), John Ensign (Nev.) and Bob Corker (Tenn.). The non-lawmakers present included Newt Gingrich, several years removed from his presidential campaign, and Frank Luntz, the long-time Republican wordsmith.

For several hours they plotted out ways to not just win back political power, but to also put the brakes on Obama's legislative platform. "If you act like you're the minority, you're going to stay in the minority," author Robert Draper ("Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives) quotes McCarthy as saying. "We've gotta challenge them on every single bill and challenge them on every single campaign." Show united and unyielding opposition to the president’s economic policies. Begin attacking vulnerable Democrats on the airwaves. Win the spear point of the House in 2010. Jab Obama relentlessly in 2011. Win the White House and the Senate in 2012. "You will remember this day," Draper reports Newt Gingrich as saying on the way out. "You’ll remember this as the day the seeds of 2012 were sown."

Ok. So I’m still sporting my “Yes We Can” tee, having thoughtful conversations with friends about the impact of this day on our kids and this is what’s happening while we talk. A possible upcoming colorblind generation that will only know of racism and bigotry in textbooks, and this is what the losers of the 2008 election are doing; plotting a way back to power ala Malcolm Little. The month of the inauguration, the US lost 820,000 jobs and you mean to tell me that the guy elected to lead the country out of this mess is being plotted upon for “down the road” political gain; not for the benefit of the American people who at that moment had lost more the 2.6 million jobs; no. not that; but so republicans can gain power once again.

So eight days later, Minority Whip Cantor would hold the House Republicans to a unanimous “No” against Obama’s economic stimulus plan; $831 billion dollars (one third tax cuts) with a primary objective to save and create jobs almost immediately. The first National Republican Congressional Committee attack ads would run in less than two months. Mitch McConnell said in October 2010 that his party's primary goal in the next Congress was to make Obama a one-term president. Oppose the new 2010 health care law even though Obama’s plan was originally their idea in opposition to Clinton’s 1993 proposal. Oppose cap and trade even though Reagan conceived the first cap-and-trade program, Bush 41 passed “The Clean Air Act” in 1990, and while running for president in 2008 John McCain proposed to reduce global warming pollution via a cap-and-trade program. The Dream Act Immigration reform had been touted by Republicans for decades. Their savior Reagan granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in the 1980′s…Obama likes it; OPPOSE IT. Republicans supported TARP when they helped pass it in response to the economic collapse in 2008. President Bush even signed the legislation into law. But since it’s been up to the guiding hands of President Obama to deal with TARP, Republicans have since revoked their support and have been highly critical even as they take credit for it when presenting stimulus checks to their local constituents. Bail Out of the Auto Industry, Republicans once supported this too but abandoned it once President Obama called for it. Republicans have always believed in strong infrastructure and infrastructure spending, until now. Oppose an extension of unemployment insurance. Oppose Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Oppose Payroll Tax Cut and damn…I thought they loved tax cuts. The Nuclear START Treaty, financial disclosure, deficit spending, environmental protection……..overkill???? Ok…you get it.

At every turn they opposed our president out of sheer politics…nevermind what they may have had in common or Obama’s willingness to latch on to some of their historically supported proposals. Hell no. You like it. We don’t. The worse off the citizens of the United States of America…the more likely they are to blame the current Commander and Chief. For God sake, who will listen to someone explain the plotted demise of a leader step by step, situation by situation. We will just point out the current economic climate, scream failure!!, and hope that inside all that noise…no one will ask us what we have done. Because the true answer is “nothing”…we have done nothing to contribute; we’ve been the opposition…the derailer. We have not operated in the interest of the people. If Obama succeeds, we don’t succeed. You have no need for us, (as McCarthy refered to in “stay in the minority") he will get the credit and admiration…we will be on the sideline. Sure the Nation would be happier, less polarized & divided, Congress’ approval rating wouldn’t be a dismal 17 percent; America back on track BUT WE WANT THE POWER. AND BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Overt acts, culprits and their willingness to throw the country as a whole under the bus if it means a negatively charged electorate ready to throw out Obama. Its all here. The testicular fortitude they must have to throw around words like “Country First” and “Believe in America” if this is who they really are. It’s induced failure, it’s temporarily absolving oneself from principle for a temporary goal…stepping on America on your way back to the top of America. They really don’t care if you like them, it doesn’t matter…they know their your only alternative.

I Thank God that I pay attention.
Obama 2012.
-rb