PRESIDENT OBAMA, IDEALOGUE OR PRAGMATIST?

 

In response to assertions from political opponents, the President said in a recent speech that “he is not a particularly ideological person”. The definition of ideologue is “an advocate for, or adherent to, a given ideology”.  The president claims to be a pragmatist. Pragmatist is defined as a person “concerned with causes and effects or needs and results rather than ideas or theories”.

Mr. President, national polls have shown a growing trend for three years indicating that Americans believe that the U.S. is going in the wrong direction. Recent polls report that this belief is held by 90% of the country. Viewed against this backdrop your State Of The Union speech showed a remarkable adherence an ideology of redistribution of wealth.

I propose to put your assertion to a test using your actions instead of your words.

1)      When President Carter signed into law the bill requiring higher average mileage standards for automakers, the left claimed that it would decrease pollution and decrease our oil consumption. Every study of the results has shown that these claims were wrong. The government has continued to raise the mileage standard many times culminating with the 54.5 MPG average proposed by your administration. The only prediction about CAFÉ standards that has proven tragically correct is the increased death toll from accidents involving the lighter cars. A pragmatic person would look at the results and stop the failed program not double down on it.

2)      Increases in the minimum wage have resulted in fewer job opportunities 100% of the time. Yet your administration is recommending a doubling of the minimum wage during an unemployment crisis. A pragmatic person would look at the history of the effect of minimum wage hikes and lower the standard to increase job openings.

3)      Your administration is pushing CO2 reducing regulations through the EPA after the Congress reviewed the empirical data and came to the correct conclusion that CO2 is insignificant as a contributor to the greenhouse effect. 49 of NASA’s former scientists just sent an open letter to the head of NASA saying that the data does not support the conclusion that CO2 has a negative effect much less the 3.2% of it that is man caused. A pragmatic person would consider the empirical data before destroying the coal and gas industry. Review the effect of planetary orbital dynamics on the 100,000 year earth warming cycle before blaming humans and CO2.

4)      Gun control regulations effectively remove guns from honest people not criminals. The cities with the most restrictive anti-gun regulations also have the highest incidence of gun violence. Criminals interviewed after committing crimes with guns indicate that they prefer to ply their trade in communities where they know the people are not armed. It has been said that “god created man but Samuel Colt made them equal”. Mr. President, a small woman can defend herself against a large powerful attacker if she is armed and trained to use a firearm. A pragmatist would see this information and push for less gun control regulation.

5)      Wealth redistribution efforts by your administration over the last five years have succeeded in widening the gap between rich and poor Americans. Any pragmatic person would pivot toward pro-growth strategies and stop the insanity so why did you repeat the call for redistribution in your SOTU address.

6)      The healthcare law you pushed for is doing the opposite of everything you claimed it was intended to do. More people are uninsured, costs are going up drastically, people cannot keep their doctors or insurance plans and yet you refuse to accept the fact that it was your ideology that drove you to push for this disaster.

You dismiss dissenting points of view as being irrational and the product of lesser minds. A pragmatist looks at the facts. You surround yourself with a cadre of ideologues who tell you that you are so intelligent that you don’t need to listen to other points of view. This leads to hubris and a willingness to act unilaterally through executive orders Mr. President. The very thing you used to rail against when you were in the Senate.