I, along with many people reading this post, was appalled
when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “What difference does it make?”
when asked about the importance of knowing why those that attacked the
consulate in Benghazi were out on the evening of 9/11/2012. (1) Mrs. Clinton, it does
matter when four Americans, including our ambassador, are murdered.
Now with a trifecta of scandals facing this administration,
we need to take a moment to discuss why I believe a thorough investigation of
these scandals is necessary. This is not
a witch-hunt but a search for truth and potential incompetency and corruption within
our government. In our democratic
republic where we elect people to represent our interests, honesty and
transparency is important for these leaders in government are there to serve us
not the other way around.
Article 2 section 2 of our constitution makes the President
of the United States Commander in Chief of the military. (2) As part of that duty, the Office of the
President is responsible for the safety of those sent to other countries
conducting business for the United States.
When President Obama sent our ambassador to Benghazi, he became
responsible for him and his staff's, safety.
As we have now been able to determine, Benghazi was known to be a dangerous
place. The ousting of Khadafy from power
had left a leadership void. Our State
department should have either provided additional security for the consulate or
closed it completely until tensions eased.
The first amendment to the constitution states, “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government
for a redress of grievances.” (2)
The Tea Party formed in February 2009 as a grassroots effort
because many in the country had grievances over the Affordable Care Act aka
Obamacare along with other policies proposed by the Obama Administration. (3) These individuals participated in rallies at
the Capital as well as flooding the phone lines and emails of Senators and
Representatives in an effort to stop passage of Obamacare. When Congress passed and the President signed
the bill into law anyway, they began a campaign to vote out those that voted
for the legislation. Their efforts
resulted in a change of power in the House of Representatives from Democrat
control to Republican control. They also
did away with the super majority in the Senate.
(4)
Many believed this momentum would carry forward to the 2012
Presidential election but it seemed that the Tea Party was ineffective and
Obama won reelection. However, when the
IRS admitted to targeting groups filing for tax-exempt status that contained
the words tea party of patriot, we began to understand why tea party organizations may have been ineffective in 2012. (5)
These groups were only exercising their first amendment
right to petition a redress of grievances, in this case the unconstitutionality
of Obamacare. For their efforts, the
people in these organizations faced IRS audits and having to answer many
probing questions (6)
including the content of their prayers. (7) This scandal alone shows the total disregard
this administration has for the Constitution and the rights of the citizens of
this country, especially those that disagree with President Obama.
Similarly, the AP scandal is a violation of the first amendment. I may not agree with much of what the AP
writes but they are part of the press in our country and as such, have the
right to write and express their opinions.
By taping their phones and securing their phone records without any
court order, the Administration was violating the AP’s first amendment right to
free press.
The current trifecta of scandals is not the problem; it is a
symptom of a problem that has been going on in our nation for some time. Career politicians now believe the people are
there to serve their needs instead of serving the people that elected
them. Our founders drafted the
constitution with its division of power, checks and balances, and Bill of
Rights to protect citizens against tyrannical government like the one they
fought with for their independence.
Our current crop of career politicians have managed to set
up a soft tyranny but it is not too late to change course. We must keep the pressure on law enforcement,
our senators, and representatives to investigate these scandals until they
uncover the whole truth and those involved in them, even if it turns out
to be the President. We then, as a
nation, will have the opportunity to rid our nation of this cancer of soft
tyranny and restore responsible constitutional government that serves the
people instead of demanding that the people serve it.
1. Knox, Oliver. Clinton faces continued
criticism in afternoon Benghazi hearing. news.yahoo.com. [Online] Yahoo
News, January 23, 2013. [Cited: May 17, 2013.]
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/clinton-face-lawmakers-benghazi-attack-090039480--politics.html.
2. Hillsdale
College. The Constitution of the United States of America. [book auth.]
Hillsdale College. The U.S. Constitution: A Reader. Hillsdale MI :
Hillsdale College Press, 2012.
3. Rowen, Beth.
History of the Tea Party Movement. www.infoplease.com. [Online]
Infoplease. [Cited: 17 2013, May .]
http://www.infoplease.com/us/government/tea-party-history.html.
4. New York Times.
Election 2010. elections.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times.
[Cited: May 17, 2013.] http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/house.
5. Goldfarb, Juliet
Eilperin and Zachary A. IRS officials in Washington were involved in
targeting of conservative groups. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The
Washington Post, May 13, 2013. [Cited: May 14, 2013.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-denounces-reported-irs-targeting-of-conservative-groups/2013/05/13/a0185644-bbdf-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_print.html.
6. David Nather,
Tarini Parti, and Byron Tau. The IRS wants YOU — to share everything. www.politico.com.
[Online] Politico. [Cited: May 17, 2013.]
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/the-irs-wants-you-to-share-everything-91378_Page2.html.
7. Spiering,
Charlie. Congressman: IRS asked pro-life group about 'the content of their
prayers'. washingtonexaminer.com. [Online] The Washington Examiner, May
17, 2013. [Cited: May 17, 2013.]
http://washingtonexaminer.com/congressman-irs-asked-pro-life-group-about-the-content-of-their-prayers/article/2529924.
Additional links:
Benghazi
IRS
AP
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