Brain Lemon

The Obama administration's recent decision to betray our allies in Eastern Europe and scrap plans for missile defense systems in the Czech Republic and Poland has brought a frightening prospect back to mind – the realization that the administration simply does not share the same national priorities as most of America.  Most people understand that Iran poses a threat and Russia is just a bully, but to those serving around Obama neither of these appears to be the case.  In fact, this administration has shown a strange and disturbing tendency to see our allies as expendable, and our rivals as deserving deference and capitulation.  Instead of seeing our goal abroad as promoting freedom and democracy, as America's goal has traditionally been, the Obama team seems determined to empower dictators and behave as if America was the source of all the world's problems.

The administration's tendency to buck traditional allies can be seen right away with its behavior towards the Brits.  Obama officials sent back a bust of Winston Churchill, insulted the Prime Minister with a pathetic gift of Region 1 DVDs, and offered the Queen an iPod full of Obama speeches.  Further evidence can be seen in Obama's highly troubling treatment of Israel, who for decades has counted on the US as her closest ally.  Instead, Obama seems intent on alienating Israel and treating its defensive actions as equivalent to mass terror by Hamas and Hezbollah.  Finally, the administration and Congressional allies have stopped trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia, and others from going forward.  More examples are easily found, but the end point is this – Obama and his officials see no need to support countries that have long been our staunchest of allies.

On the other hand, the administration has shown a disturbing tendency to support and concede to some of our more aggressive rivals, and a strange level of support for tyrants, especially those who happen to lean left.  Obama has bowed over completely to the Russians, and still intends to offer Iran direct negotiations no matter what incendiary language or aggression is used.  Even when Iranian officials used oppressive and violent means to stomp dissent, no objection was raised.  Obama himself seemed more than a little chummy with Hugo Chavez, and sat idly by while Ortega lambasted the US.  He has taken the unprecedented step of demanding that Honduras reinstate President Zelaya, effectively ordering the country to ignore its own constitution and hand control over to a Chavez wannabe.  None of these actions can be explained unless one understands and concedes that Obama officials see many of these enemies as potential partners, or at least powers that are easier to agree with than oppose.

All of this couples with Obama's domestic positions to create a scary picture indeed.  That picture is of a group of people that are radically at odds with most of this country and our traditions.  It also shows an administration that does not take national security seriously and seems more concerned with investigating the CIA to settle political scores than with keeping us safe.  Truly, the danger of Obama and his administration extends both to our allies and to Americans here at home.  His radical left positions are not in line with American sovereignty, tradition, or security, and must be opposed.

Reading all the various coverage on the Van Jones firing, I noticed a few things that I thought warranted pointing out.  I think they show some interesting things about the left.

• One word used across the board is "smear."  As one poster at The Corner pointed out, a "smear" used to mean an untrue, false attack on someone.  An example given is Ted Kennedy's rant against Robert Bork, which had no basis in reality.  In contrast, the Van Jones attacks, at least by Glenn Beck, were essentially playing videos, reading words, and doing research.  No one is disputing the facts – that he signed a 9/11 Truther petition, is a self-avowed Communist, that he said some not-nice things about Republicans, or any of the other radical quotes and statements.  These things are therefore accepted as true and real.
• In fact, continuing the above point, the progressives seem to actually be defending some of those statements, or at least they are not bothered by them.  What this essentially means is that they at the very least find acceptable his views on race, redistribution of wealth, Communist revolution, and perhaps even entertaining the idea that Bush was behind 9/11.  This from a group of people who go to great pains to deny they are socialists, Communists, and Marxists.  With the spirited defense of Jones' views, they are essentially agreeing to them.
• Further, the whole Van Jones story makes it very clear, and freely admitted by progressive defenders, that the environmental/green movement is intrinsically political and deeply tied in with Marxist notions of "social justice."  This is a point that has been made many times, each time denied by the left who claim that it is simply about protecting the Earth.  Now it is clear in both his open statements and their defense that this is not really a contested issue at all.
• Finally, the whole issue of race, both in regards to the progressive mindset regarding it as well as Obama's own views, comes into focus greatly.  Van Jones made no secret that he favored widespread reparations – he just decided to pursue them under the "green movement."  Even more, he clearly bought into the same anti-white ideas screamed by Jeremiah Wright – that whites deliberately poison minorities.  This backwards mindset is alien to most Americans and very destructive, and Obama clearly at the very least finds it acceptable in several cases.

In short, I think both the selection of Van Jones initially, as well as the progressives strong defense of him and his ideals, shed an incredible light on their true beliefs.  They are perfectly at peace with radical, socialist views on the environment, race, and economics.  They find the 9/11 Truth movement to be legitimate and with merit.  They admit the green movement is political in nature.  And perhaps most importantly, they do not dispute a single quote, or offer any factual defense of anything Van Jones has said.  I think this is a crucial moment where the left has finally shown its true colors.

The last few months have been educational for America. In them, the myth of Obama has quickly become reality. As we sit here nearly eight months on, I can say without a doubt that everything good about Candidate Obama has been a complete let-down, and nearly everything bad about him has come true in startling ways.

While running for President, Obama tried hard to play a moderate to most crowds. He promised bipartisanship, unity, and tolerance. He claimed to be part of a "new politics" that would put aside all the stupid games. To many people, he represented a cool, modern approach to politics that would fix problems, behave responsibly, and welcome various viewpoints. By any measure, this has been a massive letdown. Despite giving him a fair shake upon his inauguration, he has let the country down in every way imaginable. Things are far more partisan, spending is out of control, our enemies still threaten us, and problems like racism apparently still exist.

Of course, many understood that all of it was a lie to begin with. We found it impossible to believe that a man who spent his life marinating in the most vile, dirty politics could somehow be clean and pure. We found it a tough sell that someone who spent his hours surrounded by Communists, Marxists, and the like somehow had no such feelings and found those people as objectionable as the rest of us. We looked at his record, his friends, his wife, and everything he said in the past and concluded that this man could not possibly be what he claimed to be, but was in fact a radical, dangerous figure who did not particularly care for America as it has been traditionally defined. In fact, this suspicion have been verified in a terrifying manner. There is no satisfaction that comes with being proven right here, as most of us were praying to be wrong. We had open minds but even the most optimistic have been saddened.

While certainly this revelation does represent a profound danger to the country, the good news is that Obama has now been revealed. He simply could not contain his zeal for massive government and political payback. His first major legislation was spending $787 billion in pork. Then he took the unprecedented step of taking over GM and Chrysler. Still not content, he made efforts to massively increase energy prices, eliminate the secret ballot, and take over health care, all in less than a year. Other examples of far-left arrogance are manifold, but the point is this – no one with any sense still thinks he is anything resembling moderate or responsible. He will continue his attempts to "remake" America, but now the public is, for the most part, aware of his true self. Perhaps the Myth of Obama is now over.