Hmmm…. any surprise that Andrew Hasek, Chr. of MN College Republicans wrote a Letter to Editor citing the four scandals that created HIS dis-enchantment with Obama? Just the fact he positioned he was disappointed and disillusioned is a pretty far stretch for a leader of College Republicans. I would guess he NEVER was a fan…..but perhaps he indeed was a youth for Obama that became disillusioned and jumped over to the Republican Youth Movement and is now the Chair of the MN college organization. I am not taking the time to do that fact-check and perhaps that makes me as irresponsible as he is.
But despite that I do have a few facts to share on the scandals he is using as his “EVIDENCE”:
IRS scandal was initiated by a CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN IRS employee who testified in Congress he on June 6 or 8 that he was just trying to do his job more efficiently and it was not an Obama direction: So Andrew, is that REPUBLICAN lying to protect the President or is the scandal DEAD? Word from the Congressional review is that it is dead.
Benghazi Terrorist Attacks…so far we know two things – the lack of more security was caused by REPUBLICANS denying funding to increase it and a talking points scandal involving both REPUBLICAN and Democratic staff in the Executive Branch…Add to that a factor of human error which exists in any situation and fast-moving crisis. Word for now is that concerned Republicans have not given up and are digging -sure that they will find what Hillary did wrong…some day.
My thoughts on that one? The Benghazi scandal had some motivation in the desire to discredit not only Obama but also Hillary as a potential candidate for President in 2016. It did not catch on; now we have rumblings of additional “Hillary” issues with personal actions of her secret service protection. And I expect since that is not headline news today, it will peter out as well-only to be replaced by some new found scandal in hopes of ensuring that Republican hopes for taking over in 2016 will not be stymied by her. Frankly, I don’t know why she even would want to put her family through more of this. And were I a Republican, I would think twice. You all spent 8 years trying to diminish the Clintons and all you accomplished was a growing spiral of disarray in your OWN party.
Justice Department Collection of Journalist Phone Records – who knows for sure on this one, it flared up…the Press are certainly engaged and looking for more but so far, all we have is silence…..so, you could be right in your criticism but the silence seems to signal the scandal balloon may have burst. However, the anti-Obama press created by it has done its damage and certainly could be influencing youth opinion.
Government Surveillance– Oh, you mean the program initiated by the REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT BUSH with actual wiretapping that was stopped by concerned Democrats and REPUBLICANS ; was changed with bi-partisan support and became the Patriot Act voted into law by Congress and continues to be reviewed and renewed by Congress on a regular basis? That law and those executive actions overseen by a conservative court? The phone number data base that can only be associated with a name after showing just cause and receiving a court order to do so? And just cause is that it is a number that is in frequent contact with na identified terrorist suspect? Pretty far-reaching, I would say. If you have been caught in that dragnet, then I guess you need to take responsibility. You should not be working with the terrorists.
Or do you mean Prism? Definitely to find the guilty party, look in the mirror. If you are concerned about your own privacy, remember that you signed a contract with every single social media platform you participate in that gives the provider PERMISSION to share data with the US Government. So this does not seem to have teeth – although it certainly does suggest we need more dialog.
All that aside, I am not dismissing the need for the continuing discussion of security vs. privacy. My previous blog posted yesterday reinforces my concern and my continuing quest to clarify what IS ok and what IS NOT ok. And as a concerned citizen, I will continue to fact-check, learn as much as I can, dig for answers on things that do not make sense and ponder over the future of not only the US but the world in view of the NEW DIGITAL AGE and how it is shaping our future. I only ask that others do the same, as only then do shared differences of opinion create an honest dialog from which we all can learn, reach consensus and move forward.
(And Yes, the highlighting of Republican throughout was done on purpose to show both parties/all citizens have a hand in what one group is calling the OBAMA SCANDALS)