Commentary on Obama Criticism

I know that some of you have been upset with my occasional commentaries. I can only hope that you cut me some slack. After all, we can all disagree, but that is the traditional American way.

As for me, I am left in a quandary over all the criticism of President Obama. To begin with, he bailed out some powerful companies that has helped to reestablish our economy, and those who opposed it need to be held accountable for a public apology.

While oil production in the United States has increased to the point where we are now number one in that world category, Republicans scream to build the Keystone Pipeline. Though they say that it will temporarily increase jobs, why don’t they sponsor a bill in Congress that would do the same thing on a massive scale with infrastructure repair. On the other hand, that would require them to do something, and it appears they have forgotten how to perform that simple act.

Furthermore, the stock market has shot to record numbers, and Fox News and its right-wing radio patrons would have us ignore any praise for our President. I’d like to ask them, “If President Obama is such a hazard, how did this happen?”

And what happened to the claims that President Obama dropped the ball on allowing Ebola to threaten Americans in our own land? Rather foolish in hindsight, wasn’t it?

And while Congressional Republicans have been blaming the President for years concerning the attack that killed our Ambassador in Benghazi, they now quietly admit that there is no evidence to support those claims. Again, no apology, just quick allegations about another meaningless transgression.

In regard to Obamacare, Republicans hate it and want to repeal it. Despite the fact that it has provided 10 million more Americans with health insurance; coverage for young people up to the age of 26 if their parents are covered; a requirement that insurance companies return premiums if they are passing a certain monetary level regarding claims actually paid out, Republicans in Washington want to return to yesteryear where over 50 million Americans could not afford health care. They remind me of that old Christy Minstrels album entitled,“Advance to the Rear”.

Additionally, for 6 years Republicans in Congress have done nothing when it comes to passing legislation affecting registration or meaningful gun control. The Tea Party people worship at the altar of the NRA despite the fact that innocent people are being gunned down across the nation on a daily basis.

In the end, we could protect the right to bear arms by simply requiring meaningful background checks and proper registration. It is embarrassing that Congressional Republicans demand that metal detectors be put outside their office buildings to protect them from people bearing firearms while they insist that the rest of America live with that threat. If guns exist only for one’s personal safety, why can’t we bring them into Congressional buildings, not to mention county offices around this country?

Finally, when it comes to President Obama’s efforts to do something meaningful about immigration reform, I’m sick and tired of hearing the word “amnesty” being described as if it is anti-American. After all, what do Republicans think happened to all the Southerners who were engaged in acts of treason for participating in the Civil War? Despite the fact that they began a war that resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 Americans, nearly all of them were given amnesty, including Generals like Robert E. Lee and William Longstreet. With all due respect, if amnesty was totally acceptable for those leading rebellion from the antebellum South in 1865, it is totally acceptable for Hispanic immigrants in 2014.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.