Obama Tags “Ideologically Rigid Factions” for “Dysfunction” in Congress

Posted by Tina

Darline Superville of the AP reported on remarks made by the President from a Newport, Rhode Island fundraising event last Friday. The President blamed Republicans in the House for a “dysfunctional” Congress. He said Republicans were, “…captive to an ideologically rigid, unproductive and cynical faction.”

What do you want to bet he meant the legislators elected with Tea Party support?

Just for fun, let’s pretend that the dysfunction doesn’t have anything to do with ideologically rigid or cynical left-wing groups or the fact that Harry Reid is playing blocker for all legislation passed in the republican House that the President doesn’t want to either accept or reject because he wants to maintain that above it all stance.

Let’s pretend Republicans really are captive to Tea Party ideals. What evil ideals do Tea Party groups in towns and cities across America want that will scare the pants right off the American people?

Most put taxes and tax reform at the top of their list but they also care about securing our border and individual rights. They believe our lawmakers should be mindful of the Constitution and our rights when they fashion legislation and increase our taxes. Take Obamacare as an example. It’s filled with targeted taxes, pages and pages of regulations, and government (taxpayer) subsidies for certain people who qualify. Some Americans win and other Americans lose. Tea Party 911 posits that James Madison, writing in the Federalist Papers 10, warned against such legislation because it responds to the will of certain factions of the people and against our liberties. Consider:

Obamacare Unconstitutional!
According to James Madison in Federalist Papers 10
by Donald Mellon – April 19, 2011

Federalist Number 10, by James Madison, written in 1787 explains how our Republican form of government is designed to protect the liberty of the citizens from the will of factions, defined as a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority, united and actuated by some common interest adverse to the rights of other citizens or to the interests of the community. If this characterizes a function of our Republican Government then how did we get Obamacare? Is our constitution incomplete, incorrect, or out of date? Are legislators acting unconstitutionally? How can citizens protect themselves from future usurpations of their liberty?

Federalist 10 is today recognized as one of the more important documents in American history. It has been cited by recent Supreme Court Judges as a source for defining the intent of the founders when creating that part of our Constitution concerning the structure of our Government. It was one of eighty five papers written by Madison, Hamilton and Jay that make up the Federalist Papers, which were published in newspapers in an attempt to persuade readers that the form of government defined in our Constitution was correct for the Union of the thirteen States. The principle argument in the paper is; a Republican form of government encompassing the entire Union where representatives are elected by the people would protect the liberty of the citizens and preserve the public good.

Hmmm…in this example the accusations made by the President against Republicans don’t seem to fit. His concerns DO fit the Democrats in Congress that delivered Obamacare from behind closed doors using coercion and bribery and corporatist alliances without participation by a single Republican representative of the people. Mr. Mellon continues:

A simple example of how our Republic was designed to protect the citizens against a faction is as follows. Suppose tobacco farmers in North Carolina through thought or corruption or whatever gained sufficient support in their state to pass a law requiring all individuals over 13 years of age to smoke tobacco. They then brought this desire to our Federal Republican Government. But here their interests would have minimal or no support from representatives from Maine, Texas, and everywhere else other than N.C. because the representatives from all other states considering the liberty of their constituents and the good of the rest of the country would never approve such a law at the national level. Therefore a large Republic will defeat the will of a faction if it is detrimental to the whole or part because of the character and merit of the representatives, the founders believed. (continues-worth reading)

Given the mounds of legislation and regulation our federal representatives have given us in the last 100 years I’d say factions and politicians have been colluding against the people and making sure the Congress remains captive to special interest rather than the general welfare! Sounds like the men and women we have elected have been of low character and we the people have failed to do anything about it! <b>Sounds like the Tea party is a group with the radical idea that our government has gotten too big for its britches and has forgotten that we are a free people, not subjects of the elites in Washington DC and their favorite <i>factions</i>.

Those who enjoy history can read Federalist # 10 and other founding documents here.

Tea Party groups share the ideals of smaller government, low taxes, a simplified tax code, and adherence to the Constitution. None of these are specific to a separate group of people or special interest and none would be detrimental to any US citizen. In fact, lowering taxes and simplifying the tax code would inspire innovation, create millions of jobs, and offer our young people hope for the future. It would spark a growing and vibrant economy and that would benefit all Americans.

Contrast SEIU Local 1021,  an organization of activists with very rigid healthcare ideology:

“Whereas, quality healthcare is a basic human right and social good; and Whereas, nearly one-third of every healthcare dollar is consumed in administrative costs and private insurers’ profits. Therefore, be it resolved that SEIU actively advocate and organize for the adoption of a Single-Payer healthcare system on both the national and state levels, modeled on an expanded and improved “Medicare for All” system.” RESOLUTION 305: SEIU 25th International Convention, May 28-30, 2012.

A fully publicly financed Single-Payer Health Care system in California and the Nation is what we want, as every other industrialized country in the world has.

These Americans have every right to assemble and petition their government but their demand is rigidly ideological and in some cases seen as directly beneficial to their members! Not all Americans want or would benefit from a single payer system and many believe that the administrative costs, indeed the costs for care, would be greater. Many believe a single payer system would ruin the quality of care. Some believe that we would experience a shortage of care givers as incentives and freedoms to practice are diminished. Does the single payer system the SEIU demands fall within the federalist warning of factions that usurp individual freedoms and choice? I think it does.

The Democrat Party is associated with thousands of organization and groups with special interest grievances that demand attention and loyalty to their causes. In addition Democrats answer to wealthy donors who through their sizable contributions hold the party captive to their rigid ideology and interests. But, I guess when the President or Democrats in Congress respond to factions…rigid factions…factions that refuse to compromise on immigration, marriage, contraception, the pipe line, coal, tax reform, social security reform, medicare reform….education vouchers…Obamacare it’s okay. Yep, to hear the President talk he and his fellow Democrats aren’t different and not captive to organizations like ACORN, La Raza, National Education Association, Greenpeace, SEIU, State of California educators, CEO’s, or the Teamsters.

The President can pretend he acts as our leader but let’s face it, he rigidly serves left-wing ideological factions…and so do most of the Democrats in Congress. As crisis after crisis occurs around the world President Obama spends his time asking for piles of cash from wealthy fat cat donors so he and his party can pander to a virtual fruit bowl of <i>rigid ideological factions that hold him captive.</i>

<B>If there is one group in America that has the interests of all Americans at heart it is the Tea Party which is simply a movement that believes in the same principles of freedom and individual rights that prompted our founders to write the Constitution.</b> The President is wrong when he blames the dysfunction of Congress for the failure of his leadership. If he was talking about Tea Party influence, maybe he should turn that criticism right back on his party that for decades has moved America away from individual freedom and rights and toward a socialist tyranny controlled by faction pleasing central planners in Washington DC.