-By Warner Todd Huston
Shocking video of Obama campaign promises that he wantonly violated with this stimulus bill!
We were told by every love struck denizen of the Old Media that Barack Obama was bringing a “new” politics to Washington. He was, we were assured, a candidate that was post-partisan, post-racial, and anti-business-as-usual. We were told we could bank on his campaign promises and that he wasn’t like any other politician.
Unfortunately, President Obama seems to have summarily dismissed the promises of candidate Obama, at least as far as this stimulus bill is concerned.
In a video of a 2007 campaign stop, candidate Obama promised a number of things. He said no pork would be allowed in any bill he signed. He promised “no more secrecy” when he became president. He said all bills would be on-line for five days so that the people could see what was in it. He spoke against lobbyists as if they were the bane of politics.
OK. Now he won — I know this because he likes to remind us of that fact. But I am left wondering exactly when Barack H. Obama decided to turn against Barack H. Obama? I ask this question because of this particular video, one that pertains specifically to this so-called stimulus bill.
So, after seeing the video, one cannot deny that Obama offered great and soaring promises. But, it makes one wonder… what happened with this stimulus bill? Where is the treatment of this bill that Obama promised would be de rigeur in D.C. once he became president? Obama violated nearly every promise he made with this bill. Unless, of course, he never meant any of the sentiment he offered as campaign fodder to his unthinking followers on the campaign trail?
Obama treated lobbyists as if they were the greatest evil in politics. He continually invoked them as the worst aspect of our system. Even in this clip he claimed he’d make proscriptions on them. Yet, since becoming president he’s filled his administration with former lobbyists and many thousands more have streamed to a Washington that accepted them with open arms.
Then, in this clip, he promised to make it “impossible” for pork barrel projects to be snuck into bills. But this stimulus bill is well known to be more than half pork barrel projects. Have we heard even a cross word from the Obama administration about this bill so stuffed with pork?
He also promised here that every pork barrel project would appear on-line as that “disinfectant” of “sunlight” that would hold Washington accountable. So, where is the great website showing us the pork in this so-called stimulus bill? We all know Obama has not tried in any way to shine “sunlight” to “disinfect” this stimulus bill. In fact, he has urged quick and hasty passage because we are in an “emergency. “
And what of that claim of “no more secrecy”?
That we can also see was an obvious lie. After all, not only did the public not get a glimpse of how this bill was debated but not even the Republicans in Congress were included in crafting it. On top of that, no one in Congress, much less the administration, even had time to read the thing before the Democrats were trying to force a vote. So, why the secrecy and haste here? What of Obama’s promises?
Additionally, Obama promised a five-day review period of on-line viewing of any bill. Did Obama host this bill on-line before it was pushed through Congress? Even for one day, much less five? Ah, but the weasel words on this one will be that it is on-line for five days before he signs it. But, you see, that is utterly meaningless because it has already been pushed through Congress by that point. Seeing it before he’s going to sign it anyway doesn’t do anyone any good. Seeing it before Congress votes on it, on the other hand, gives America time to stop or support it.
Obama promised that bills such as this would have an on-line listing of who would benefit, too. So do we have a great on-line listing hosted by the White House of all the groups that will benefit from the pork in this stimulus bill?
It all adds up to a President Obama that seems blissfully unaware of a single thing that candidate Obama ever said.
… or a president that doesn’t care what the candidate said.
Transcript of campaign appearance
(My bold for emphasis)
I’ll also institute an absolute gift ban so that no registered lobbyist can curry favor with members of my administration based on how much they can spend on a fancy dinner. I’ll make our government open and transparent so that anyone can ensure that our business is the people’s business. Justice Louis Brandeis once said “Sunlight is the greatest disinfectant,” and as president I am going to make it impossible for congressmen or lobbyists to slip pork barrel projects or corporate welfare into laws when no one’s looking because when I’m president meetings where laws are written will be more open to the public… no more secrecy, that’s a commitment I make to you as president. No more secrecy!
And, when there’s a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you the public will have five days to look on-line and find out what’s in it before I sign it so that you know what your government’s doing. When there are meetings between lobbyists and a government agency we’ll put as many as pos… as many of those meetings as possible on-line for every American to watch. When there’s a tax bill being debated in Congress you will now the names of the corporations that would benefit and how much money they would get. And we will put every corporate tax break and every pork barrel project on-line for every American to see, you will know who asked for them and you can decide whether your representative is actually representing you!
There is a final question that comes to mind concerning this campaign video. Where are the many media outlets playing this endlessly to show the difference between the actions of a president and his campaign rhetoric? Would the press be touting this video that they surely have access to if Obama was a Republican?
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, Human Events Magazine, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
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