Obama's America

Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: As I watched the evening news and thought more about Barack Obama's press conference yesterday, I began thinking about how Obama's reaction to the Sandy Hook shootings reflected the "fundamental transformation" of America that he is desperately trying to achieve. The way the debate over the future of Second Amendment rights is unfolding fits a pattern that Obama has followed repeatedly over the last four years.

When the Obama Administration began, it used the economic meltdown as an excuse to massively expand the government. Remember Rahm Emanuel's infamous quip, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste"? He added, "This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not do before." That's how we ended up with an $800 billion stimulus bill that dramatically expanded the budgets of every bloated bureaucracy.

Now a despicable crime in Newtown, where children were brutally murdered, is being used by the left as the latest "opportunity to do things that you could not do before" -- namely act on the left's long-term goal of disarming the law-abiding public. But liberals are often uninterested in disarming criminals. As a state senator, Barack Obama opposed tougher penalties for gun crimes committed in schools!

Demonizing Disagreement
Then there is the false claim by Obama that he is seeking "a national conversation." How many times have we heard that in the past four years? A conversation or dialogue insinuates that reasonable people will discuss a problem and look for solutions.

But Obama and his leftist allies immediately attempt to demonize and marginalize anyone who holds conservative views. In the early years of the administration, if you were against Obama's big spending initiatives you were accused of wanting to kick elderly nursing home patients out onto the streets or forcing children with disabilities to fend for themselves.

When it comes to guns, where is the "national conversation?" In his remarks yesterday, Obama said that members of Congress are going to have to decide "what's more important -- doing whatever it takes to get an A grade from the gun lobby" or "giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for first grade?"

In President Obama's mind, that is evidently a fair description of how pro-Second Amendment congressmen and women think. With little kids on stage, Obama essentially said, "If you don't agree with me, the only thing that could possibly be motivating you is fear of the gun lobby."

Playing On Emotions
Obama also uses emotionalism to establish an impossible goal. This is done so that even if liberals win the debate, it's not over. They will come back for more.

During the Obamacare debate, liberals declared that no one should have to go without healthcare because they can't afford it. Like a lot of the liberal agenda, it may sound good, but it is impractical. When Obamacare fails, liberals won't admit they were wrong and repeal it. They will simply demand more -- more spending, higher taxes and even bigger government. By the way, they already are.

What does CBS anchor Bob Schieffer have to add to the "national conversation" on guns? He suggested that defeating the NRA now is somehow akin to defeating the Nazis.

According to Schieffer, "unless we figure out a way to make sure that something like Newtown never happens again, we're not the country that we once were."

It would be nearly impossible to guarantee something like Newtown will never happen again. To do so would require a police state, and that would guarantee that we would never be America again!

No Respect For Rule Of Law
Lastly, I have been struck by the left's regular hostility to the Constitution and the procedures it establishes. Do you remember Nancy Pelosi's dismissive reaction when she was asked the constitutional justification for Obamacare's individual mandate? She had no answer. Her only response was to feign outrage by asking, "Are you serious?" In other words, "How dare you question me!"

Last month, a Georgetown law professor suggested that we just dump the Constitution -- "with all its archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions" -- in order to "try extricating ourselves from constitutional bondage." At least he is honest.

More recently, CNN's pompous Piers Morgan mocked a conservative guest and his "little book." That "little book" happened to be a copy of the Constitution.

Let me state a truth that I think most of us know, but that a lot of Americans who aren't paying as much attention don't realize or appreciate: If the left could wave a magic wand -- Obama, liberal judges, professors -- it would repeal the Second Amendment, and no one would be allowed to carry a firearm except for government officials.

Liberals can't do that, but they are unwilling to do the appropriate thing, which would be to state publicly that they don't think Second Amendment is a good idea and they want to repeal it. Fundamentally, they don't respect the rule of law. If they did, they would have to admit that the Constitution matters.

The Solution
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, elections have consequences. Yes, we face tremendous challenges on a host of fronts. But we cannot govern unless we first win elections. That's why I formed Campaign for Working Families -- to help elect men and women who will fight for our values. I am not giving up, my friends. We have some good opportunities in 2014!
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Gary Bauer is is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families where his articles are also shared.

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