Peter Lemiska
A eulogy for America
By Peter Lemiska
The long-awaited election is finally over. Half the country is elated, and the other half is numb. During the weeks leading up to the election, Republicans had been encouraged by pollsters and political analysts, who confidently announced that no President in recent history won re-election with a national unemployment rate over 7.2 percent. They showed poll after poll indicating that a significant majority of Americans believe we are on the wrong track. They pointed out that uncommitted voters inevitably break for the challenger in the final moments. They said it's all about voter turnout, and concluded Republicans were much more likely to show up at the polls.
This should not have been a close election. All things considered, Barack Obama should have been easily defeated, especially by a challenger so experienced and imminently competent as Mitt Romney.
Now that the contentious campaign is over, there will be calls for reconciliation and unity, but they will fall on deaf ears. The divisiveness fueled by four years of class warfare and petty politics is not likely to heal anytime soon. And now that Obama has been given four more years, unencumbered by political considerations, he is free to impose his radical ideology with reckless abandon. It will only expand the schism. Any hope of reuniting the country vanished with Tuesday's election.
We all want a prosperous America, but there are dark days ahead for the country. Obamacare remains intact, and most Americans will be stunned at the resulting higher costs and lower quality of care. Small businesses will curtail hiring because of its impact. Scandals like Solyndra, Fast and Furious, and Benghazi will remain buried. More will occur. The national debt will continue to skyrocket, as entitlements expand, and our country cannonballs toward bankruptcy. More liberal justices will be appointed to the Supreme Court. Congress and the Constitution will become less relevant as Obama imposes more of his will on the country through Executive Order. The country will be flooded with illegal aliens as our borders disintegrate, and the Democrats will have established a solid voting bloc and dream constituency — a majority of Americans totally dependent on government.
And something else has escaped the attention of America during this heated campaign. Like the Democrats, Iran is undoubtedly ecstatic about the election results. Ahmadinejad has heard Obama's empty threats over Iran's nuclear ambitions for four years. He knows that the use of force by this country, contrary to Obama's endless warnings, is off the table. As he continues to develop a nuclear weapon, unimpeded by the United States, our closest friends in that region are coming to understand that they are on their own. A confrontation between Iran and Israel is almost a certainty, and Iran has already promised to retaliate against America in that event. Despite Obama's best efforts to hide from this issue, America will be drawn in.
Obama's election in 2008 might have been attributed to a naïve electorate that saw a new kind of politician, one filled with inspiration and hope. Or perhaps it was nothing more than mindless enthusiasm generated by America's first African-American President. With this election, we now know that the country has fundamentally changed. It's been remolded by Socialists and Communists who have wormed their way into our government, the news media, and our education system. The younger generation has been particularly influenced. One poll shows that 60 percent of the youth vote went to Obama.
This election suggests that the America of past generations is gone. The Obama supporters have forgotten, or never learned those values that made the country great, like hard work, personal responsibility, and selflessness. They have long ago forgotten the inspirational words of John F. Kennedy, Democratic leader from a bygone era, who called for some of that selflessness when he proclaimed, "Ask not what your country can do for you..." That's exactly what today's voters are asking. They are inspired by promises of free contraceptives, free health care, and free education. In fact, they demand nothing less than cradle-to-tomb care guaranteed by the government, and funded by the taxpayer.
There was another world leader from Kennedy's era who comes to mind. He said something not particularly inspirational, but just as memorable. In 1956, Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR, predicted the demise of Capitalism and free enterprise, announcing to the West, "We will bury you." Fifty six years later, his prediction has come to pass.
© Peter Lemiska
November 8, 2012
The long-awaited election is finally over. Half the country is elated, and the other half is numb. During the weeks leading up to the election, Republicans had been encouraged by pollsters and political analysts, who confidently announced that no President in recent history won re-election with a national unemployment rate over 7.2 percent. They showed poll after poll indicating that a significant majority of Americans believe we are on the wrong track. They pointed out that uncommitted voters inevitably break for the challenger in the final moments. They said it's all about voter turnout, and concluded Republicans were much more likely to show up at the polls.
This should not have been a close election. All things considered, Barack Obama should have been easily defeated, especially by a challenger so experienced and imminently competent as Mitt Romney.
Now that the contentious campaign is over, there will be calls for reconciliation and unity, but they will fall on deaf ears. The divisiveness fueled by four years of class warfare and petty politics is not likely to heal anytime soon. And now that Obama has been given four more years, unencumbered by political considerations, he is free to impose his radical ideology with reckless abandon. It will only expand the schism. Any hope of reuniting the country vanished with Tuesday's election.
We all want a prosperous America, but there are dark days ahead for the country. Obamacare remains intact, and most Americans will be stunned at the resulting higher costs and lower quality of care. Small businesses will curtail hiring because of its impact. Scandals like Solyndra, Fast and Furious, and Benghazi will remain buried. More will occur. The national debt will continue to skyrocket, as entitlements expand, and our country cannonballs toward bankruptcy. More liberal justices will be appointed to the Supreme Court. Congress and the Constitution will become less relevant as Obama imposes more of his will on the country through Executive Order. The country will be flooded with illegal aliens as our borders disintegrate, and the Democrats will have established a solid voting bloc and dream constituency — a majority of Americans totally dependent on government.
And something else has escaped the attention of America during this heated campaign. Like the Democrats, Iran is undoubtedly ecstatic about the election results. Ahmadinejad has heard Obama's empty threats over Iran's nuclear ambitions for four years. He knows that the use of force by this country, contrary to Obama's endless warnings, is off the table. As he continues to develop a nuclear weapon, unimpeded by the United States, our closest friends in that region are coming to understand that they are on their own. A confrontation between Iran and Israel is almost a certainty, and Iran has already promised to retaliate against America in that event. Despite Obama's best efforts to hide from this issue, America will be drawn in.
Obama's election in 2008 might have been attributed to a naïve electorate that saw a new kind of politician, one filled with inspiration and hope. Or perhaps it was nothing more than mindless enthusiasm generated by America's first African-American President. With this election, we now know that the country has fundamentally changed. It's been remolded by Socialists and Communists who have wormed their way into our government, the news media, and our education system. The younger generation has been particularly influenced. One poll shows that 60 percent of the youth vote went to Obama.
This election suggests that the America of past generations is gone. The Obama supporters have forgotten, or never learned those values that made the country great, like hard work, personal responsibility, and selflessness. They have long ago forgotten the inspirational words of John F. Kennedy, Democratic leader from a bygone era, who called for some of that selflessness when he proclaimed, "Ask not what your country can do for you..." That's exactly what today's voters are asking. They are inspired by promises of free contraceptives, free health care, and free education. In fact, they demand nothing less than cradle-to-tomb care guaranteed by the government, and funded by the taxpayer.
There was another world leader from Kennedy's era who comes to mind. He said something not particularly inspirational, but just as memorable. In 1956, Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR, predicted the demise of Capitalism and free enterprise, announcing to the West, "We will bury you." Fifty six years later, his prediction has come to pass.
© Peter Lemiska
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