You can bet the Radical Progressive Movement (RPM) is alive and well. Passing health care is still the president’s priority, as he made clear during his State of the Union address by defiantly repeating, “Let’s get it done.” The 70-minute speech was notably short on substance. It’s obvious that the RPM will aggressively continue to push for a nanny state. Allowing college debt to be forgiven 10 years earlier for government workers versus private ones is an example. The Scott Brown referendum seems to be lost on this administration as they continue to remain out of touch with average Americans.
You got a glimpse of the RPM push on Sunday from Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to the president who goes way back with the Obamas. The first couple refers to her as being “like family,” and in reference to their closeness, the president has said that she could speak for him. On Meet the Press, she said, “What we learned from the Massachusetts victory is that people are sick and tired of Washington not delivering for them.” Sorry, Ms. Jarrett, what we learned is that people are sick and tired of people like you thinking government is the answer.
Remember Van Jones, the former green jobs czar? FrontPageMag.com reported, “Without [Jarrett’s] patronage, it seems Van Jones would not be heard. A White House official told Politico Jones ‘did not go through the traditional vetting process’; instead, Jarrett interviewed Jones, a signal she bucked for his appointment.” In this August 2009 video, she says, “We were so delighted to recruit him into the White House.”
FrontPageMag.com continues, “Jarrett lobbied Obama to create the office of Chief Diversity Officer within the FCC, a position filled by Mark Lloyd, an Alinskyite and former senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, who appears fixated on silencing conservative talk radio.”
In the above video from 2008, Lloyd calls what Chavez did an “incredible revolution.” On Sunday, Chavez ordered the popular anti-government RCTV to be shut down for violating regulations that require them to show Chavez speeches in their entirety. He’s been known to talk for seven hours.
Who are the other players behind the scenes at the White House? Patrick Gaspard is the White House political affairs director. The Huffington Post did a profile of Gaspard back in 2008 called “Patrick Gaspard: Obama’s Glue Man,” which quotes David Axelrod as observing, “He is obviously a progressive guy…. But I think there is a difference between being idealistic and being an ideologue. I think he generally believes you can enhance the lives of people through politics. I don’t think that, to him, it is a game. I think it is to him [a] means to an end to make this place a better country.”
In “ACORN’s Man in the White House,” Matthew Vadum of The American Spectator writes, “Gaspard’s employment with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now is acknowledged by no less an authority than ACORN founder Wade Rathke himself.” The article quotes Rathke’s blog: “Tell me that 1199’s former political director, Patrick Gaspard (who was ACORN New York’s political director before that) didn’t reach out from the White House and help make that happen, and I’ll tell you to take some remedial classes in ‘politics 101.’”
Vadum continues, “The ‘before that’ time period Rathke is referring to is 2003 when Gaspard was executive vice president for political and legislative affairs for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. According to publicly available disclosure documents, Gaspard registered as a federal lobbyist for SEIU on Oct. 22, 2007. The registration and subsequent disclosures indicate he lobbied Congress on SCHIP, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.”
It makes one wonder how involved has Gaspard been with Obamacare? Thanks to Harry Reid’s early Christmas gift, the “manager’s amendment,” Senator Roland Burris pulled away from his demand for a public option in support of the bill. The amendment revealed that ACORN qualified for funding in the bill. The Weekly Standard reported, “According to a Senate legislative aide, the scandal-plagued [ACORN] could qualify for grants under this provision. ACORN would also qualify for funding on page 150 of the underlying Reid bill, which says that ‘community and consumer-focused nonprofit groups’ may receive grants to ‘conduct public education activities to raise awareness of the availability of qualified health plans.’”
Health care was the first item Obama campaign manager David Plouffe wrote about in his Washington Post editorial Sunday on how Democrats can strengthen their hand. “Pass a meaningful health insurance reform package without delay. Americans’ health and our nation’s long-term fiscal health depend on it.” Mine doesn’t, Mr. Plouffe.
The initiatives Obama laid out will do little to help the economy and save or create jobs. His stance on terrorism we know to be based on Miranda rights, not military tribunals. He gave lip service to all concerns while the real deals are taking place behind the scenes. Where’s the transparency he promised? The RPM is alive and well.
E.J. Smith is Managing Director of Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. an investment advisory firm managing portfolios for investors with over $1,000,000 in investable assets.