What he’s doing is shameful, and I hope the American people hold him accountable.” What he’s doing is shameful, and I hope the American people hold him accountable.”
The Washington Times is reporting this morning that an email directs employees of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to make sure that Sequester cuts are painful as President Obama asserted they would have to be.
As I wrote in February, the President has wide latitude in choosing what kinds of cuts to take within agencies and none of the burdens he described, like long lines at airports, or closing White House tours, need occur.
In an internal email, an APHIS employee asked if he could make cuts less damaging than those originally planned to meet Sequester targets. A supervisor responded that:
We have gone on record with a notification to Congress and whoever else that 'APHIS would eliminate assistance to producers in 24 states in managing wildlife damage to the aquaculture industry, unless they provide funding to cover the costs.’ So it is our opinion that however you manage that reduction, you need to make sure you are not contradicting what we said the impact would be...
In other words, while they do have discretion to decide how cuts will be applied, they already publicly stated where they have to occur, so are not going to make Obama look bad by being caught doing otherwise.
In a shameless effort to further highlight the Sequester "pain" the White House announced it would discontinue the very popular White House tours that draw tourists from across the country. The announcement stated:
ATTN Interested Parties,
Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform you that White House Tours will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013 until further notice. Unfortunately, we will not be able to reschedule affected tours.
We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular Spring touring season. For updates regarding this situation, please contact the White House Visitors Office 24 Hour Hotline at (202) XXX-XXXX.
Sincerely,
White House Visitors Office
Texas Representative Louie Gohmert offered a hilarious tongue-in-cheeck amendment to the upcoming Continuing Resolution, that placed a blazing spotlight on the President's hypocrisy. The amendment would defund the President's golf outings until White House tours resume:
Gohmert's amendment reads: 'None of the funds made available by a division of this Act may be used to transport the President to or from a golf course until public tours of the White House resume.'
According to ObamaGolfCounter.com, the president has played 115 rounds of golf since taking office. Townhall's Heather Ginsberg estimates that 341 furloughed jobs could have been saved had the money not been spent of golf trips.
This highlights just how hypocritical and dishonest this White House is about the entire subject. We repeat here what we have said earler. All the President's posturing is a naked attempt to lay blame for the Sequester at the feet of House Republicans, increasing the prospects for Democrats to retake the House in 2014.
Maybe House Republicans are finally finding their voice. U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) added to the protest, issuing a scathing protest of Obama's lies:
President Obama should have to personally apologize to every soldier, every teacher, every firefighter, and every single other American he lied to and used as a pawn in his sequester game. The Washington Times uncovered hard evidence today that the Administration has flat out been using scare tactics to trick the American people into thinking the sequester needs to be administered in the most detrimental way possible. As shown in this article, many agencies would be able to achieve savings through modest and reasonable spending cuts. Unfortunately, it seems that responsible cuts don’t fit with the Administration’s message of ‘big spending, or else.’
Republicans didn’t cave in to President Obama’s demand for higher taxes, the sequester went into place, and the world didn’t come to an end – so now the President is trying to cover his tracks because he knows he cried wolf. What he’s doing is shameful, and I hope the American people hold him accountable.
Be forewarned: there are people in this country stupid and ignorant enough to believe President Obama. After all, they elected this fraud. If Democrats succeed in retaking the House in 2014, that will be the end for this country. There will be no limits to their nihilistic agenda.
One of the many odious things they may attempt is to repeal the 22nd Amendment, which limits the President to two terms. This has already been proposed. The most recent proposal was penned in 2009 by N.Y. Rep. Jose Serrano. Serrano's politics harmonize with Obama, Castro and the world's other communists. For example, yesterday, Serrano lamented the passing of Venezuelan communist dictator Hugo Chavez, tweeting, "Hugo Chavez was a leader that understood the needs of the poor. He was committed to empowering the powerless. R.I.P. Mr. President." Yes, many Democrats in Congress actually share this worldview.
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