The right's Big Lies ignore reality to regain power while the left sits idle

April 16, 9:26 AMPolitical Issues ExaminerJudah Freed

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In recent weeks, America's right wing has unfolded its strategy of regaining political power by telling a series of whopping Big Lies about Barack Obama and the Obama administration. These lies  include fearful rants about Obama becoming a tyrant and imposing socialism on the country.

At the same time, those in America's center and left largely are ignoring the corrosive attacks from the right while failing to hold Obama's feet to the fire on essential government reforms.

Let's do a reality check:

If Obama was bent on dictatorship, he would not have allowed the Attorney General to withdraw the corruption conviction of Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska because of misconduct by Justice Department prosecutors.

If Obama was bent on dictatorship, he would not have renounced torture or supported deep cuts in the military budget. If history proves anything, it's that dictators always strive overpowering military forces.

If Obama was bent on dictatorship, he would have immediately jailed all the right-wing reactionaries spouting all this nonsense about him becoming a dictator.

Further, if Obama was bent on socialism, he would have nationalized the banking and finance industry as advocated Nobel Prize economists like Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman.

If Obama was bent on socialism, he would have nationalized the auto industry instead of giving General Motors and Chrysler a second bite at the apple to propose better restructuring plans.

If Obama was bent on socialism, he would have pushed through Congress an economic stimulus package that gave massive handouts to the lower and middle classes instead of focusing the stimulus on long-term projects like rebuilding the national infrastructure and developing energy independence.

Let's face facts. All these Big Lies coming from Republicans and others on the right are simply bold bids for regaining political power in the 2010 and 2012 elections. In a strategy likely from Karl Rove, the plan is to sew dissent about Obama and the Democrats through a prolonged campaign of  half-truths and outright lies, clouding the frightened and gullible minds of enough voters to enable an electoral win.

What bothers me even more, however, is that most Democrats and progressives are doing little or nothing to counter the subtle campaign by GOP and ultra-conservative operatives. After the 2008 election, the Democrats revelled in victory and fooled themselves into thinking the campaign is over, that they won the day, so they can relax.

Nothing is further from the truth.

Actually, progressives only now are fully awakening from their delusion that Obama is one of them. Yes, he may share some progressive values, such as addressing global climate change and increasing our access to health care, but Obama is a centrist pragmatist above all else.

Obama favors "free trade" deals like NAFTA, for instance, deals that tend to undermine fair trade. He also seems to support the concept of a global currency, raising the specter of a corporate superstate.

Obama so far has utterly failed to renounce those portions of the USA Patriot Act and other "Homeland Security" laws and Executive Orders that plainly violate the Bill of Rights.

Obama wants to expand the war in Afghanistan and extend it into Pakistan. Instead, he really should be focusing the bulk of U.S efforts on creating the local to global prosperity that removes populist support for the terrorists by creating the social conditions that promote lasting peace.

Therefore, if Democrats and others on the left wish to see their policy agendas realized, they need to get off their hands and open their mouths to actively oppose the Big Lies from the right. They also need to assertively hold Obama's feet to the fire on the issues that concern them.

The November victory was historic, but complacency is dangerous. Much work remains undone. 

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