Rush Limbaugh confirmed it on his broadcast on December 4, 2006. Pollster Kellyanne Conway giggled to my face when I told her my thoughts at the New York City "Ball for Life" in the spring of 2007. Salem talk-show host Hugh Hewitt didn't believe me, nor did Fox Radio talker John Gibson, nor did hundreds of other pundits and bloggers. But I never doubted it for a minute, and as I predicted almost three full years ago, the unthinkable is a blink away from becoming reality:
"Barring several series of near seizure-like corrections, Barack Obama will take the Presidential oath of office in January of 2009. It will be a cold January morning, his beautiful wife and daughters will be by his side and they will shiver as he places his hand on the Bible and swears to uphold the Constitution of the United States. His presidency that will follow, if reflective of anything at all of his legislative record, will then seek to dismantle that same Constitution."Friday while running some errands in the city I flipped on "The Talk of New York - AM 970 'The Apple'" (the flagship station for my nationally syndicated show with actor Stephen Baldwin) and heard fellow talker Michael Medved become quite animated over a clip he had just played. Since I had not caught the full context of what he was referring to I was glad he decided to replay it one more time. It was Barack Obama:
"...only five more days, until we fundamentally transform this country."My Lovely Bride happened to be listening at the same time and later Friday evening, with a look a gross concern she asked me what I thought he meant.
I thought he had been pretty clear. I've known this since he was a state legislator.
Barack Obama is not the quasi-reasonable moderate he has attempted to run his campaign as. He has adopted the language, methods, and most importantly the philosophies of the most fringe elements of American politics--though they would make him seem mainstream in Europe.
He is and has been for the last decade an elitist, though he uses the disguise of caring about one's community.
He lectures those of us who give thousands of dollars to those in need each year as selfish, when he is the one who will not give one dime to his own family members in need--and on occasion extract campaign contributions from impoverished relatives living in slums.
He talks about his desire to speak for those who have no voice, but he is the only elected official in the U.S. Senate to fight for the right of a hospital owned and operated by his own church to allow down's syndrome babies to starve to death.
And about that church thing, he said he went for twenty years. He calls his minister his mentor. He was married by him and had his beautiful daughters baptized by him. Yet in twenty years he claims he never heard the racist hate that Dr. Jeremiah Wright was well known for in Chicago. (I knew it, because I lived there.)
He talks about wanting to bring about economic justice, by imposing tax policies that are fundamentally unjust. Unjust to those who earn their living because he takes from them what they earn. And unjust to those who do not earn by giving them the seductive fruit of "something for nothing."
He wishes to divide America, instead of treating all Americans with equality. He has run on the issue of race while pretending that his opponent is the one who brings it up.
He says, "Trust me" when he has no track record. And when we seek to verify the truthfulness of his character--the supreme basis of trust--he tells those of us he wishes to serve that its none of our business who he has associated with.
Just in the course of the campaign for election, he has betrayed his grandmother labeling her racist, his pastor saying he never really knew the real him, and a man he served on two boards with and launched his political career in the home of
When asked a simple question of when a human being should be given Constitutional rights he stated that even declaring a born person as such was, "a decision... above his pay-grade."
When audio tape turned up more than once on his philosophy of redistribution of earnings, he waved his hand in front of the camera--like a Jedi--and tells us that what we've heard with our own ears is not what we've heard.
Even in his original promise to give everyone some money from the government that earned less than $250,000 for the year, he has now reduced that amount four times in the last week and reduced it by more than $130,000. Previously he has also argued on tape for tax increases on those making $42,000 a year.
He has a vision that is born of utopia, a nation where no one gets sick--and if they do the people around them will pick up the bill--even if personal responsibility could have helped prevent the illness in the first place.
He has a vision where marriage can and should be defined to mean anything two or more people wish to do behind the closed doors of their bed room.
He has a vision where no responsibility has to be accounted for in people's personal choices--that the rest of us will deal with the fallout of wherever those choices lead.
He fundamentally believes that America is a joke, a mistake, and something not to be proud of. He fundamentally believes that America is usually wrong, and always suspect.
He believes in sitting down with terror leaders--without condition! That he can talk the most unreasonable and maniacal personalities in the world into being our nation's friends.
He believes it is wrong to defend our nation, and her allies. And knowing this his running mate believes he will be tested quickly, and that we the people will not like his response.
He believes that he will get people of his skin color to vote for him out of permanent anger and unhealed wounds. He is also ready to further decimate their living conditions with policies that are not new, have been tried before, and historically have plunged this very same people group into further desperate poverty and dysfunction.
He will argue multiple sides of an issue publicly, but become privately infuriated and even thug-like in his response to those who disagree with him.
He believes in the censorship of speech.
He believes in the curtailing of religious expression so as to not "offend" anyone.
He believes individuals to be untrustworthy but he believes in the goodness of government (made up of untrustworthy individuals).
In short, he sees little of America's history, culture, or values as worth preserving. So he promises "fundamental transformation."
I believe America needs reform. Reform means correction of course--not setting out for a completely different destination all together.
I was right in December of 2006, though I said at the time I wish I would not have been. I do not have to be right, nor does Obama in 2008 if those of us who do not want "fundamental transformation" decide to put a stop to it.