It’s time for Republicans to give serious thought to what happens if they win the Senate and House this November, as it looks increasingly that they will. While not exactly Pyrrhic, this victory will present a whole range of potential problems and traps that could negatively affect this country’s future and the world. And as we know, we are living in precarious times.
Barack Obama is a man unaccustomed to losing. Life has been exceptionally kind to him, sailing, as he did, through balmy Oahu sunsets, college, law school and career on into the presidency with scarcely a bump. He has been a protected man beyond any in recent memory, feted and praised virtually everywhere he went until the last couple of years. Even now, despite catastrophe after catastrophe, there are acolytes who continue to celebrate him, paying tens of thousands merely to have their photographs taken with him.
When such cosseted people are forced to confront failure, they typically do not do so with grace. They are rarely able to admit fault, as if even a crack in their pristine facades could lead to extreme personality disintegration. We have already seen manifestations of this in Obama’s refusal to acknowledge something so obvious as his own inability to foresee the dangers of ISIS, aka the JV team. Insider books by Robert Gates, Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta have appeared in rapid succession, implying or directly alleging that the president lives in a bubble, unwilling to listen to advice. He frequently threatens to — and sometimes does — go around the Congress to get his way via, often unconstitutional, executive fiat. We all know that he lies, constantly.
This man is angry but highly unlikely to go into an anger management program. Imagine what will happen after November. We could be looking at behavior that would fit the very definition of “acting out,” anti-social but on a global scale. And he still has two more years in office.
Do I exaggerate? I hope so, but I fear not. We have to be alert. Anything could happen. Remember: Obama is currently fighting ISIS against his will and only for electoral purposes. When the election is over, and especially if he loses, all bets are off. The man who made the apology tour throughout the Islamic world and was best friends with Islamists Morsi and Erdogan could reappear as never before. What that could mean could be any number of things, but none of them good. The Global War on Terror could become another example of “work-place violence” in an instant. Kurds and Israelis better beware.
The Environmental Protection Agency could become a virtual American gestapo, changing the fabric of our lives, while all sorts of rules and regulations pour down, impoverishing America in the name of income inequality or the all-important “fairness.”
Look for the race card to be played as never before. A man like Obama would much prefer to blame the color of his skin for his failures than his policies. Then he would have to evaluate himself.
One thing we can be sure of, if the Democrats lose the Senate, look for Hillary Clinton to separate from Obama even further than she has. You can imagine Bill telling her to explain that when she said “What difference does it make?” about Benghazi, she really meant “What difference does it make if Obama is in control?”
True as that might be, it is a bridge too far even for Bill. But the equivalent will be said — many times. But we must not be confused or deceived by that inevitable gulf. If Hillary is elected, it will largely be by the same people who elected Obama. She will be beholden to them and nothing will change. As time goes on, it will inevitably grow worse.
As treacherous as the last few years have been, the next two, even with a Republican victory, could be even more so. Stay vigilant. Victory in November is, at best, a halfway house. Don’t celebrate for long.
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