Thugocracy...

Obama Administration: Culture of intimidation at every level

by: J. D. Heyes

With each day's news, it is becoming more obvious that the level of corruption within the Obama Administration is legion. Worse than that, however, is the "culture of intimidation" that now exists at virtually every level of the government under the most divisive U.S. president in history.

That phrase, coined by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is extremely fitting, for it perfectly describes both the cultural rot within the federal bureaucracy - which has been building for generations as a risk-averse Congress has shirked more and more of its constitutional lawmaking power - and the dismissive arrogance of Obama and his top appointees and advisors.

This culture, as noted by syndicated columnist Ben Shapiro, "stretches from the White House down to the myriad of agencies of the executive branch," of which Obama controls as president.

Thugocracy

"From his language suggesting targeting of enemies to his officials' attempts to castigate Tea Partiers as economic terrorists, President Obama has presided over an administration that sees his political opponents as unworthy and nasty. Early in his administration, Obama threatened CEOs of banks, 'My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks'," writes Shapiro.

Shapiro nails the Obama hubris but there is more. Consider the now-exploding IRS scandal, in which the agency targeted conservative and "patriot" groups for excessive scrutiny in the consideration of their tax-exempt status applications (many were deliberately not approved until after the Nov. 6 election).

There is a pervasive hypocrisy this man harbors that borders on the obsessive. While publicly feigning disdain for the burgeoning IRS scandal and issuing platitudes to conservatives about how the nation's tax agency must remain non-partisan (though it clearly isn't nor has it ever been) what is now known is that the president, on a number of occasions, met with Colleen Kelley, a former IRS official and current president of the same union that represents IRS employees, at the White House just a day before the agency's "Determinations Unit Program agreed" to open a "Sensitive Case report on the Tea party cases," according to the Justice Department's Inspector General report detailing the scandal.

Coincidence? Sure.

The IRS case is just one albeit large example which demonstrates clearly that when Obama cannot garner support of his agenda in traditional political fashion, he resorts to intimidation - or he lets the agencies he controls intimidate. A petulant child is a nuisance but a petulant U.S. president, with the power of the IRS, the Justice Department and a host of federal bureaucracies at his control, is dangerous.

Widespread culture of corruption

In his column Shapiro goes on to list the plethora of absolute criminality and pressure exerted by the Obama Administration:

Regarding the DoJ and its pathetic attempt at silencing a whistleblower in the "Fast and Furious" scandal:

Today's report from the Department of Justice Inspector General, showing that former US Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke leaked documents intended to smear a whistleblower in Fast and Furious, is only the latest revelation on misconduct from DOJ. The DOJ has also targeted: Fox News reporter James Rosen over leaks from State Department employee Stephen Jin-Woo Kim; according to Megyn Kelly, two other Fox News staffers; the Associated Press, over a story regarding CIA investigations into al-Qaeda; Gallup, shortly after the polling firm showed Mitt Romney with a substantial lead over Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential race; and True the Vote, an organization dedicated to stopping voter fraud.

Under Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, the "Justice" Department has become the modern wing of the Nazi Party's Brown Shirts, terrorizing political opponents under the color of law, all in pursuit of a radical "agenda of change."

Once-benign departments are equally corrupt. Take the State Department. Under Obama's tutelage and Hillary
Clinton's "leadership," America's diplomatic corps has been both radicalized and politicized to point where not even U.S. ambassadors are worthy of protection - if doing so means compromising or countering the president's precious reelection campaign narrative (http://www.newsday.com). Think Benghazi, and the mountain of lies told by Obama, his staffers and Clinton herself to cover up the fact that al Qaeda, indeed, is not dead.

Gregory Hicks, the second-in-command in Libya from the State Department during the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks, was criticized and demoted for being too forthright with visiting House members over what really happened the fateful night Amb. Christopher Stevens and three other U.S. officials were killed.

'Too much to keep track of'

At the Department of Health and Human Services, which is cranking out restrictive, byzantine and punitive regulations in preparation for Obamacare's full roll-out in 2014, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is playing the role healthcare heavy. Under the guise of the law, she is forcing religious employers to provide employees with health care coverage that includes contraceptive coverage - a provision Catholics have been fighting tooth-and-nail.

"That came on the heels of the Obama Administration agreeing to concessions to the pharmaceutical industry in return for the industry's support for Obamacare. Big Pharma eventually agreed to finance millions worth of TV advertising for Obamacare in exchange for capping liability at $80 billion over ten years," notes Shapiro.

More recently, Sebelius has been accused of illegally using her office to solicit donations from non-profit groups to push for Obamacare roll-out; these groups are directly regulated by HHS. Sebelius says she's done nothing wrong - ethically or legally.

There is more corruption at the Treasury Department, FBI, Homeland Security and even the Department of the Interior. It's nearly too much to keep track of.

Suffice it to say the Obama Administration doesn't care much for you or the Constitution, and it is painfully obvious in the way the president and his appointees are behaving.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040706_Obama_Administration_IRS_scandal_culture_of_intimidation.html#ixzz2VoKnXXw3