By, Chris Rossini
Teddy
The U.S. military empire dates back to the Spanish-American War, just before the beginning of the 20th century. New York's warmongering Governor at the time, Teddy Roosevelt said: “It was not much of a war, but it was the best we could do at the time.”
How times have changed. The U.S. has racked up a solid century of almost constant war, and has it's troops and bureaucrats sprawled all over the Earth.
The Jefferson-hating and Lincoln-loving Roosevelt would become President in 1901. While Vladimir Lenin would soon want everything to be run like a giant Post Office, Teddy much preferred the U.S. Army model for all of society: “I believe that for every young man…to have six months in such a camp…[with] some field service, would be of incalculable benefit to him, and…to the nation…[M]aking these camps permanent would be the greatest boon this nation could receive.”
In 1902, Teddy threatened to seize the coal mines in America during the United Mineworkers Strike. He said: “To hell with the Constitution when the people want coal.”
I'm going to cut to the chase.
Teddy Roosevelt was all about strengthening the powers of the President. It was his forte. He said (my emphasis): “[W]henever I could establish a precedent for strength in the executive, as I did for instance as regards external affairs in the case of sending the fleet around the world, taking Panama, settling affairs of Santo Domingo and Cuba; or as I did in internal affairs in settling the anthracite coals strike, in keeping order in Nevada this year when the Federation of Miners threatened anarchy, or as I have done in bringing the big corporations to book – why, in all these cases I have felt not merely that my action was right in itself, but that in showing the strength of, or in giving strength to, the executive, I was establishing a precedent of value.”
Did Roosevelt set "a precedent"? You bet he did.
Willy
Let's fast-forward about 90 years to 1993. Let's move from Teddy to Willy.
Now, Bill Clinton was a Democrat; but do you know who his favorite Republican President is? Teddy Roosevelt.
Like Teddy, Clinton hates Jefferson too. He said that in Jefferson's view of liberty: “you had to be white, you had to be male and…you had to own property.” Clinton also roamed the Earth, dropping bombs whenever it was convenient on places like Serbia, Iraq & Sudan.
Clinton's chief of staff was a man named John Podesta. You'll see why that name is important in just one minute.
Barry
Let's now fast-forward two more decades to 2013. Let's move from Willy to Barry.
Jeffersonianism gets twisted and mangled beyond belief. Obama said that the former communist dictator of Vietnam, "Ho Chi Minh was actually inspired by the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of Thomas Jefferson."
Go ahead...I'll wait for you to stop laughing before we move on....
Has Barry strengthened the Executive? It's fresh enough in our minds that to ask the question is to answer it. We're in the drone era now! Presidential wars are now comparable to pushing buttons in a video game!
Now let's get back to John Podesta, and see what he's been up to. Well, just this month, Podesta was brought in by Barry as an advisor. And boy has he been as busy as ever.
Bloomberg today (my emphasis):
When the Republican victory in the 2010 midterm election raised the prospect of political gridlock, John Podesta was ready with an answer: The president should bypass Congress and wield the executive powers of his office.
Less than two weeks after the returns came in, Podesta had compiled 47 pages of proposals for unilateral action on issues from immigration to solar energy...
“John will be an advocate for forceful executive action, either for its own sake or to force congressional action,” said Jake Siewert, a former Clinton White House press secretary...
Under the theme “We Can’t Wait,” the White House started a series of executive actions before the 2012 election...
As chief of staff during the final years of Clinton’s presidency, [Podesta] oversaw a frenzy of rule-making, executive orders and land-preservation edicts. He was so closely identified with the burst of activity that some aides dubbed it “Project Podesta,” according to a National Journal report at the time...
Clinton designated more land protected in the lower 48 U.S. states than any president since Theodore Roosevelt. He made five of the national monument designations on Jan. 17, 2001, with only three days left in his term.
Teddy's "precedent" lives.
The Bully Boys trample liberty and strengthen the executive at every opportunity.
Link:
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/12/the-bully-boys-teddy-willy-barry.html
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