Thursday, July 16, 2009

National Emergencies


Except for a brief period following September 11, 2001, liberals and Democrats (if there is any real distinction) combined to protest about every action proposed to defend the nation against further attack. Remember how the obvious reality that America faced a national emergency was derided, and reasonable steps taken to safeguard our shores were challenged every step of the way? Not even a national emergency of 9/11 magnitude warranted "threats" to what the liberal-Democrat establishment perceived as constitutional freedom.

That was then, this is now.

National emergencies are now in style and responding to them as such is the current fashion. Government cannot do enough to stare down our national emergencies, and every policy enacted is welcomed with open arms by the left. Case in point... After listing how the BHO administration is standing up to every special interest group - owners, stockholders, bondholders, Wall Street "vultures," car dealers, suppliers, pensioners, environmentalists, and labor - Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press applauds the actions that have been taken to save the auto industry. Why? Well, in his own words...

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So Obama's auto rescue commandos have proven to be pragmatic, tough, nonideological. God figure. And if at times they seem callous and a bit pushy, think of this as a national emergency, equivalent to a major war. During World War II, U.S. citizens put up with things we'd never tolerate in peacetime. Today, in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we can tolerate a lot, too - assuming things revert to "normal." (Tom Walsh is an auto columnist for the Detroit Free Press)
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And then there is Professor Al Gore comparing the fight to stop the global warming threat to World War II. National emergency.

Economy: national emergency. Global warming: national emergency. Government must do anything and everything, irrespective of Constitutional boundaries, to face these national emergencies head on. Islamic terrorist threats capable of massacring thousands of American citizens in one stroke? Naw, no national emergency there. Not even a war; just a series of legal actions to be handled in some court rooms.

Fascinating.

1 comment:

ChuckL said...

My brother e-mailed me:

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I can't believe you missed Health Care reform.

Your list of national emergencies could have been *much* longer. :-)
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I forgot the hate crimes legislation, too.