For six years the GOP has engaged in a relentless anti-Obama crusade that seems to have paid dividends in the mid-term election. During that period, the GOP’s accomplishments included, shutting down the government, numerous investigations, not renewing the unemployment benefits, and convincing the American people that the president was taking America down the wrong path.
With the GOP's resounding victory in the midterm election, the pundits have drawn all kinds of conclusion to explain the GOP’s success. One conclusion they have not made, is that the GOP’s victory could be a license renewal to continue or complete their anti-Obama crusade to delegitimize the president.
There are obvious reasons why the pundits would avoid making the conclusion that the GOP’s election success was a license’s renewal. They include, i) most people might not like the idea that the GOP is trying to delegitimize the President, ii) if there is really an anti-Obama crusade then it’s just the radical Tea Party members of the GOP that is engaged in it – not the American people, and iii) the anti-Obama crusade smacks of racism and the pundits know that it is not a good idea to mention race because they will be accused of playing the race card.
Regardless of what conclusion is drawn about the midterm election results, the GOP is acting as if they indeed got a mandate or license renewal to continue their anti-Obama crusade. Immediately after the election, the GOP began beating the anti-Obama drums by announcing their favorite mantra, “We will repeal ObamaCare.”
One would expect the GOP to start saying things that would give Americans some real hope and justify the confidence the American people gave them in the midterm election. The political rhetoric coming from Speaker Boehner and the new Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell indicates that they want to continue their anti-Obama crusade. In addition to repeal ObamaCare, the GOP has threatened the president not to take executive action on immigration reform.
At this stage, the GOP’s self-made conflict with President Obama should be abandoned simply because the president is a lame-duck president. They should try to work with the president on major issues like immigration reform, the conflict with ISIS, and the economy. This seems to be a real challenge for the GOP mainly because their priority is to delegitimize the president and ensure that he has no legacy.
Don’t expect the GOP to abandon their anti-Obama crusade. Why abandon something that has been partially successful and that has not drawn any resistance. The Democrats have stood on the sidelines in a daze or without any effort to stop the GOP’s anti-Obama crusade. Prominent GOP senators and other GOP politicians have disparaged the president by calling him weak, incompetent, lazy, and un-American. Throughout all of this, the Democrats did not even bray like a true donkey would to indicate their indignation.
The GOP is a deeply divided party mainly because of the radical Tea Party elements. This and their anti-Obama crusade have exposed their leadership problem. To expect the GOP with their leadership problems to accomplish good things is perhaps being too optimistic. The GOP’s leadership problem is manifested in their lack of vision and being out of touch with the needs of Americans. Take for example ObamaCare which is becoming increasingly popular. Why repeal this law when it is benefiting many Americans and what would they offer as a replacement if they repeal it?
Americans need to be aware that President Obama is not the problem; it is the GOP leadership that has no real plan or agenda with regards to issues like global warming, immigration reform, energy problems, and making the economy stronger. These are issues that the GOP leadership have not demonstrated any real ideas about. We can only hope for the sake of the country that they start doing this during the next two years instead of continuing to drive the anti-Obama crusade to nowhere.
Mel Shim is the author of Whom God Has Blessed, Let No Man Curse (Infinity Press, 2013) and A New Perspective on Race-related Problems in Corporate American Companies (Outlook Press, 2013). http://www.jermelshim.com