now Ill agree with you that bush was no conservative in the true sense of the word.
ok obama: wanted govt run health care but was forced to compromise somewhat which if it isnt overturned by all estimations will make the federal govt a bigger spender than all of the private sector...
expanding inefficient and at times unneeded social programs: food stamps anyone, have you heard the new food stamp commercials talking about how ppl got skinny b/c of the fit meals from food stamps?
Intentionally not enforcing immigration laws
Creating a 4000 page application from a 36 page application for oil wells.
Patriot act extension
gay marriage
Everything about this admin has been a powergrab to grow govt.
I dont see how anybody can look a this admins agenda and actions and think they are anything but far left.
It seems you define 'far left' as anything you don't like; no wonder Obama is far left to you!
First of all, half of the items here have nothing to do with the liberal/conservative dichotomy as traditionally conceived. The Patriot Act grants the government certain powers in rather particular circumstances, and has nothing to do with the size of government. Perhaps it can be placed on an 'authoritarian vs. libertarian' spectrum, but that's about it. It's something entirely consistent with both liberalism and conservatism.
The size of applications does not determine whether a politician is liberal or conservative, nor the enforcement of immigration laws or lack thereof; liberals and conservatives have dropped the ball on this issue for decades.
So, let's get beyond the Fox News bullet points and
look at the reality of the situation. The reality of Obama's centrism is constituted by the policies he has followed, including: healthcare reform that lacks a public option and instead relies on private insurers, with The Heritage Foundation's mandate at its core; a foreign policy that is largely a continuation of Bush's second term, including drone strikes up the wazoo and Guantanamo Bay's continued operation; banking reform that includes measures like the Volcker Rule, which is named after the Chairman of the Fed under Reagan who proposed it; and, a stimulus bill that had just as many Milton Friedman-inspired monetary measures as Keynesian fiscal measures. Spending on food stamps fluctuates with economic performance so of course it has been higher during The Great Recession; there is no evil conspiracy here.
Anybody who thinks all of this is what the far left is about is living a dream partly created by the shitty 'news' sources they utilize. Look at genuine Leftism in Europe to see exactly what Obama is not. Take a look at Swedish social democracy, or proposals emanating out of the Left during France's presidential election (e.g., a 100% tax on anyone making over 360K euros). I can't even think of any genuine Leftist politicians in this country off the top of my head, let alone
far left politicians.
To call Obama far left is to fail to understand what the term means, to not have a clue about the nature of national policy these last four years, or both.
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