At the Southern Republican Leadership conference, several men will be forced to do what Barack Obama has never had to do.
Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul will all be forced to answer questions. At the final GOP debate before the South Carolina Primary, there will even be follow-ups to questions. Candidates will face scrutiny. This is called being “vetted.”
In 2008, questions about Barack Obama were not allowed. The media gave him a protective shield. Uncomfortable topics were off limits. In 2012, any attempt to bring up issues not dealt with the first time around will be derided as “old news.” Trying to get Mr. Obama to give straight answers was described as trying to nail Jello to the wall.
When asked what programs he would cut, he said he would “go through the budget line by line.”
So which programs would he eliminate? “The ones that don’t make sense.”
Which programs are those? “The ones that don’t work.”
At no time did Barack Obama actually answer the question, which meant he planned to cut nothing. That is what happened.
So rather than give Mr. Obama another free ride, there are questions he must be forced to answer. A good start would be for the lapdogs in the media to even ask tough questions with the same relentlessness that questions are asked of Republicans.
So while the media prepare to attack conservatives at the SRLC in Charleston, here are some questions for President Obama.
1) You have made an issue of an opponent not releasing his tax returns. Will you finally release your college thesis so Americans can gain insight into your thinking? Will you release your transcripts in the name of transparency?
2) You believe wealthier Americans should pay their “fair share.” What is a precise percentage that these Americans should pay in taxes?
3) Syrian President Bashar Assad is murdering his citizens in the streets. Do you have a plan to stop this?
4) You rejected the Keystone Pipeline project because you said you did not have enough time to study it. You have been in office for three years. How much time do you need? Will you not give a precise timeline for reaching a discussion, and if not, why not?
5) Gasoline was less than $2 per gallon when you came into office. On your leadership it doubled. What will you do to get it down to the price it was at when you were inaugurated?
6) Your administration invested taxpayer dollars in companies like Solyndra and others that ended up failing, going bankrupt, and wasting money. Have any of these companies succeeded? Do you have one single success story of a green company actually working properly?
7) When your Attorney General Holder was questioned about the flow of guns in the Fast and Furious scandal, he claimed that his critics were racists. Do you agree with this? If not, why was this program enacted?
8) The National Labor Relations Board sued Boeing to block them from opening up a plant in South Carolina. You chose not to get involved. Isn’t this the same as voting “present?”
9) You have accumulated more debt on your watch in three years than your predecessor did in eight years. Now you want an increase in the debt ceiling. Why should this happen?
10) Do you have specific plans for cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security? Exactly what do you plan to do? Why was this not dealt with during your first term?
11) You claimed that Obamacare would be a positive development. Yet the main problem in the health care industry are spiraling costs. Your plan does not contain costs. It may be ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. What is your plan to rein in healthcare costs? Why did you not include this in your original plan?
12) Why do you even want a second term? What do you plan to actually do?
13) You claimed that you “saved or created” thousands of jobs. Do you have verifiable metrics? Can you quantify this? Can you offer anything other than your say so?
14) You promised to unite people but have pitted people against each other based on race, religion, gender and class. Why did you resort to populist rhetoric rather than attempt to unify people?
15) One of your opponents has called you the best “food stamp” president. you may take offense to this, but the charge is accurate. Why have so many people become dependent on government while on your watch?
16) You ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was caught using interrogation methods approved during the George W. Bush administration. Would you like to now reaffirm that the Bush methods work?
17) Iran is on its way to a nuclear bomb. In 2009 you reached out to Iran and they smacked your hand away. The young people in Iran begged you to stand up, and you sided with the mullahs. The uprising happened on your watch. Shouldn’t your commitment to human rights force America to stand up for the people of Iran and not the government?
18) You and your surrogates have referred to Republicans as hostage takers and terrorists. You gave a speech about how everyone should tone down their rhetoric, but you have not toned down yours. Do you understand that you have contributed to the toxic Washington environment with your angry diatribes?
19) You have been very critical of “hedge fund managers,” “fat cats,” and “millionaires and billionaires.” You have attacked Wall Street greed. Rather than attack straw men, would you be willing to name names? Why will you not criticize Jon Corzine, given that he represents everything you claim to detest about Wall Street? Would you be willing to return any and all campaign donations received from Wall Street?
20) You appointed several people in controversial recess appointments under the guise that “we can’t wait.” Weren’t the Founding Fathers more worried about moving too fast than too slow? Isn’t the Constitution and the separation of powers supposed to prevent presidents from overreaching?
21) You maintain that without you, things would have been worse. Do you have anything to offer as evidence? Why should possibly preventing negatives be acceptable? Have you successfully contributed anything positive? Do you have one major program that you enacted that has actually worked?
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