David Axelrod, former Senior Advisor to President Obama and campaign guru in two winning elections, in answer to a question at a Chicago Institute of Politics event, replied:
“I’m proud of the fact that basically you’ve had an administration that’s been in place for six years in which there hasn’t been a major scandal. And I think that says a lot about the ethical strictures of this administration.”
We now know that Axelrod actually has no concept of honesty, no concept of right and wrong, and no shame.
So let’s review this so-called scandal-free administration (and we’ll stick to the big scandals only).
Fast and Furious Scandal – this Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms operation allowed 2,000 guns to illegally flow into Mexican drug cartels, ostensibly for tracking. The Feds lost track. One of those guns killed Border patrol agent Brian Terry.
The Justice Department is still stonewalling the Congressional investigation five years later. Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress but the Justice Department, in a classic case of conflict of interest, refused to prosecute.
Benghazi Sandal – The Benghazi attacks occurred eight weeks before the election. The cover-up, false talking points (edited twelve times by the CIA, State Department and White House), and head fake to a bogus film obscured the truth.
The head fake to the bogus film appears to be an attempt to deny Al Qaeda attacked and killed Americans, which is in keeping with subsequent administration behavior: remember Obama’s statement that Al Qaeda is dead and only the “JV team” remains.
This so-called “JV team,” in the form of ISIS or ISIL, has now gained territory in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya. As Obama withdraws Americans from that country, ISIS will soon be in Afghanistan.
The House Committee investigation the Benghazi terrorist attack is on the verge of interviewing Hillary Clinton and other Obama administration officials, including Susan Rice, Jay Carney, Joint Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey, former CIA Director David Petraeus, and former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
The fact that the Obama administration has stonewalled the truth for three years is, in itself, a scandal of mega proportions. It’s always the cover-up of the crime that trips up the perps.
NSA Spying Scandal – Under President Bush, the NSA was authorized to spy on foreign-based telephone calls. Under President Obama, the NSA expanded its reach to all American domestic calls including foreign-based calls. Obama’s total disregard for American civil liberties rivals his total disregard for Constitutional limitations on government. But for Edward Snowden, the American people would not have known of that the United States Government is covering up through legal maneuver the fact that the National Security Agency (NSA) is engaged in unconstitutional activities. This is the most massive, unconstitutional domestic spying program in the history of our country.
IRS Scandal – There are two issues here. First issue is the illegal targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The second issue is the continued stalling by the IRS in releasing subpoenaed emails surrounding Lois Lerner and her illegal targeting of conservative groups.
Almost two years after the scandal broke, the Obama administration refuses to release more than 500 documents concerning the IRS targeting of conservative groups. Why? Could be that IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman visited the White over 150 times during the period in which conservative groups were being targeted? Was President Obama personally involved with the targeting and auditing program?
In November 2014, 30,000 “irretrievably lost” emails were “discovered by the Inspector General. They were found in the form of files and tapes intended for disaster recovery. Just maybe, with Eric Holder leaving government service, the wheels of Justice will turn once more.
Obamacare – It turns out Obamacare was a lie.
If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. Not true, as hundreds of thousands found out the hard way.
If you like your health plan you can keep your health plan. Not true, as hundreds of thousands had to switch plans.
Obamacare will save you $2,500 in premium. Not true, as premiums increased $2,500 in the first year and 9% more in year two.
The Obamacare rollout was a disaster. The Healthcare.gov website failed miserably.
In effect, the implementation of Obamacare canceled health care policies for 98% of Americans in order to supply health care coverage to 2% of Americans: a classic distribution of wealth.
Obamacare, instead of being a health care program, turned out to be the largest tax increase program in the history of the United States with 20 new taxes.
Adding 40-50 million people to the health care rolls without adding additional doctors automatically rations health care because there are not enough doctors.
Bowe Bergdahl – Sergeant Bergdahl deserted his post. His fellow soldiers so stated. Yet the White House is fighting to suppress the Army investigation into his desertion and the ultimately horrible trade of Bergdahl for five Al Qaeda captives. Six Americans died trying to rescue Bergdahl. Yet, Obama is happy for Bergdahl’s Muslim parents.
These are the bigger scandals. I did not include the illegal investigation into AP reporters’ phone records by the Justice Department or the illegal monitoring of Fox Reporter James Rosen by the Justice Department or Holder’s perjury before Congress in the Rosen care or Holder’s perjury in Fast and Furious or the Pigford scandal or the GSA scandal or . . . there are just so many and no one is holding Obama accountable . . . yet.