Time just changed sides in the battle over the sequester. In the build up to the March 1 start of the sequester, which I termed Obama’s Fear Factor Tour, the administration essentially claimed that life as we know it would end when the sequester began.
The strategy was to generate fear and outrage among taxpayers who had trouble spelling “sequester,” to say nothing of understanding the bill and it’s potential outcome. (A condition voters share with the majority of Congress.)
Fearful voters would then flood Congress with outraged calls and email. As time passed and the deadline grew closer and closer, Obama hoped to put so much pressure on Republicans in the House and Senate that they would agree to his serial demand to raise taxes so as to avoid the disaster.
Pressure did build — helped in large part by the president’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ in the media — yet Republicans stood firm and did not panic as the minutes ticked away. In the White House the dawn of March 1 no doubt looked like a countdown scene from "Dr. Strangelove." But for the rest of America, life went on.
As the Associated Press wrote, “So after months of dire warnings, Washington didn’t implode, government didn’t shut down and the $85 billion budget trigger didn’t spell doom. And no one has a tangible proposal for rolling back those cuts.”
And that’s when time officially changed sides. The longer the sequester goes on without high–profile inconvenience to the public, the more acceptable the thought of cutting the federal government’s bloated budget becomes. Even the White House top economic advisor admits the pain isn’t that bad right now, which is very bad news for the Spender–in–Chief who wants an even larger tax increase as part of his plan to remedy the sequester.
Time is also undermining the administration’s credibility. People are going to start to question Obama’s other warnings about the effect of reform on Social Security or Medicare. It will be only natural to conclude that if his warnings on the sequester were wildly exaggerated, then it’s entirely possible he’s crying “Wolf” when it comes to Social Security, Medicare, education and the environment.
So Obama needs something bad to happen and it needs to happen fast.
Which brings us to yet another role reversal: In the past conspiracies against the public good were usually to be found taking place in a terrorist cell somewhere, run by blind ideologues who cared only about advancing their beliefs over the bodies of unbelievers.
But now the conspiracy cabal can be found in the White House, where it’s working to advance equally rigid beliefs at the expense of the taxpayer’s wallet, rather than his body.
Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan. He is the founder and chairman of The Reagan Group and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Click Here Now.
© Mike Reagan