Many are making the argument that the blood of NYPD police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were murdered execution-style by a Muslim, is on the hands of President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, Mayor Bill de Blasio and race hustler Al Sharpton. The NYPD itself is making no bones about blaming de Blasio. They turned their backs on the mayor as he made his way toward a press conference and the head of a police union Patrick Lynch made the charge publicly while saying the blood of Ramos and Liu was on “many hands”, clearly implying Sharpton was complicit as well.
Those who find culpability with the four mentioned above must also turn their eyes toward every member of Congress who has refused to aggressively pursue the impeachment of Obama and his removal from office. When it comes to Democrats in Congress, pick your scandal. Whether it involved Operation Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the IRS scandal, NSA spying, the Bowe Bergdahl trade for Taliban commanders, changing the Obamacare law from the Oval Office, granting amnesty to five million illegal aliens (even the establishment-friendly Krauthammer said this was impeachable), or a whole host of other examples, the case should have been made long ago.
Yes, Democrats have presented a united front and have shown no signs of throwing Obama under the bus despite his complete willingness to do it to them. The treatment of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu provides the most recent example. In 2010, it was her $300 million Louisiana Purchase that helped put Obamacare over the top. In 2014, the Obama machine turned its back on her and she is by no means the only Democrat to suffer that fate.
Nonetheless, the Democrats – up to this point – have been little more than willing foot soldiers and pawns for the Executive Branch. That does not make them less culpable in creating the political climate that led to the deaths of Ramos and Liu but it does contribute to the political cowardice of Republicans.
In many ways, that political cowardice makes Republicans more culpable. There are a myriad of examples that demonstrate this.
House Speaker John Boehner is at the top of the list. In 2011-12, it was Boehner who forced the House Oversight Committee to slow walk the Fast and Furious hearings. This is usually done to help scandals fizzle out. Unfortunately for Boehner, this one did not. Eventually, Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt by the Committee. Boehner was then forced to put the vote to the entire House, which also found Holder in contempt; that vote was even bi-partisan.
As Holder was being held in contempt for refusing to respond to a lawfully issued subpoena for Fast and Furious documents, President Obama asserted Executive Privilege to prevent the release of those documents. Both men should have been on the hook. When Holder was found in contempt, Boehner had an obligation to order the Sergeant-at-Arms to arrest him; he did not as Shoebat.com reported.
This happened again when IRS official Lois Lerner was held in contempt of Congress after the Oversight Committee determined that she waived her fifth amendment right and still refused to testify. Again, Boehner had the obligation – and precedent, despite his denial of that precedent – to order Lerner arrested; he did not do so.
Boehner: Allows Radical Imam to Pray from floor of House and Ignored Malik Obama.
Boehner isn’t the only Republican who has refused to do the right thing relative to Obama. Supposed conservative Republican members of Congress have held back too.
Of course, the issue of Lerner and the IRS scandal segues to the matter of Barack Obama’s brother Malik Obama, whose Barack H. Obama Foundation (BHOF) was granted illegally retroactive tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status from none other than Lerner herself. Compounding this issue is the fact that Malik has been connected to terrorism and the government of Sudan, which is an officially designated State Sponsor of Terrorism (just like Cuba).
Screenshot of U.S. State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
The opportunity for supposed defenders of Tea Party groups targeted by the IRS had a golden opportunity to contrast the treatment of groups like True The Vote (TTV), which was essentially harassed by the IRS for years and denied tax-exempt status with the treatment Malik Obama received. He was granted 501(c)(3) status in less than one month, after more than three years had passed without his filing the paperwork despite collecting tax-free donations, also a crime.
Perhaps no Republican member of Congress is more culpable than Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA). As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Kelly was part of a committee that was investigating the IRS scandal. On August 29, 2013, Kelly conducted a radio town hall in his district and twice referred to the charges against Malik Obama and Lois Lerner as “spot on” after admitting that he knew about it. Here is that call:
Nearly one year later, Kelly had the opportunity to grill IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. Not only did he avoid the issue but physically embraced Koskinen with a big fat smile. Here is that exchange:
Kelly isn’t the only Republican who knows about that scandal and avoided it like the plague. The supposed most conservative members of Congress have all avoided it, like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX).
If ever there was a scandal big enough to force Democrats away from Obama, it was the president’s brother being connected to terrorists and enabled by Obama’s IRS to continue the practice. Yet, Republicans hid under their desks.
Kelly all but admitted it.
A larger point is that any member of Congress who argues against Obama’s impeachment for the supposed good of the country or because Joe Biden would be worse (cop out) runs into a problem relative to two assassinated NYPD officers and the extremely low standard for future presidents if this one is not impeached.
**UPDATE**
Coincidentally, it was Rep. Kelly who delivered the GOP’s weekly address. Contrasting this performance with what he knows and avoids is face-palm inducing: