How Conservative Is Barack Obama?

  I rated our current POTUS on the Conscious Conservative Scale (see previous posts) to determine how conservative Barack Obama rates.  You can see the conservative principles on the right of this page.  I am including notes so that people can see how I use the scale.  I plan to rate the GOP candidates in upcoming posts.

1.  PRIVATE PROPERTY:  Obama wrote in his book Audacity of Hope, "Our Constitution places the ownership of private property at the very heart of our system of liberty..."  I think he really believes in property rights, but is ignorant to how his tax, monetary and economic policies undermine those rights.  I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.  10 points 

2.  INCOME TAX:  President Obama has affirmed his belief in the Income Tax on many occasions.  He has advocated increasing it for certain groups.   0 points

3.  INHERITANCE:  In a statement on 12/06/10, the President said, "Republicans have asked for a more generous treatment of the estate tax than I think is warranted."
0 points

4. EMINENT DOMAIN:  Barack Obama put forth what has been called the "largest expansion of federally protected wilderness."  0 points

5.  CENTRAL BANKING:  "President Obama may talk a good populist game and even kick some corporate butt when he goes on the attack against Wall Street “fat cats.” Yet he still enjoys the company of bankers..." from the Moyers and Company episode Crony Capitalism.  0 points


6.  FREEDOM OF SPEECH, ASSEMBLY, TRAVEL:  He signed an extension of the Patriot Act and signed the National Defense Authorization Act.  Need I say more.  0 points


7.  FREE ENTERPRISE:  According to the Bloomberg News Service, "Obama's White House approved 613 federal rules during the first 33 months of his term.."  To his credit, he regulated business less than either Bush the Elder or Bush the Younger had by the same point in their term of office.
5 points


8.  LABOR RIGHTS:  Barack Obama supported the Employee Free Choice Act,which in standard Washington, D.C. fashion meant just the opposite,  He has also went on record as wanting to outlaw contract labor and raise the minimum wage.  0 points


9.  FREE MARKET HOUSING:  Obama keeps supporting policies that pervert the housing market and get in the way of a recovery (rental assistance, tax breaks, mortgage assistance).  He does at least say he wants to get rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  For that he gets-- 5 points


10.  EDUCATION:  As part of his Hope and Change agenda, Barack Obama said the he wants to spend federal money for "Early Childhood Education for every child in America."     0 points  


OVERALL SCORE-- 20 points  (Out of 100)


It appears that President Obama scores pretty liberal.  I don't think he would be surprised by that.

  

Conscious Conservative Book Review--American Theocracy

     In the book American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, Kevin Phillips puts forward the proposition that the United States is headed for a perfect storm that may end the country as it currently exists.  He believes that the current peril is created by energy (especially oil) interests, undue influence of end times theologians and runaway personal and public debt.  He compares the United States to other empires (including the British, Dutch and Hapsburg empires) which he states failed for similar reasons.   
     American Theocracy gives a detailed description of the history of oil production.  It does a decent job of showing how energy supremacy relates to world supremacy by comparing Dutch wind technology to British coal technology to American oil technology.  The book also discusses how oil interests affect both military and economic policy in the United States and Britain.
     As the title American Theocracy suggests, a major part of the book concerns a turn towards dogmatic religious beliefs at the end of many empires.  Although the book provides plenty of data, it does not make a strong enough argument to show a causative effect.  It may be that people reach for their religion of choice when they sense a decline in lifestyle.  It may also be that when a country can no longer show superiority by economic or military might, politicians still try to assert that their government is superior because, "God said so."  One important point the book makes is how the peculiar breed of "end times theology" popular in the United States and Britain affects both  environmental policy and foreign policy decisions about the middle east.
     Mr. Phillips appears especially concerned about the Bush dynasty.  I like his references to "Bush the Elder" and "Bush the Younger."  I have the advantage of reading this book several years after it was published and of seeing how some of the books predictions have played out and how the world looks since Bush the Younger has left office.  America's credit problems actually turned out worse than predicted by Phillips.  As I write this, the credit crunch that American Theocracy warns about has happened and we are in the middle (hopefully) of a "lost decade" of economic stagnation.  However, there is still ever increasing public debt and the "lost decade" threatens to continue to 15 years or longer.  Bush the Younger has been replaced by Barack Obama.  President Obama has continued the economic and military policies of Bush despite Candidate Obama's campaign pledges.  Mr. Phillips may be correct that there are interests more powerful than the Presidency at work.
    American Theocracy is not light reading.  It is full of complex arguments and loaded with statistics to back those arguments.  It compares current conditions in the United States to those at the end of other empires.  I believe it is required reading for those who wish to go beyond the simple "Democrats vs. Republicans," or "Big Oil Bad," sound bite arguments and truly want to learn some of the subtle yet powerful forces and belief systems that guide policy decisions in the United States.  

Debt Limit -- A Conscious Conservative View

     

     In reality, the limit on United States debt obligations will have to be raised.  Conservatives like myself would love to see the Visa card of the United States cut up and thrown in the trash.  However, Congress and the President of the United States agreed to spend this money when they voted on the budget.  The full faith and credit of the United States must be maintained in all dealings.  John Boehner and his colleagues in the House of Representatives can refuse to raise the Debt Limit temporarily and use this time to educate the American public, but only if they do it wisely.  If standing firm on the Debt Limit has the image of a cheap political trick,  the American public will be less informed.  Republicans will end up looking like a political version of the Usual Suspects.   
     As I write this, the Debt Limit has not been raised and Boehner is saying it won't be raised without, "budget cuts."  Unfortunately, he is not being specific, so the Liberals among us say that "budget cuts" are a euphemism for taking away Medicare and other social programs.  On the face, the "budget cuts" seem to be those outlined in the Ryan budget proposal.  Republicans have done a poor job of educating the public on this proposal.  If you only read the popular press, it sounds like a "Medicare Voucher" proposal and nothing more.
     Boehner and his colleagues could remedy this situation if he drops the Republican politics and call for sweeping and equal budget cuts.  The United States is spending more than we can afford on Medicare, Public Broadcasting and Planned Parenthood, but we also spending more than we can afford on Defense, Homeland Security and Farm Subsidies.  Boehner can seize this moment by shouting,
"No More Politics, Fair and Balanced Cuts Across the Board!!" and dare President Obama to justify another plan.  He can also pander to special interests, corporations and the military and end up being a Usual Suspect.

Congressional Conservative Tea Party Poopers

Will "tea party" supported Legislators make a Conscious Conservative difference?  I have examined Senators Ron Johnson,  Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Jim DeMint, Jerry Moran, Patrick Toomey and Tom Coburn in earlier posts.  What I have seen is not encouraging.  There is not the number, seniority or commitment necessary to continue anything but legislative business as usual.  There appear to be only eight Senators that are regularly identified as "Tea Party" Senators.  Only four of those have Conscious Conservative leanings and one of those has already began to distance himself from the movement.  29 House members joined the House Tea Party Caucus.  It is unsure how many of these can truly be considered a Conscious Conservative.

Of the eight "Tea Party" Senators, Rand Paul (KY), Jim DeMint (SC), and Mike Lee (UT) appear to be Conscious Conservatives, strongly in favor of smaller government and individual rights.  Ron Johnson (WI) appears to be A Conscious Conservative, but has started distancing himself from the others by not joining the Senate Tea Party Caucus.  Jerry Moran (KS)  joined the Caucus, but appears to lean Unconscious Conservative or even Socialist/Liberal compared to the other members.  Marco Rubio (FL), Patrick Toomey (PA) and Tom Coburn (OK) all seem to be Unconscious Conservatives with Rubio leaning slightly Conscious Conservative and Toomey/Coburn leaning slightly Socialist/Liberal.

Similar results are expected from the 29 members of the House Tea Party Caucus.  One of the members, Mike Pence (IN), brags on his web site about helping to write the Patriot Act.  Michele Bachman (MN), a Tea Party Caucus Leader, states that the Patriot Act should be extended.  The Patriot Act is one of the most egregious laws ever written from the viewpoint of small government and Conscious Conservatism.
One or more of several factors must exist for making a real Conscious Conservative change in the legislative process.  Eight of 100 Senators and 29 of 435 Congress members are not enough to push an agenda.  This might be overcome if some Members were committed Senior Members and Committee Chairs.  That isn't happening.  A final chance for a Conscious Conservative change would be if  all Tea Party supported Legislators were staunchly Conscious Conservative.  That isn't happening, either.  Many are either Unconscious Conservative or Socialist/Liberal "RINO's" that jumped on the Tea Party bandwagon for votes and will ride it until they get kicked off or find more luxurious transportation. 

I began writing this series of articles before the current legislative session started.  Now that it has started, I find what I had worried about all along.  Republicans and Democrats are playing the old "he said," "she said" game while spending away the childrens' futures.  Unconscious Conservative Republicans are crowing about some grain of sand on the beach earmark they've been able to cut and pretending that they are protecting America.  Although the Tea Party movement sounds good in theory, in practice there are too many Party Poopers.