Since the start of his Presidency, a lot of people have been saying that President Obama is very liberal and quite a few have even gone so far as to call him a socialist. But this begs the question. How liberal is he? Is he really someone who wants to make the United States a socialist country? Upon further research, I have found very little evidence that supports this claim. When one looks at the issues and sees the positions the President has taken, Barack Obama is actually only a little to the left from being a centrist. I will show this by looking at some of his stances on domestic issues and foreign policy.
With regard to immigration, Barack Obama has been accused of wanting to give amnesty to illegal immigrants. However, the President’s actions actually show the opposite. For example, as of January 31, 2013, Barack Obama has nearly deported 2 million people, more than any President in the history of our country. He also came out to say that he supports the bi-partisan Senate committee that said it would work on immigration reform. As a second term President, he could have simply ignored the Republicans and gone with his own plan. This way, after the Republicans shoot it down, he and the Democrats could point to this in the 2014 mid-term elections and put the blame on the Republicans and win some seats. However, he didn’t do this.
With regard to foreign policy, President Obama’s is the exact same as President Bush’s. He invokes the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive strike almost every day. Drone attacks have been decimating terrorist networks and at the same time violating other countries’ sovereignty. For example, in Iraq, observational drones are circling our Embassy 24/7 and the Iraqis have complained. He ordered the CIA to keep up on drone strikes in Pakistan, which Pakistan has also complained about, as have other countries. Last October, Obama ordered a Navy Carrier Group to the South China Sea under the pretenses of protecting shipping lanes. However, with China having acquired an aircraft carrier and recent naval build up, this is more than about shipping lanes. It’s a message to China, reminding them that we are still here and that the seas are ours.
Now we will get to everyone’s favorite subject; the economy. This is where it very easy to accuse him of being socialist, but when one peels back the layers of the proverbial onion, this is where he is most centrist. He has enacted the biggest tax cut in history (Stimulus Package), he has granted a payroll tax extension to the Republicans, and he has stuck with Ben Bernanke as the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Additionally, “Obama-Care” was a plan he took directly from the Heritage Foundation (a conservative think tank), and just to make sure people know, there is no public option in the current law.
Sure, he raised taxes on the wealthy, but think about this. Is Richard Nixon a liberal for creating the EPA? Is American Hero, Dwight Eisenhower a socialist for creating the interstate highway system (the mother of all stimulus packages)? And during Eisenhower’s Presidency, when America was a manufacturing and economic powerhouse, the tax rate on the upper income earners was almost 90% and someone making $ 379,000 would be paying 72%. Today, the Republicans complain about a 35% rate, yet we have basically outsourced all of our manufacturing. What this tells me is that the Republicans have shifted very far to the right of where they used to be. Barack Obama, it seems, is trying to go back some of these policies.
Now, before I get accused of being President Obama’s cheerleader, I challenge my readers to look this stuff up. Its fact checked and 100% true. Also, I don’t agree with many of Obama’s policies. Most recently, I am having very negative feelings about the ability to kill Americans without due process. If anyone has contrary evidence to this article or feels that I am wrong, please write a counter article for the next issue, email me, or find me in the street. I don’t bite. As always, thank you for reading and God Bless America.