Republicans specialize in obstruction
Victor Davis Hanson’s Dec. 4 commentary in The Bee would be laughable were it not so destructive to democracy. He lays blame on President Obama and Hillary Clinton for the delivering the most offensive, puerile and incompetent president ever.
Mr. Hanson should take responsibility. Were it not for downright false, misleading, deceptive and creative interpretations of Obama’s and Clinton’s legacy by him and the entire right-wing apparatus for eight years, President-elect Donald Trump would be feeding his ego elsewhere.
On day one, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said the GOP’s first priority was to make Obama a one-term president.
Translation: obstruct everything and the Republicans did. He wonders why Obama had to ram through the Affordable Care Act? He says it is unworkable? For whom? 16.4 million now have insurance. Those with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied insurance. Those under age 26 are covered by their parents’ insurance.
He says huge budget deficits ensued. Really? Since Obama took office, the deficit has been reduced by 76 percent.
It’s easy to pick Mr. Hanson apart. He’s long on demagoguery but short on facts. That’s probably why Michael Parenti was able to easily take him to the woodshed in the 2010 debate at Fresno Pacific University.
Alan Cheah, Oakhurst
This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Republicans specialize in obstruction."