“I promise you that we hold everybody up and down the line accountable,” President Barack Obama told Bill O’Reilly of Fox News during last Sunday’s Super Bowl interview.
When studies show one in 20 food stamp transactions to be fraudulent; when the GAO finds $120 million a year spent paying federal workers who are deceased; when, well, “name your own favorite absurdly wasteful program here,” how does the word “accountable” pass through the president’s lips without a respondent clap of thunder followed by the sizzle and pop of a lightning bolt?
Yet, Obama claims — no, promises! — that this omnipresent accountability reaches absolutely “everybody” in the federal government.
President O was responding specifically to O’Reilly’s charge that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the official responsible for the disastrous Obamacare rollout, has faced no consequences.
She’s not alone. Only by replacing the word “everybody” with the phrase “virtually no one” would Mr. Obama’s statement be made accurate.
Yesterday, I detailed several different ways the IRS has violated people’s most important and basic political rights — from blocking citizens trying to form non-profit groups for communicating their ideas to trashing privacy rights by handing personal tax information to one’s political opponents to harassing donors to “the other” candidate with multiple unwarranted audits. No one in any of these scandals has been disciplined, let go or in any meaningful way held accountable.
“Political language is designed,” as George Orwell warned, “to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
Up and down the line.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
6 replies on “Words Without Meaning”
Of course no one is held accountable. Of course he uses unethical bully tactics. That is how he made his political ascension in Illinois. If it aint broke, don’t fix it. Keep running that play until they find a way to stop it, and all that.
He ran virtually unopposed for the Illinois Senate by getting sealed divorced records leaked to the news in both the primary and general elections. The man who won’t release his college transcripts, or anything else for that matter, had someone else’s sealed records, leaked. He is the lowest form of politician on the planet. And that’s saying something.
and many support him because he says so many nice things. Ultimate silver tongue…or a great speech writer.
Excellent observation, Pablo, and also a fantastic quote from Orwell. Right on the mark. I’m beginning to think rediscovery and proper application of the grand jury is the answer to such corruption, not to mention the highest of crimes: http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-4th-Branch-Kelly-Mordecai-ebook/dp/B006U6BHWI/?tag=thecofcoa-20.
…. the IRS: — by blocking Americans trying to form non-profit groups for communicating ideas; by trashing privacy rights; by handing personal tax information to “Democrats;” by harassing – with multiple punitive audits – donors to “other-than-‘Democratic’ potty” candidates; — has violated Americans’ most important and basic Constitutional rights ….
Those are all felonies and all carry substantial penalties and why do I reckon the totalitarian criminal gang that poses as the “Democratic” potty — and that watched the lying, looting, mass-murdering co-serial-raping Billy-Bubbah Blythe “Cli’tons” skate on crimes that, only if they were all first offenses, would have earned you and me more than 150 years in Leavenworth — will walk free on these major crimes, too?
Conservatives should know by know that when Obama promised to hold people accountable, what he means is he’ll punish those who are his political enemies, and he’ll reward those who break the law for his benefit.
Great article and some good points made. I’m from the UK but I still like to read about these things. I agree with Brian the quote from Orwell is brilliant!