Obama Uses American Tales of Shutdown Woe to Pressure GOP on Spending Bill
Photo Credit: AP/Charles DharapakBy Ben Wolfgang.
With the federal shutdown headed toward its second week, President Obama on Saturday continued to pressure House Republicans to immediately pass a “clean” spending bill to get Washington back up and running.
In his weekly radio and internet address, the president read two letters he received from “Americans dealing with those real-world consequences” of the shutdown.
Mr. Obama, who was forced to cancel a trip to Asia and has seen other legislative priorities grind to a halt as Capitol Hill remains deadlocked, read the story of an Alabama woman who says her Head Start agency had to close its doors on Tuesday.
He also cited a North Dakota family in danger of losing its federal home loan as a result of the government closure.
Reciting such tales is Mr. Obama’s latest strategy to prod Congress to action.
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Obama, the Sultan of Sob Stories
By Jeannie DeAngelis.
In order to advance his agenda, Barack Obama has become the sultan of sob stories. For every unpopular policy he endeavors to impose, the president has busloads of individuals to fit every occasion.
Take for instance the president’s enthusiastic desire to curtail Second Amendment rights. To address that issue, he has mentioned and put on display shooting survivor and former Arizona congresswoman Gabby “deserves a vote” Giffords many times.
Mr. Obama has spoken at prayer memorials, exploited the grieving families of the Sandy Hook victims, and given seats of honor at the State of the Union speech to slain Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton’s parents, Cleo and Nat. The president has read letters from terrified albeit amazingly articulate schoolchildren convinced that without drastic gun control measures they’ll be gunned down in school, and even went so far as to assume symbolic parenthood of shooting victim Trayvon Martin.
For immigration reform, we now know all about DREAM actors, those fresh-faced illegal immigrants that any American would be proud to see marry their son or daughter. In addition, we’ve heard stories about innocent Latinos just trying to buy ice cream cones for their children being harassed for their “papers” by mean xenophobes in Arizona.
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