As I noted a week or something ago, an ineluctable feature of the concept of paternalism is the possibility of bad parenting. What Obama is doing here is acting like a father, when asked why a given rule exists, saying “Because I told you so. Now go to your room.” An opportunity for connection, for growth in the relationship, has been lost, due to arrogant narcissism.
Obama is not punishing the Republican Congress for thwarting his will: he is punishing the American PEOPLE, seemingly because he feels betrayed that his ideas even have to endure discussion, much less rejection. In closing these parks, in taking away from the American people public land that it paid for through taxation, and which requires ZERO cost to keep open, Obama is playing the part of a bad parent who does not feel they need to explain themselves, even when they are acting abusively. He is acting out, but from an assumed position of moral authority.
Obama has no moral authority. He has not earned respect. That is what makes this the behavior, quite literally, of an aspiring totalitarian, who views his subjects as children, to be disposed of as he sees fit.
Obviously, of course, Obama calculates that the craven, complicit media will cover him, and help him blame the Republicans. But two factors work in the Republicans favor: 1) Obamacare is imploding as I write; it is a failure, and a manifest one; 2) These park closings affect a lot of people, and they are indefensible. I am already seeing scattered showers of semi-professional journalism that is almost approaching the top of the hill where they can see actual integrity on the next summit.
I will repeat that I think the longer this lasts, the more likely the Republicans are to turn this to their advantage, particularly if they make CRYSTAL CLEAR to anyone who will listen that the money has been appropriated for any number of programs that Harry Reid simply will not allow to a vote. This will place Harry Reid in the position of shutting down programs that don’t need to be shut down, purely to protect a program most Americans didn’t want a year ago, and which they are finding out now they REALLY don’t want, because it is a clusterfuck even before the business mandate kicks in.
This thing could really, really sour for the Democrats, really really fast.
I seriously think that if the Republicans play this right–and they almost never do, so it’s hard to get hopes up–but if they don’t screw up, we have a good shot at retaking the Senate in 2014, and putting an actual conservative in the White House in 2016.