Know Your Scandals

Watergate was a horrific abuse of presidential power. Nixon obstructed justice and acted as if he was above the law. He also got what he deserved, or perhaps less than he deserved......BUT

Watergate did not cost taxpayers a half a billion dollars in bad loans to presidential cronies.

Watergate did not result in the death of any law enforcement officers or contribute to the violent destabilization of a friendly democracy. Nor was it used to try to subvert the Constitutional rights of millions.

Obama's administration is the most dangerously corrupt and out of control in American history. He tried to get a news network that did not agree with his positions delegitimized by the rest of the media. He has unconstitutionally appointed, without the consent of Congress, over sixty executive branch officials. He has overturned Congressional acts with executive orders, again, in violation of the Constitution.

A vote for Obama is a vote for criminals.

Potentially Much More Damaging and Destructive Than Watergate

In the realm of bad ideas and high level cover ups, Watergate exists in a class by itself. Nixon's White House, saturated by secrecy and cronyism, lived in perpetual fear of its political enemies. This led it to tap former intelligence specialists and adventurers to engage in political espionage and hardball tactics. They violated the rights of individuals and organizations, all in the name of political expediency. As bad as the break ins were, the cover up involved the president and high level officials.

Although Watergate involved high level officials in a criminal conspiracy that violated the Constitution and numerous other laws, no one got hurt. The cover up ended up being a worse crime than the original break ins.

Not so with "Operation Fast and Furious." This ill-conceived plan funneled guns from U. S. shops into Mexican cartels with no oversight. When these guns were linked to American sources, the cover up began. The Obama Administration initially condemned law abiding American shop owners who were actually working with federal agents. When the store owners began to reveal the federal government's role, the story started to slowly unravel. We do not yet know the full truth.

The Attorney General and the Department of Justice have obstructed efforts by the director of the ATF to investigate the extent of the definitely negligent, and possibly criminal activities involved. Congress has launched a full investigation along with the ATF, but Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, has stonewalled the process. This is the same attorney general that refused to prosecute Black Panthers who violated federal election laws by intimidating voters in 2008.

Eric Holder is a symbol of all that has gone wrong in Obama's Administration. We need to know all parties responsible for "Fast and Furious," whether or not the intention from the start was to advance the anti-gun agenda, and how far up the cover up extends.

Obama's presidency is teetering on the edge of the abyss. This scandal could knock it off completely.

Congress Needs to Thoroughly Investigate "Fast and Furious"

The Justice Department has been on its heels all year as revelation after revelation comes out about "Operation Fast and Furious."

This operation co-opted gun stores in the southwestern United States to sell guns to criminals who would then be allowed to take them into Mexico. They would then wait and see where the guns "turned up" rather than intercept them. Thousands of guns made it into the hands of drug cartels and other criminals courtesy of the United States government.

At first, the Obama Administration tried to blame the same gun shops that did their patriotic duty to help the government. They also, in general, tried to make a public gun control case based upon U. S. guns flowing into Mexico. Only when the gun shops gave the details of their involvement, did the government partially fess up. I say partially, because the Justice Department will not turn over full transcripts of documents related to the operation.

Meanwhile, federal agents on the ground cringe (according to a CNN report) when a major gun crime occurs on either side of the border. Will it be one of ours?

This was an operation gone horribly wrong. That happens. However, the government has been in cover up mode for over a year. We must know the full details of this operation. We must also know if the Justice Department or the White House participated in any activities that could be considered obstruction. We must also find out if Obama tried to use this to advance an anti-Second Amendment agenda. This is not just a domestic political issue, but one of national security. Mexican drug cartels are causing the collapse of that country. Chaos in Mexico affects our security. Operation Fast and Furious was irresponsible. We must also find out if it was criminal.