Cynthia Meyer, Staff Writer
Ideology: Conservative | Writing from: Austin, TX

The top five broken promises of the Obama Administration.

It is now over six months into President Obama’s term. Has he lived up to the hype? Is he everything America needed and more? Not quite. It turns out that Obama, who campaigned so heavily against the unethical ways of Washington, is just another sleazy Chicago politician. Surprised? Republicans aren’t. He says what he needs to say in order to get elected. He makes promises that he knows he cannot keep, and even though the adoring media is always on his side, there are only so many broken promises that we, the people, (and apparently his beloved teleprompter) can take before we break down and say enough is enough.

#1: READ MY LIPS– NO NEW TAXES

Promise: Obama promised many times on the campaign trail that the middle class would not see higher taxes in any form.

Reality: There is no way we could pay for all of Obama’s expensive proposals without raising taxes on the middle class. (Even if Pelosi and her pals were forced to give up their private jets!) Officials from the Obama administration have admitted themselves that they cannot take it off of the table for the healthcare bill.This isn’t even including the cap-and-trade mess, which would raise prices for everybody, regardless of class. It is not just a tax on the rich– it is a tax on every American family that uses energy. Also, other taxes that hit the middle class– such as the cigarette tax– are being snuck into our everyday lives by these power-hungry, big-government Democrats.

During the election, Republicans were skeptical of Obama’s unsubstantiated promise of not “raising taxes on families making less than $250,000 per year.” We said that because of his big spending proposals, it simply could not be done, but the media ignored Republicans and took Obama’s word as divine truth– and look at where we are now. The numbers don’t add up, and this is not new news. Both Republicans and Democrats knew this all along. How would Obama have gotten elected if he campaigned on raising taxes on the middle class?

#2: TRANSPARENCY

Promise: Obama promised that he would bring ethics to the Washington “culture of corruption”, with transparency and openness in government.

Reality: Obama has broken this promise many times. We will start with some of his first broken transparency promises, such as the “five-day-pledge”. During the campaign, he promised that he would “not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.” But just nine days after Obama was sworn into office, he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act–and didn’t post the bill online for public viewing until after it became law.

Here’s another early foul: Remember before the stimulus bill passed, Obama promised that there would be no earmarks or pet projects included? Again, we all knew this promise could never be kept with this current Congress. Regardless of Obama’s insistent reassurance, there was in fact loads of pork jammed into this massive spending bill. Oops!

In addition to bills being rushed through Congress and hidden from our viewing, information is withheld from the public still after the bills become law. We don’t even know what the money for these massive spending bills is exactly being used for. The stimulus package money seems to have been filtered through senators and congressman, and then disappeared, with nothing to show for it. Transparency in regards to the TARP money is exceptionally poor. Also, what about the withheld data from the cash-for-clunkers program? Unfortunately, we have less control over our tax money than Joe Biden has over his big mouth.

But Obama sure has a knack for picking ethical appointees for his vision of an ethical Washington, right? Oh, except for Ron Kirk, Tom Daschle, Timothy Geithner, Bill Richardson, Nancy Killefer, Linda Solis, and Kathleen Sebelius… to name a few. But at least we know he would never let a filthy Washington lobbyist into his administration! Well, for the most part…

But here’s one of my favorites: Obama constantly criticized President Bush for his “secret meetings”. In 2006, he said “When big oil companies are invited into the White House for secret energy meetings, it’s no wonder they end up with billions in tax breaks.” But Obama refuses to release information about his own secret meetings with oil executives or health care executives at the White House.

Possibly one of the most dangerous violations of his promise is the lack of transparency and openness about healthcare. He promised that we would have televised, open debate on this issue, yet his meetings are kept secret and the other side is shut out and intimidated.

#3: BIPARTISANSHIP

Promise: Obama promised that he would reach across the isle on issues, include Republican opinions, and promote bipartisanship in legislation.

Reality: Who were we kidding–he only said that because he was running against the Maverick of the year. He had no choice.

In the past six months, Obama has been a pro at shutting out Republicans. The only thing “bipartisan” about his cap-and-trade, healthcare, and spending packages is that his own party won’t even have it.

#4: PASS MY STIMULUS

Promise: Obama made it seem that his stimulus bill was absolutely necessary for the economy to recover. In order to highlight the need for urgency, he laid out the prospective unemployment rates that would result with and without his spending package. In this analysis, he concluded that if we passed the stimulus bill, unemployment would not exceed 8 percent in 2009.

Reality: In July, unemployment hit 9.5 percent—and that’s with the stimulus bill. (See graph) 

#5: HEALTHCARE LIES

Promise: “If you like your health plan, you can keep it” and there will be competition in the industry with the “public option”.

Reality: By mandating employers to provide healthcare, this “public option” will be an incentive for employers to drop their current private coverage and adopt the government plan. This will force others to do the same to maintain a competitive edge. We will not see this freedom of choice that Obama projects. This government-run plan will have a huge advantage over private companies, and will drive out competition, not promote it.

In addition to driving private insurance out of the industry, this universal healthcare bill will use taxpayer money to fund abortions. (Wait–didn’t Obama say he wanted to reduce abortions in this country?)

Obama’s approval ratings are sinking. His healthcare plans are falling apart. His spending packages that were supposed to save the economy have been revealed as merely big-government power grabs. After 2010, President Obama will not have the luxury of a Congress dominated by Democrats. The American people might have been foolish enough to fall for the flowery rhetoric of an inexperienced, big-government liberal, but they are keen enough to realize that what we have is not working. We need checks and balances. Midterm elections, here we come.