President Obama made several important appointments last week. Because of time constraints, I’ll limit my comments to one of them.
Obama’s appointment of Susan Rice to be National Security Advisor is disgraceful – it’s an affront to the American people. He has rewarded, with a promotion, the very person who misled us all after the Benghazi debacle.
We now know that the Obama Administration knew from the very start, that it was terrorists who carried out this heinous attack. Despite that knowledge, Rice spun the tale on five Sunday morning news shows that it was not terrorism, rather it was a spontaneous uprising by protestors over an obscure video.
He has made this appointment despite overwhelming opposition in Congress. And this illustrates something important. For awhile, it appeared that Obama might have considered actually working WITH the elected representatives of the American people, the Congress. He had initiated his so-called charm offensive – inviting Republican Senators mostly, and a few House members (like Paul Ryan) to the White House to have dinner with him and chew the fat so to speak. (Some believed this was because his own poll numbers were coming down due to a lack of cooperation and progress in Washington, and since he’s the top guy there, he was taking some of the blame.) But whatever the reason, there was some Kumbaya going on in Washington for a change.
Then all the scandals broke – Benghazi, the IRS, and spying on the press (and now apparently on the public too), and Obama and his political allies are now all circling the wagons. Survival, at all costs, is now the order of the day. And particularly annoying to the Obama Administration is the fact that since Republicans now control the House, it’s a lot more difficult to sweep certain things under the rug. Having pesky Chairmen like Darrell Issa on your tail can be pretty uncomfortable. It would be a lot easier to make it all go away if Democrats controlled both the Senate and the House again, just like back in the “good ‘ole days” of the first part of the Obama Administration, when things like the Stimulus and Obamacare, and Dodd Frank could be forced through no matter how loud Republicans screamed.
It seems more and more evident that President Obama wants complete control again – control of the House as well as the Senate. That would shut down all the unwanted scrutiny, all the investigations, all the probing committee hearings. And then they could push through the rest of the liberal (oops, progressive) Obama agenda.
That’s where I need your help. Nancy Pelosi and those busy beavers at the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) are in the process of determining which races across the country they will target in 2014 in their effort to win back the House. Even though my district did get better as a result of redistricting, I’m gearing up for whatever the Democrats may throw at me.
I have to report to the Federal Election Commission what I’ve raised for my campaign so far this election cycle by June 30th. Would you please consider making a contribution to my re-election effort by clicking here, any amount that’s comfortable to you, or you can send a contribution to Chabot for Congress, 3030 Harrison Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45211.
Also, as you may know, I set up a Political Action Committee a few years back called WinNovember, which I use to raise money, and then assist other conservative Republican candidates whom I believe have a fighting chance of defeating a liberal Democrat in Congress; or Republican conservative incumbents who are vulnerable. You can click here to make a contribution to that fund.
Thanks in advance for your generosity. Together we can advance a conservative philosophy of less government, lower taxes, and more freedom.
Post script: I would also like to note the passing of two people who were important mentors to me – Benjamin Gettler and Eugene Ruehlmann.
Ben Gettler and his lovely wife Dee have been tremendous supporters of mine through the years. Ben was a successful businessman, a lawyer, a husband, a father and a grandfather. He was the leader of UC’s Board of Trustees, head of Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), on Jewish Hospital’s Board of Directors and led JINSA (Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs) just to name a few of his leadership positions. He gave me invaluable advice on foreign affairs matters and a great many other things over the years. Ben was 87 years old, and will be greatly missed.
The other truly great American who just passed away was probably the best Mayor Cincinnati ever had, Eugene Ruehlmann, who was 88. Known as “Clean Gene” because in the sometimes rough and tumble world of politics, Mayor Ruehlmann was the epitome of honesty in government. But not only was he honest, he was effective, and a great leader.
When I was first elected to Congress, nearly 20 years ago, the freshman class wrote a book (profits going to charity) in which each new member of Congress wrote about that political figure he or she most admired. I wrote about Gene Ruehlmann.
Gene and his late wife Virginia had 8 children, 25 grandchildren, and thus far 11 great-grandchildren.
I’ll miss both Gene Ruehlmann and Ben Gettler greatly. They are truly two of the finest people I ever had the honor to know.
