“Last I heard, we lived in a democratic society; last I heard a United States senator has the right to disagree with the president, including a president who has done such an extraordinary job.”
If you watched the PBS debate this past Thursday or read the aftermath of the battle waged between Senator Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, then you know that Sanders made the above comment in response to Hillary’s lashing out at him for being critical of President Barack Obama over the last several years.
Hillary’s comments imply that Obama deserves some unique reverence. She may be correct. After all, under Obama’s presidency we have seen unemployment rates drop, gas prices plummet, and the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Though he deserves praise, Obama is not some how immune from criticism just because he is President of the Untied States. Rather, it is perfectly normal and within our constitutional right to criticize the president and any leader of our country for their opinions or policies.
Hillary’s Allegations
Hillary stated that Sanders’ criticism is something she expects from Republicans, but not from a Democrat who is attempting to succeed Obama.
She alleged that Sanders’ called Obama weak and a disappointment. Hillary also called Sanders’ out for a blurb that he posted in a book that argued voters likely have buyer’s remorse for electing Obama.
Frankly, if Sanders believes that the president is weak, then he needs to call him out on that. If he is disappointed, he should explain why. And Sanders has not been shy; rather he has been very vocal in his disagreements with Obama.
Regardless of whether Hillary’s accusations are true, it is within Sanders constitutional right to say all those things.
We all should be doing this, because we need to make the president accountable. We should want our senators and representatives to question and criticize our party leaders, including the president, rather than stand idly by and remain silent.
Criticizing President Obama
Being critical of the president is a constitutional right granted to us by our founding fathers when they included freedom of speech in the Bill of Rights.
We as citizens should want our leaders to voice criticism against the president because they are supposed to be representing us, our views, and our ideas.
Regardless of my opinion on Obama and whether I agree that he has done an extraordinary job, I don’t necessarily agree with everything he has done. I also am disappointed with the many things he has failed to do. I voice my criticism when warranted even though I understand that he has not been able to get everything we hoped he would accomplish because of the “unprecedented Republican obstructionism” he has faced with Congress.
It is not only the Republicans who have vehemently voiced concern over Obama. Many Democratic legislatures have not been shy about their disagreement with the president. Though Democrats now running for office want Obama in their corner, this was not always the case. As you may recall:
“A large portion of progressives held their noses and supported the president in the 2012 presidential election. With the president safely re-elected, the base is expressing displeasure with the president. The left-wing has come out full throttle with a list of grievances directed toward the president, including his use of predator drones, his signing of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (which includes a provision allowing the federal government to detain U.S. citizens indefinitely if suspected of terrorism), and his support for reductions in cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients.“
We should want all our leaders to question the president’s policies and actions and hold him accountable for his failures and broken promises.
Criticizing the Sitting President is Nothing New
Being critical of the sitting president is nothing new. From John Tyler in the 1840s to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s to even the Republican god, Ronald Regan during the 1980s. They all felt heat from not only the opposite side of the aisle, but from their own party base.
Take Regan, for example. As the Huffington Post reported:
“Though…Regan is apothtiasized by many conservatives today, he came under intense scrutiny from some on the right for signing the largest tax increase since WWI. Reagan also came under conservative scrutiny for signing legislation increasing the Payroll and Federal Gas Tax. Conservative activist Richard A. Viguerie said during Reagan’s Presidency: ‘Mr. Reagan is now seen as untrustworthy by many conservatives who believe he has betrayed his own principles in an effort to appease his critics on such domestic issues as education, welfare, the budget, and taxes.'”
Though these past presidents have faced criticisms from Congress, Obama has had a special sort of criticism come his way. Not only from our leaders, but certainly from the electorate who recklessly disregard any truth or falsity when they speak about Obama.
We can speculate all day long why Obama has received such harsh and very disrespectful treatment (racism and stupidity, to name a few), but at the end of the day, there is a certain faction of citizens who downright hate the president.
The anti-Obama faction is fed by the GOP who hide behind the First Amendment. This is an unfortunate consequence of living in a democratic society, when free speech can turn into fear mongering.
This is where we want and need other leaders to step forward and speak on our behalf, to set the record straight.
Expecting More From the Legislature and Presidential Hopefuls
Some may argue that we should expect more from our Legislature and presidential hopefuls. Based on her comments at the PBS debate, Hillary and others believe that legislatures should be held to a higher standard.
Why should we want these men and women, who are representing us, to be held to a higher standard? We should want them to speak their mind, because then we will know where they stand.
When we hear someone make comments about the president, they are telling us where they stand. If they want to praise the president, they are free to shout it on the mountain tops for people to know. Some of them praise the president, even when he is not deserving, but at least we know that they are the ones who are full of it, and may only be pandering to the president or to his constituents.
Now when (mostly GOP) legislatures are overtly critical, again, at least we know where they stand. At least we understand and know that they do not like the president or they too are pandering to their electorate to ensure they keep their congressional seat.
On the other hand, perhaps both our legislature and those vying for the presidency should be held to a higher standard and set an example for the American public. After all, it is arguably irresponsible for candidates to just, as Bill Maher recently stated, “pull shit out of their ass” when they denounce the president, imply America is not great, and make numerous false statements about the president’s policies when many uneducated constituents, incapable of rational thought, are believing verbatim the words that come out of their leaders’ mouths.
The Public, The Press Should Be Holding All Politicians Accountable
When we hear these legislatures make these absurd comments, and especially when they stoop to the level of school yard bullying and name calling, it is our responsibility as the public to come forward and correct what these leaders are saying.
It is also the responsibility of the press, to question and to call them out when falsities are made. Instead of acting as “reality show producers” when discussing the political issues or yelling at their guests as if on Jerry Springer, the media, particularly on television, should report the news by bringing objective facts to the conversation in order to properly inform and educate the masses.
Whether it is the people or the press, we need to stay steadfast to freedom of speech, because though it can be used in such ugly ways, it is still a very beautiful thing. It is beautiful because we live in a nation where we will not be reprimanded for expressing our disagreements or disappointments or for even hating the president.
Featured image by Fibonacci Blue under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
