O ‘Progressive’: Thou Art the Man!

And the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor…[The rich man] took the poor man’s lamb….

And David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man that has done this is worthy to die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

And Nathan said to David: Thou art the man.

(II Samuel 12: 12:1, 4-7)

The “progressive” movement sustains itself on the idea that it is standing up against abuses of power by the wealthy and well-connected, that it defends the rights of the most vulnerable, that it stops special interests from taking over the state. And yet the “progressive” administration of Barack Obama has done all that, and more. It has not just committed ordinary hypocrisy, selling out its principles or breaking its promises: worse, it has often fulfilled them, blind to the consequences.

Imagine a wealthy billionaire who is able to spend his money to guarantee that his own policy preferences prevail, against the will of the people, against the wishes of the unions, against the general interest as determined by the government itself, against the vote of both houses of Congress, against common sense and science. That is is exactly what has happened as Tom Steyer has prevailed upon President Obama to veto the Keystone XL pipeline. And yet the “progressives” applaud.

Imagine wealthy companies that are able to force through secret regulations against the expressed wishes of Congress, against the precedent established in the federal courts, against the best interests of the consumer, against all economic logic, against the preferences of organizations representing the black community. That is exactly what has happened as Google and other wealthy Silicon Valley companies pushed through Net Neutrality. And yet the “progressives” celebrate.

Imagine that insurance companies back a giant transfer of wealth from individual patients directly into their coffers, through a tax that cripples job growth, through legislation that violates the Constitution, as millions of people lose their current insurance plans and their doctors, , against the polls and the promises of the president. That is exactly what has happened with the passage and ongoing implementation of Obamacare. And yet the “progressives” are proud of it.

One could go on: the “executive amnesty” that is destroying the rule of law and creating new challenges for working Americans, especially black Americans; the Cuba policy that is rewarding a tyrannical regime for decades of oppression; the “reset” with Russia that ultimately cost the sovereignty of Ukraine; and more. The “progressives” believe they have done all this to counter the evils of George W. Bush, of corporate America, of conservatism.

O Progressive: Thou art the man.

Senior Editor-at-Large Joel B. Pollak edits Breitbart California and is the author of the new ebook, Wacko Birds: The Fall (and Rise) of the Tea Party, available for Amazon Kindle.

Follow Joel on Twitter: @joelpollak