Watching the rebirth of the STASI

Obama's Enemies List Grows
By Mark Hyman
Just having the appearance of someone who might possibly vote for an opponent of Barack Obama could land them on the President's enemies list where proxies do the dirty work. Political appointees in the Justice Department killed a six-month investigation by career DOJ lawyers into the most blatant voter intimidation case in 40 years. Last November, jack-booted, uniformed, baton-wielding thugs from the New Black Panther Party calling themselves "security" obstructed a Philadelphia polling location and behaved in an intimidating manner toward white voters.
Days after dismissing charges against the menacing thugs, the Justice Department moved in the opposite direction by blocking responsible steps to stem voter fraud. The DOJ barred the administrative procedures Georgia authorities put into place – under federal court guidance -- to verify voter registrations. The DOJ claimed the procedures violated the rights of minority voters.
A de facto Obama enemies list and dirty political machine have been expanding since last year. Obama has established several embarrassing presidential firsts including targeting private individuals by names, assigning a well-known "partisan dirt-digger" and non-lawyer to the White House Counsel's Office to likely gain access to Bush Administration documents protected under attorney-client privilege, and moving the senior political advisor into the West Wing. These are heretofore unseen partisan practices.
Career opposition researcher Shauna Daly left the White House Counsel's Office after a mere month and returned to the Democratic National Committee where using privileged attorney-client information in the opposition research department would set a new low in unethical practices.
Attempting to build-up the Obama Administration by criticizing that of his predecessor has become a near-daily exercise. Obama has personally led efforts to demonize George W. Bush. There has been a full-court press to label enhanced detainee interrogation techniques, approved by Democratic leaders and discontinued for the past six years, as "torture." Interrogation techniques used on tens of thousands of U.S. servicemen and women for more than two decades were suddenly considered criminal acts and Bush officials in the review and approval chain have been smeared as criminals.
Two military psychologists who supervised the enhanced interrogation techniques that were used on only three terrorist leaders were publicly outed by Democratic Senator Carl Levin placing both doctors and their families in personal danger. The doctors' identities had previously been kept under wraps.
Obama's lawyers are attempting to financially ruin individuals party to the most absurd soap opera involving the 44th president. There is unabated controversy regarding his birth, citizenship and foreign travel. Obama could immediately silence his critics by authorizing the release of his original birth certificate and passport. One has to wonder what could possibly be in either document that has caused Obama to wage a fierce and expensive legal battle to keep the files secreted. Aside from Joan Rivers, nearly every American would willingly make their birth certificate available and Obama's stubborn refusal to do so only adds to the controversy.
Petty personal politics, while damaging to the dignity of the White House, have allowed the Obama Administration to elevate political allies and their causes and denigrate valid critics. David Axelrod, Obama's chief political strategist, appeared on National Public Radio last month and belittled a 21-year old beauty pageant contestant, insisting she was one of three finalists for the Obama family dog. The target of Axelrod's churlish remarks was Carrie Prejean, the reigning Miss California. Weeks earlier, Prejean was victimized by a militant homosexual judge who was angry she did not enthusiastically endorse gay marriage in response to his "have-you-stopped-beating-your-wife?" question during the Miss USA competition.
Hours after a doctor specializing in partial-birth abortions was slain, both Obama and U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder issued statements strongly condemning the killing. Further, Holder deployed scores of U.S. Marshals to protect abortion clinics nationwide. The emphatic denunciation of this slaying differed wildly with a nearly identical murder only 24-hours later. A Muslim shot two U.S. Army soldiers outside a Little Rock recruiting station killing one. Days later, the White House quietly faxed a subdued statement to a single Arkansas news outlet while Holder remained silent regarding the act of Islamic terrorism.
This antagonistic attitude toward servicemen and women is not surprising. A few months earlier, the Department of Homeland Security issued a document warning counterterrorism and law enforcement authorities of an alleged threat to the U.S. posed by "domestic rightwing terrorists." Included in the group of potential rightwing terrorists are individuals who are pro-life, support the Second Amendment and oppose the flood of illegal aliens. The DHS pamphlet also singled out military veterans for possible recruitment into domestic terrorist cells.
The targeting of perceived political enemies by the Obama Administration has grown from mere individuals to entire groups. Evidence emerged that a common thread among the list of 789 Chrysler dealerships ordered closed by the White House is that the owners donated to GOP candidates, Republican-leaning causes or donated to Hillary Clinton or John Edwards during the Democratic presidential primaries.
Auto industry observers and others report that apparently successful franchises (such as Chrysler's highest-rated 5-star dealerships) were ordered closed in favor of less successful car lots and the consistent discriminator was which political party the owners supported. One report suggests the closure list may have been drawn up by the car czar's office.
In some instances, dealerships ordered closed were those that competed with franchises whose owners were prolific supporters or contributors to Democratic politicians. Thomas "Mack" McLarty, former chief of staff to Bill Clinton, had virtually all of the competition to his six dealership locations wiped out.
Also targeted during the auto industry purge were companies that did not willingly agree to Obama's political demands. Representatives of three secured creditors that did not receive any government bailout money reported they were threatened if they did not agree to White House demands in Chrysler's restructuring. The White House insistence that secured creditors accept only 29 cents on the dollar while inflating the value of unsecured credit claims held by the United Auto Workers turned two century-old bankruptcy policy on its head.
One fund manager reported being on the receiving end of a profanity-laced tirade by Auto Industry Task Force head Steve Rattner that included threats to use the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission in gangster-like enforcement roles.
In another exchange, Thomas Lauria, a lawyer for financial firm Perella Weinberg Partners, reported the car czar threatened that "the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its [Perella Weinberg's] reputation" unless the firm agreed to Obama administration demands in Chrysler's bankruptcy. The failure by the White House press corps to repudiate Rattner's threat speaks volumes and underscores their role as an ally of the Obama Administration