Crimes Against Liberty

Crimes Against Liberty
Frank Turek
8-29-10

“Generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal,” and that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” That, of course, was Barack Obama upon securing his party’s nomination for president.

It didn’t take generations but only a couple of years for a majority of Americans to begin to realize that instead of messianic healing, Barack Obama is inflicting unprecedented injuries on America and the liberties of its citizens. Now there is a book that documents this alarming news in a very comprehensive yet readable way. My friend David Limbaugh’s Crimes Against Liberty is the one book all Americans should read before November.

Before you dismiss Crimes Against Liberty because it is written by a Limbaugh (after all, you’re not a bigot, right?), realize that people can present evidence objectively even if they personally are not neutral. First, neutral people rarely have the interest or expertise to write books! But more importantly, you can’t dismiss what Limbaugh says simply because he might have a conservative agenda. That’s a fallacy that cuts both ways—you’d have to dismiss everything Obama says because he has a liberal agenda. The truth is, everyone has an agenda. The issue is not the agenda, but the evidence one presents!

Like the good attorney he is, Limbaugh presents a wealth of irrefutable evidence for his thesis quoting several liberals along the way. His meticulously researched indictment of Barack Obama and his Administration lays out fact after fact that will educate even political junkies who mistakenly thought they knew it all. I follow politics closely, but I didn’t know the extent to which those currently in power are dismantling our liberties and security until I read this book.

Since Crimes Against Liberty is over 500 pages (including nearly 100 pages of endnotes), I can only summarize a small number of facts that Limbaugh presents about the Obama Administration. You need to get the book to appreciate the breadth of the problem—a problem that most in the major media have failed to report.

Limbaugh documents that Obama usurps rights and laws. For example:

• Obama admitted that he doesn’t care about the lawmaking process just the result. David Axelrod also expressed this same sentiment, which strikes the heart of the American system—the process does matter. We are a nation of laws not men.

• Obama decided to give $140 billion to the IMF without Congressional approval. Even Congressional liberals objected to this.

• His EPA classified carbon dioxide as a toxic air pollutant and then claimed authority to set emissions standards without Congressional approval. (A toxic pollutant? It’s plant food!)

• Obama’s Department of Justice dismissed a case against the new Black Panther party that had clear video evidence of voter intimidation. Todd Graziano, Member of US Commission on Civil Rights, says there is a culture in the DOJ where they “don’t believe the voting rights laws should ever be enforced against blacks and other minorities.” So much for “equal protection” guaranteed by the Constitution.

• Obama threatened legal action against some companies (such as Humana) for informing their customers about the potential problems with Obamacare. That is the government seeking to criminalize free speech!

• The Obama Administration asked Americans to report their friends for circulating emails critical of ObamaCare. Can you say Big Brother?

• Obama also sent unsolicited emails to federal workers urging them to support ObamaCare. Some workers complained privately about the partisan emails but they feared retribution if they went public.

• Obama has been pushing for “Net Neutrality Rules” to seize control of, or to shut down, portions of the Internet.

Limbaugh shows that Obama often leads by slander and intimidation. For example:

• Tom Lauria, an attorney in the Chrysler bailout negotiations, claimed, “One of my clients was directly threatened by the White House and, in essence, compelled to withdraw his opposition to the deal under the threat of the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight.” Why was Lauria’s client opposing the deal? Because Obama offered his UAW buddies 50 cents on the dollar for their unsecured debt while offering Lauria’s client only 33 cents on the dollar for their secured debt. This is contrary to fundamental bankruptcy laws. Limbaugh observes, “Here was the President of the United States, again, attacking the reputation and integrity of a private firm merely for asserting its rights in the negotiation…. Obama picks winners and losers based on political allegiance and cronyism—the rule of law be damned.” Even mild-mannered Michael Barone called this “Gangster Government.”

• Obama used civil rights language (“discrimination”) to slander insurance companies for lawfully excluding people with pre-existing conditions. He later inadvertently admitted that’s necessary otherwise patients could game the system and get insurance only after getting sick.

• As if it was his money, Obama threatened to withhold stimulus money from Arizona because Senator Kyl said on TV that the stimulus wasn’t helping the economy.

• Obama abruptly fired Americorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin—who was tasked to ferret out government corruption and to protect whistleblowers—as Walpin was uncovering misuse of a federal grant by an Obama crony. Limbaugh writes of the cover up by the White House after the firing. (It’s alarming that the man tasked to protect government whistleblowers needs whistleblower protection himself from the President of the United States!)

• Obama and others in his Administration have characterized states rights people, pro-lifers, and war veterans as rightwing “extremists” and potential terrorists. (This from a man who in Illinois twice voted against protecting live babies who survived abortion, and who refuses to call real terrorists, like the Fort Hood shooter, what they are.)

• Tea Party people are “tea baggers” and “anti-government” “extremists.” (What a unifier our President is!)

• People who object to homosexual behavior possess “worn arguments and old attitudes.” (Yes, Mr. President, the truth is very old indeed; it’s impervious to hope and change.)

• Doctors are unethical because they do unnecessary surgery to make money. (Obama avoids mentioning unethical behavior by the Democrat-contributing trial lawyers who dramatically drive up health care costs through bogus malpractice lawsuits.)

• Business people are “fat cats” making “immoral” and “obscene” profits (while Obama rakes in $2.5 million in book royalties and pays the Government Motors CEO $9 million).

Limbaugh also documents how Obama:

• Is creating unimaginable debt, and that the average debt under Democrat Congresses is ten times that of Republican Congresses.

• Cooked the books and hid data about the true exploding cost of ObamaCare just a week before the vote.

• Struck a deal that with pharmaceutical companies that lined their pockets but disadvantaged consumers.

• Signed bills that make bailouts and reckless lending more likely.

• Has given nearly a billion dollars to Hamas-ruled Gaza while undermining our ally Israel at almost every turn.

• Continues to weaken our national security by signaling appeasement to Iran and by refusing to acknowledge or confront threats from radical Islam.

• Broke his promises to be transparent and avoided public scrutiny by burying unpopular provisions in other legislation. This includes the reversal of the enormously successful welfare reform and the establishment a super medical bureaucratic board (in effect a “death panel”).

Barack Obama is not the President we’ve been waiting for, but Crimes Against Liberty is the book we’ve been waiting for. If you love America, get the book, read it, and tell your friends before November.


Frank Turek is the award-winning author or coauthor of three books including Correct, Not Politically Correct: How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone and I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. His TV show airs Mondays at 8 pm ET on DirecTV, Channel 378. To learn more visit www.CrossExamined.org.