Musings Of An Average Joe: Make No Mistake, Obama’s Snubbing Of Scalia Was Very PersonalBy Joe Bilello - Fox News
The president who continues to claim that his mission is to help bridge partisan divide has once again gone out of his way to create more partisan divide.
President Obama's refusal to attend the funeral services of Justice Antonin Scalia has led to much speculation about his motives. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest claimed that Mr. Obama is concerned about the level of security required for a presidential visit. With the vice president, Supreme Court justices and other high profile people already attending, it can be safely assumed that the security footprint will be fairly large regardless of whether the president attends or not. According to Earnest, “some people actually want to use the funeral of the Supreme Court justice as some sort of political cudgel.” All of a sudden, President Obama is concerned about politicizing an event? Hasn’t his decision to not attend actually caused the controversy? So, what is the real reason why President Obama decided not to attend? It is somewhat political and extremely personal. At least, ideologically personal.
Supreme Court Justices are not often viewed as political foes, but Antonin Scalia was essentially Barack Obama’s ideological nemesis -- an honorable man with absolute respect for the Constitution and the law of the land versus a lawless man with virtually no regard, if not complete disdain for, the Constitution. Barack Obama, it has to be assumed, simply does not want to honor a man that he considers a political and ideological enemy of left-wing progressivism. Especially a man who had the courage and integrity to stand up to those who sought to undermine the Constitution. Antonin Scalia was a threat to Barack Obama and the American left.
Have you ever wondered how a man in his mid-40s doesn’t know that he can’t throw a baseball and would embarrass himself in front of millions of people? It’s because everyone around him tells him that he reminds them of Nolan Ryan. People don’t develop narcissistic personalities unless they are constantly given what they want and told how great they are. President Obama is not used to being defied. He is not used to losing.
And even those who criticize him in public ultimately cave to his demands. Despite constant claims of obstructionism, the GOP-led Congress has basically given the president everything he has asked for. Even Chief Justice John Roberts wanted to score some points with President Obama and the left with his ObamaCare decision. Obama knows he can break Republican Congressional leaders. He now knows he can break John Roberts. But he knew he could never break Antonin Scalia.
As a lame duck, President Obama does not have much political motivation behind a decision like this. As he prepares to nominate someone to fill the vacancy in the court, we can assume that his choice will not be in the mold of Antonin Scalia. Perhaps he doesn't want to be seen celebrating the life and singing the praises of a man just before appointing the man's polar opposite as his replacement.
The truth is that Obama's decision is not political in the sense that he needs to worry about running for office again. But it is political in terms of how he envisions his legacy. And while one’s legacy is important to most presidents, it is an obsession for Barack Obama.
Barack Obama is not seeking the approval of those who will view his legacy as an utter and complete failure anyway. He is seeking the approval of those who will ultimately define his legacy. Those with an equal level of scorn for Justice Scalia. The college professors who will re-write history and indoctrinate a new generation of radical progressive thinkers. Snubbing the memory of Antonin Scalia would be seen as a badge of honor by anyone who would consider Obama's legacy to be a successful one.
President Obama is often misunderstood by his critics. His abysmal record has led many to believe he is incompetent. As Marco Rubio correctly pointed out, nothing could be further from the truth. He knows exactly what he is doing. His countless hours on the golf course have led some to believe he is disinterested, carefree, perhaps even lazy. This is also a dangerous misconception. Indifference is not a personality trait of Obama. He is calculating, passionate and committed to his radical agenda. President Obama sought to “fundamentally transform” America and he has been quite successful thus far. With a lack of meaningful opposition in Congress, there are very few people standing in his way. There are very few people with the courage and conviction to actually defend the Constitution and push back against the president and his progressive vision. One of those people was Antonin Scalia.
Rest in peace, Justice Antonin Scalia
http://nation.foxnews.com/2016/02/21/musings-average-joe-make-no-mistake-obama-s-snubbing-scalia-was-very-personal
