Many polls consider President Barack Obama one of the most polarizing American leaders to ever set foot in the White House. It is clear that the president has loyal supporters and spiteful critics, but how much of the negative criticism really rests on his shoulders? There are many organizations and special interests who oppose Obama?and have forcefully stood in the way of the President’s attempts to make meaningful progress. As a matter of fact, the Republican party has filibustered at least 500 bills since President Obama has been in office.
Here are five key bills that have been filibustered by Republicans since Obama has been in office.
1. The 2011 Infrastructure Bill
The 2011 Infrastructure Bill was filibustered because it would raise taxes on people who had an income of one million dollars or greater. You may find it interesting that the GOP, the party that prides itself on job creation, decided to turn their back on a job creation bill simply because of partisan politics.
2. Bush-era Middle Class Tax Cuts
In 2010, a proposal of extensions for Bush-era middle class tax cuts was stopped in its tracks. Even though the bill was a continuation of George W. Bush’s policies AND included tax cuts to millions of Americans making under $250,ooo a year, the idea of letting millionaires’ tax cuts expire was simply too much for the right to deal with.
3. The Equal Pay For Women Bill
The equal pay for women bill was rejected in 2013. Once again companies did not want to pay out extra funds, but also some people seemed to think that we already “had enough laws” at the time.
4. Minimum Wage Bill
The minimum wage bill was filibustered in 2014. It seems that some people?did not want more economic power falling into the hands of the poor. Evidently, the?group that idealizes the Reagan era is?OK with a minimum wage that is 20% less?than the 1980’s.
5. Bring Jobs Home Bill
Bring Jobs Home bill was also filibustered in 2014. Corporations and specific countries would lose millions of dollars if more Americans were doing business domestically.
With so many blatant rejections of President Obama’s policies, a person has to wonder why the Republicans and other groups are so set against the nation’s leader. One of the biggest reasons for the rejection of the President’s policies has to do with fear. Believe it or not, many Republicans know that many Americans would be happy with many of President Obama’s bills. Increased wages, jobs, healthcare, and opportunities would?literally be life changing for many people.?Accepting bills that?could actually change the lives of their loyal supporters would also change minds about remaining loyal to the Republican party.
While it?is standard practice for many special interest groups to push back against legislation and policy, it seems like they are going overboard when it comes to President Obama. Again, do I need to repeat that over 500 bills have been filibustered? That’s a LONG time to “hold it in“. Many of the President’s bills are designed to improve and strengthen the economy for middle class Americans. The middle class Americans form the backbone of society. So, if the President strengthens this group he would be taking more power out of the hand of the privileged few.
Many rich and wealthy people want to keep their power and not share it with the middle class. So, when the President proposes a bill that will improve a middle class person’s economic position, it is usually rejected by special interest groups who influence the Republican party to reject these bills. This is one of the main reasons as to why the proposals for the minimum wage rate increase has been stalling and why middle class tax breaks have been rejected.
President Obama’s plans have been rejected because Republicans and special interest groups do not want to change the American power structure. They want things to remain the way they are. They also fear a serious defect of more Republicans from the already weakened Republican party. Ultimately, fear is the biggest reason as to why most of President Obama’s bills are constantly rejected by Republicans.
