Time to hold Democrats in Congress responsible for the mess they created

Nov. 13, 2012: In this file photo, Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., speaks during a media availability, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP)

Last week, the fewest number of Americans tuned in to the State of the Union address since the year 2000. For President Obama, it was the worst ratings of his presidency, and was a perfect symbol for how the American people have simply stopped listening to him.

All second-term presidents eventually turn into lame ducks, but the current occupant of the Oval Office got there at a highly accelerated pace.

Simply put, 2013 was a series of errors and bad decisions from start to finish. Shortly after taking the oath office, his administration was besieged by scandals. From the IRS targeting conservative groups to questions about his Department of Justice to his indecisive waffling around Syria, things got bad for President Obama and never got better.

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The crown jewel, of course, is the ongoing disaster of ObamaCare. From its embarrassing rollout and non-functional web site to the broken promises about being able to keep your current plans that turned into the “Lie of the Year,” ObamaCare has been the utter catastrophe that Republicans accurately predicted years ago.

Its impact on our health care system is undeniably bad. All across this country, people are losing their current plans and doctors. Competition and choice are going down; cost of care and premiums are going up.

What’s the answer from tone deaf politicians in Washington? People might have to get used to paying more for their plans.

That’s wrong.

Further, ObamaCare is wreaking havoc on the country’s economic health as well. A report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week predicted ObamaCare would kill more than two million jobs.

The CBO, a trusted and credible voice amid the partisan rancor of Washington, projected that many workers, particularly those in the middle and lower classes, would limit their work hours in order to meet the ObamaCare eligibility requirements.

In this still sputtering economy, government should be providing incentives for people to work more, not less. That basic fact seems like obvious common sense to you, me and most every other American, but then again, upside down is often right side up in President Obama’s broken Washington, D.C.

The president is quick to blame others for his failures and shortcomings, often trying to shift the focus to President George W. Bush (who’s been living in Texas for the last five years) or Republicans in Congress. And while there is plenty of blame to go around in both parties for our current dysfunctional status, ultimately there’s only one president at a time, and it’s up to him or her to lead.

A more appropriate target for the current sorry state of affairs would be Democrats in Congress who have been loyally marching behind this president as he leads this country into the abyss. Democrats from red and purple states like to tout themselves at home as “moderates” or “independents” in line with the interests and values of their voters.

But a closer look at many of their actual votes paints a much different picture. Their record is far different than their campaign rhetoric, and a careful examination shows that when President Obama needed them to advance his liberal agenda, they fell in line.

All the big ticket legislative items under his watch only happened because of Democratic unity. Neither the failed stimulus that spent close to a trillion dollars nor ObamaCare would be here without Senate Democrats. No amount of glossy campaign literature or polished TV ads can change these simple facts.

From his falling poll numbers to the paltry interest in his State of the Union, it’s clear the American people have tuned out President Obama and his vision for the future of the country.

Before we get a chance to change direction in the White House in 2016, we get to replace the members of Congress in 2014 that have been enabling the president’s unpopular agenda.

That should be a scary thought for Democratic incumbents everywhere.