The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:24 PM
OUR VIEW: Lessons From Lincoln's Gettysburg Address 154 Years Later Need To Be Remembered By A Divided Nation
Sunday
marked the 154th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s historic Gettysburg
Address delivered near the memories of a blood-soaked field in
Pennsylvania where thousands of lives were lost in this nation’s only
Civil War. The echoes of that speech ring a warning to us today that
unless this nation comes together and soon we’re headed for a repeat of
history.
The battle itself involved the largest number of casualties of the
entire war as both sides suffered close to 51,000 deaths and is often
described as the war's turning point.
The
casualties for both sides during the entire campaign were 57,225,
according to historical data.
I had the privilege to visit Gettysburg a few years ago during my
travels and to this day I have never forgotten nor will I ever forget
the experience and the emotion walking through those fields
I remember vividly the sadness I felt inside while looking at the
monuments of the dead and fallen and visiting the grave sites where so
many young men lost their lives because we as a nation were fighting
amongst ourselves.
And some 154 years later we find ourselves a divided nation again thanks
to those who wish to divide us and not unite us.
Racial division is at an all time high as taunts of “racist” and
“racism” are thrown out like pennies into a wishing fountain by baiters
of hatred who claim they are standing up for those they deem insulted.
Oprah Winfrey appeared on a British television station a few years ago
stating that anyone who disagreed with former President Obama in America
did so not because of his policies, but because of the color of his
skin.
Her solution you may ask? She felt that the cure is for all the
“racists” to die out as if that will solve the issue of racism. It
won’t. That’s just lovely coming from someone who has made billions of
dollars in this nation from those supporting her work and brand in all
segments of society – both white and black.
It’s those types of comments that have this nation on the precipice of a
deep rooted racial conflict, one that will have long term ramifications
that my may ultimately tear what’s left of the remaining fiber of this
nation apart.
I have long stated that I’m not a fan of our last President and don’t
beat any bones about it. I respect the office he held but I have no
respect for him personally. I’ve seen some of the most corrupt and
demonic events take place in the past nine years that I have ever seen
in this nation’s history.
I’m
still sick inside over the lack of someone being held accountable for
four dead Americans killed in Benghazi during the second week of
September 2012.
It’s scary and troubling at the very least and fairly clear that at the
time President Obama was aware that the IRS was targeting conservative
groups, especially the Tea Party who were opposed to his administration;
groups he felt were more of a threat than Islamic jihadists.
I didn’t care what color Mr. Obama’s skin was but I did and still do
care a ton about the dangerous path down which he lead this nation and
poisoned the nation’s atmosphere and thoughts of its citizens.
He conducted a war of rhetoric laced with his own version of racial
division that pitted the rich against the poor, white against black,
Republican against Democrat along with vilifying anyone who opposed his
schemes and plans for America.
Some people say said “well he’s just a bit over his head with the job
and did not really seek to do the nation harm.”
Well if he was just over his head with the job then explain to me how he
could brazenly lie without conscience to the nation about things such as
Benghazi, the IRS scandals targeting conservatives and Obama Care then
laughed behind closed doors to his cronies that he’s “got one campaign
left in him” to save his failed insurance legislation?
Legislation I remind you that continues to gut the soul of the nation
while his supporters stubbornly refuse to accept changes that will take
the sting out of what has hit five million Americans and growing who
have lost their insurance plans because of this monstrosity of a law. A
law that was passed mind you without one Republican vote.
Make no mistake about it. The tone of the nation became increasingly
toxic during the Obama administration.
Every
time Obama was given a microphone he could have compromised with those
he disagreed with, yet he instead demonized his enemies and when all
else failed had his race baiting supporters pull the race card from the
bottom of the deck to claim their disagreements with him were over his
skin color not his character and policies.
No, I’m not blaming Obama for all that is wrong with America when it
comes to race and division. These issues were here long before Mr. Obama
took office, but all things start at the top.
And when we needed a President who was truly concerned that the nation be one as Lincoln was, we had someone who only wanted to be President over the liberal left who supported him blindly in all he did. That was a recipe for disaster.
Class
warfare only works when people let it work. Racial warfare only works
when people allow it to continue. Race baiting and hatred only work when
the public allows those things to tear us to pieces. Our bloodstream as
a nation right now continues to be toxic, just as it was months leading
up to this terrible stain on our nation’s history 154 years ago Sunday
the 19th when the fields of Gettysburg ran red with the blood of 51,000
precious souls because a nation hated itself.
That’s the echo of warning from Gettysburg 154 years later. Government
“of the people, by the people, and for the people” as Lincoln ended his
speech has been replaced with a dangerously orchestrated effort in
Washington D.C. to remove freedoms that were paid for with the blood of
fallen soldiers to ensure men and women freedom as Americans.
That removal of freedoms my friend is defined as communism and
dictatorship.
Don’t let the politicians divide us. Don’t let the race baiters and
their demonic rhetoric cause us not to be one nation again under God no
matter the color of our skin. I still believe we have a great nation. I
believe the things that made us great in the past can make us great in
the future. We need leadership to do it and President Trump is making
the effort to provide that leadership.
President Obama in all his efforts to paint himself as a leader often
compared himself to Abraham Lincoln. He announced his candidacy in 2007
near Lincoln's law office in Springfield, Ill. Both in 2009 and 2013, he
took the oath of office with his hand on Lincoln's Bible. And in 2009,
he replicated Lincoln's 1861 route from Philadelphia to Washington for
the Inauguration.
Well Mr. Obama not to sound mean, but “you were no Abraham Lincoln.” The
theme of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address 154 years ago was a powerful plea
to a divided nation to unite itself and heal.
During the Obama administration years of rhetoric, empty promises, and
lies, there was no such plea from the White House. Instead of pleas for
unity, we heard nothing but statements laced with blame, distrust,
demonization, and arrogance that took us from any hopes of unity but to
racial, political and social division.
To repeat the words of who I believe was one of our greatest Presidents
ever in this history of this great nation, it’s time our government to
once again be “of the people, for the people, and by the people,” and
never perish from this earth!
It follows, then, that Clinton is no higher or lower than any American.
She must abide by the rule of law regardless of her condition or
circumstance. Running for high office, including the presidency, does
not somehow establish an entitlement to legal absolution.
Yet, this essential doctrine seemed to be entirely lost on Democrats
during Tuesday’s hearing by the House Judiciary Committee in which
Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified.
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the ranking Democrat, asked the following
question: “In a functioning democracy, is it common for the leader of
the country to order the criminal justice system to retaliate against
his political opponents?”
Sessions responded that “the Department of Justice can never be used to
retaliate politically against opponents and that would be wrong.”
Conyers, a notorious partisan, appears to have deliberately misstated
both the law and the facts. The Justice Department is duty-bound to
investigate acts that appear to have violated criminal statutes. If
there is sufficient evidence to support an indictment of charges, our
system of justice demands they be brought.
This is not retaliation, as Conyers would have people believe, but the
enforcement of laws unimpeded by political motivations.
Clinton is not exempt merely because she ran for the presidency and
lost. If that were the case, anyone could rob a bank and be excused from
punishment by becoming a candidate for office.
Sessions has been lethargic in determining whether the criminal
prosecution of Clinton is warranted. On July 27, Republicans on the
House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the attorney general
demanding that he appoint a special counsel to investigate alleged
wrongdoing by Clinton in the controversial sale of a uranium company to
Russia. Sessions never responded. A second letter in September was also
ignored.
Finally, on the eve of his testimony, Sessions advised the committee
that he had, indeed, directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate
whether a special counsel is needed. There is compelling evidence that
Clinton may have used her office as secretary of state to confer a
benefit to the Russian government in exchange for money.
If a “pay-to-play” scheme helped secure the sale of 20 percent of
America’s uranium assets to Russia while enriching Hillary Clinton and
former President Bill Clinton and their foundation, it would constitute
various crimes including bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and, arguably,
racketeering.
The committee has requested that a special counsel also reopen the
Clinton email case to ascertain whether actions taken by then-Attorney
General Loretta Lynch and then-FBI Director James Comey may have
obstructing justice in an effort to exonerate Clinton.
If so, then the question of whether Clinton violated the Espionage Act
in mishandling 110 classified documents found on her unsecured and
unauthorized personal server must be re-examined for potential criminal
charges against her.
As I have argued in columns for several months, the attorney general has
no choice but to appoint a special counsel and must do so immediately.
During his confirmation hearing on Jan. 10, Sessions vowed to recuse
himself from any questions involving “both the Clinton email
investigation and any matters involving the Clinton Foundation.”
Therefore, he must hand the entire matter over to a special counsel in
order to comply with his promise under oath and to eliminate his
admitted conflict of interest.
President Trump has criticized Sessions for his conspicuous failure to
pursue investigations into Clinton and others in the Obama
administration for their suspected criminality. President Trump was
right to do so and is well within his constitutional authority to voice
his concern.
It is a complete myth perpetuated by the media – and reiterated by
Conyers during Tuesday’s hearing – that a president may not be engaged
in criminal cases at the Department of Justice. There is not a single
law prohibiting him from directing the department to pursue any matter
that merits criminal prosecution.
To the contrary, under Article II of the Constitution the president is
specifically empowered to enforce all laws – something often
accomplished by instructing the Justice Department to take action.
Agencies and departments in the executive branch are not independent.
They are constitutionally under the direction of the president. He may
tell them what to do and what not to do.
Over the course of our nation’s history, presidents have been intimately
involved in both civil and criminal cases. President Thomas Jefferson
ordered his attorney general to prosecute Aaron Burr for treason.
President John F. Kennedy ordered his Justice Department to intervene in
multiple civil rights cases.
A president may not abuse his office to pursue political vendettas under
the guise of criminal prosecutions. But where there is sufficient
evidence of illegality, he has every right to demand that the law be
enforced. His failure to do so would constitute an egregious breach of
his constitutional duty.
The more we learn about the machinations of Hillary Clinton and the
unscrupulous nature of her dealings as secretary of state and, later, as
a presidential candidate, the more we have come to learn that the
trajectory of her political career has been punctuated by a sense of
privilege and entitlement that transcends the law.
It is time she face the consequences of her actions and the scrutiny of
a special counsel.
Gregg Jarrett joined FOX News Channel (FNC) in 2002 and is based in New
York. He currently serves as legal analyst and offers commentary across
both FNC and FOX Business Network (FBN).
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Christopher McDonald, Publisher, Editor in Charge
Great Smoky Mountain Journal
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