FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey warns that President Barack Obama’s policies are so misguided that they could trigger civil unrest if continued for a second term.In an exclusive Newsmax.TV interview to discuss FreedomWorks’ new super PAC, Armey cited high unemployment, the sharp spike in the number of Americans living in poverty, and dysfunctional tax policies as legacies of an administration he described as “hopelessly lost.”
Indeed, the economic contagion shows every sign on spreading. Global stocks closed their worst quarter in nearly three years on Friday on nagging concerns about the world economy and the lack of a credible solution to Europe's debt crisis.
The euro and most commodity prices also fell as investors' search for safety drove up U.S. government bonds and the dollar.
Adding to a string of global data that has crushed growth-related assets in the past three months, China's manufacturing sector contracted for a third straight month in September while German retail sales slid at their sharpest pace in more than four years.
Asked whether he is concerned the president’s stewardship over the nation could foment the sort of civil unrest seen elsewhere in the world, the former House majority leader replied: “I think it could. First of all, we have to accept President Obama is just a hopelessly lost, romantic egalitarian.
“If you read his own books . . . his whole accounting of how he went to Harvard and looked up all the Marxist professors. I guarantee you, if you got all your knowledge from Marxist professors, you got everything wrong.”
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Armey’s broadside reflects a political milieu that has grown increasingly toxic since Obama alleged on Monday that House Speaker John Boehner harbors a “my-way-or-the-highway” attitude on taxes.
“This is not class warfare,” Obama said of his proposal to increase taxes on wealthier Americans despite the economic downturn. “It’s math.”
Armey said he has never seen a U.S. leader “so wholly misguided about the nature and character of the way the world works and the history of America in the history of the world, as this president: He just doesn’t know who we are.”
As part of its strategy to empower grass-roots conservatives, FreedomWorks is unveiling a super PAC that will raise and distribute funds to affect political outcomes for both Republicans and Democrats.
“That’s what makes our super PAC so different from others,” said Armey, who was interviewed along with FreedomWorks CEO Matt Kibbe. “Because we want to provide the services and the intelligence that this vast network of people needs to have an impact. And if we give them those tools, I think that we can outgun the deepest pockets in politics.”
Other highlights from the exclusive Newsmax.TV interview with the grass-roots leaders:
FreedomWorks intends to keep up the primary pressure on middle-of-the-road Republicans. “We have to beat the Republicans before we can beat the Democrats,” Kibbe said. “And we’re non-partisan in our insistence that all politicians stand on principle, and vote the way they promised to vote.”
The rise of its “Kosher Tea” organization, which contributed to Republican Bob Turner’s remarkable victory in New York Congressional District 9, is persuading Jewish voters to reconsider their traditional allegiance to the Democratic Party.
“The Jewish community was given sort of a shock into an awakening by President Obama,” Armey said, “in what they felt was a betrayal by him. This gives us a chance to have them re-engage in a whole spectrum of political issues.”
FreedomWorks recently surpassed the 1 million fan mark on Facebook. In a testament to the importance of digital media and social networking to the grass-roots conservative movement, Kibbe said: “Facebook is probably the core of every strong tea party group in this country.”
Armey said tea party members are more interested in a candidate’s genuine commitment to principles than in electability. He added they appear to have a growing confidence in Rick Perry. “We like him because he knows what he stands for and he’s willing to make a commitment to that,” Armey told Newsmax. “And we dare to believe that once he gets past the elections and sits in that office, that he’ll live by those commitments to constitutional limitations on big government.”
Grass-roots conservatives continue to applaud Rep. Michele Bachmann as an authentic small-government conservative, but Armey said: “It looks to me like they’ve had bumpy roads and haven’t navigated them very well.” Armey added her campaign encountered “dysfunction at a critical time.”
Armey said the first thing he’d like to see the next president do is to propose a flat tax. “Washington’s full of slow learners,” he said. “They need more tax revenue, [but] you don’t get that from higher taxes. Simplify the [tax] base, make it a truly fair tax, where everybody is treated the same as everybody else, and that unleashes” investment.
Kibbe added that FreedomWorks will continue holding debt commission meetings around the nation to solicit advice from everyday citizens on what should be done to stem the tide of federal red ink. “We don’t think Washington’s up to the task,” he told Newsmax. “So we’re going to do just like we did with the Contract From America. We’re going to bring it from America back to Washington, and Sen. [Mike] Lee has agreed to hold a hearing, where legislators actually listen to America about what these ideas should be.”
Interesting.
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