Tag: Obamanomics

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Americans hate the U.S. government more than ever

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A handful of industries are those “love to hate” types of businesses, such as cable-television companies and Internet service providers.

The federal government has joined the ranks of the bottom-of-the-barrel industries, according to a new survey from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Americans’ satisfaction level in dealing with federal agencies –everything from Treasury to Homeland Security — has fallen for a third consecutive year, reaching an eight-year low.

The declines represent some backsliding for the U.S. government, given that satisfaction saw some improvement in 2011 and 2012, which may have been the result of spending in the wake of the recession. While the comparison with private enterprise isn’t apples to apples given the nature of government services, the findings have some implications for bureaucrats.

“Satisfaction is linked to broader goals in the political system that it wants to maximize, like confidence and trust,” said Forrest Morgeson, director of research at the ACSI. “It’s much more difficult to govern if the entire population dislikes you.”

Although satisfaction is down for the federal government as a whole, the research found that consumers have vastly different views of specific agencies. The department that received the highest score was the Department of the Interior, which received a ranking of 75 points. That could reflect Americans’ positive feelings toward national parks, which many visit while on vacation, Morgeson noted.

The lowest-ranked department may not be much of a surprise to taxpayers: Treasury, which received a score of just 55 points, or 20 points below the Department of the Interior. Treasury, as a reminder, oversees the IRS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/americans-hate-the-u-s-government-more-than-ever/

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Obama and Ryan Plot their next moves together

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Obama and Ryan, Long at Odds, Said to Meet as Soon as Next Week
Margaret Talev
Angela Greiling Keane
January 22, 2016 — 3:02 PM EST

President Barack Obama and House Speaker Paul Ryan may sit down together at the White House for a long-anticipated meeting as soon as next week, a person familiar with their plans said.

The blizzard bearing down on Washington may force them to postpone if the capital remains shut down at the start of next week.

The two men haven’t spent significant time together since Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, was sworn in as speaker in October. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said last week that the president hoped that they would have a chance to talk face-to-face “relatively soon.” The person who said the meeting may happen next week asked for anonymity because the timing hasn’t been settled.

It wasn’t clear whether other congressional leaders would take part. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Doug Andres, a spokesman for Ryan, said that “nothing is currently scheduled.” Jen Friedman, deputy White House press secretary, declined to comment.

Obama, 54, and Ryan, 45, have enough in common personally and in some policy areas for the foundation of a relationship, if either of them desired one. They also have enough accrued tension to dissuade either from bothering in Obama’s final year in office.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-01-22/obama-and-ryan-long-at-odds-said-to-meet-as-soon-as-next-week

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50% Say Race Relations in America Getting Worse

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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Confidence in race relations in America continues to fall, with hopes for the future at their lowest level yet.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of American Adults now think race relations in this country are getting worse, up from 44% a year ago  and 30% as recently as January 2014.  Only 20% believe race relations are getting better, a new low that compares to 38% five years ago. Twenty-six percent (26%) say race relations are staying about the same. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Only 18% rate race relations in America today as good or excellent, unchanged from last year at this time but down from 34% two years ago. Thirty-three percent (33%) now consider race relations poor, up from 15% in 2011 and 29% last January.

Interestingly, unlike most questions related to race, there isn’t a wide difference of opinion on these questions between blacks and whites. Other minority Americans are the least pessimistic.

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/january_2016/50_say_race_relations_in_america_getting_worse

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Retail Sales in U.S. Decrease to End Weakest Year Since 2009

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Sho Chandra

Sales at U.S. retailers declined in December to wrap the weakest year since 2009, raising concern about the momentum in consumer spending heading into 2016.

The 0.1 percent drop matched the median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg and followed a 0.4 percent gain in November, Commerce Department figures showed Friday in Washington. For all of 2015, purchases climbed 2.1 percent, the smallest advance of the current economic expansion.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-15/retail-sales-in-u-s-decrease-to-end-weakest-year-since-2009

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The Obama doctrine — denying reality in the name of hope and refusing to acknowledge the critical need for American leadership

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Judd Gregg: America missing

“The Obama doctrine — denying reality in the name of hope and refusing to acknowledge the critical need for American leadership — has led directly to disorientation, confusion and increased threats in almost all the major arenas of the world.”

By Judd Gregg – 01/11/16 06:00 AM EST

The world is missing America.

It may not want to acknowledge this fact but it is true nonetheless.

A stabilizing power that is governed by principles and the rule of law is critical to maintaining some reasonable level of order in a world that is inherently disorderly and chaotic.

If such a power is not willing to take on this role then a vacuum occurs. In global affairs, nations or groups who are governed neither by admirable principles nor by the rule of law almost always fill that vacuum.

We are seeing this today, of course.

The Obama doctrine — denying reality in the name of hope and refusing to acknowledge the critical need for American leadership — has led directly to disorientation, confusion and increased threats in almost all the major arenas of the world.

Eastern Europe has devolved and Russia is filling the space with aggression. The Middle East has become totally unhinged from any force for coherent and constructive governance due to the Obama administration’s negligence.

China is expanding its sphere of influence and doing so in international waters. It is clear that Afghanistan is headed in the same direction as Iraq, with the likely re-establishment of the Taliban as the dominant force.

Then there is North Korea, which appears to be moving again toward a capability of delivering a nuclear weapon with a missile.

Those are the obvious results of the Obama administration’s policy of denial.

https://thehill.com/opinion/judd-gregg/265383-judd-gregg-america-missing

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Americans Tune Out on Obama

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Obama’s Last State Of The Union Viewership Dips In Early Numbers
by Dominic Patten
January 13, 2016 9:25am

With all of the Big 4 running it live, the very last State of the Union address of Barack Obama’s presidency saw jokes and barbs about those running to succeed him, a call to cure cancer, pleas to pass the big Pacific Rim trade deal and Paul Ryan’s debut in the Speaker’s chair over POTUS’ shoulder. Overall, the President also offered an optimistic assessment of the nation in his just over an hour speech but the incumbent conceded he hadn’t been able to overcome the harsh bipartisan battles that have characterized his term in office.

If early numbers are anything to go by, Obama wasn’t able to get more eyeballs to watch his speech either. With an average audience of 18.1 million watching the 9 – 10 PM coverage on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, Obama’s speech was down 8% from the early numbers of last year’s January 20 talk to Congress.

Heading into the twilight of his term in office that continues the POTUS downward viewership trend. Obama’s 2015 SOTU was down 7% from his 2014 speech in the early Big 4 audience averages – which was down from the year before. In the final viewership numbers, the 2015 speech ended up being a SOTU low for the President – which we could see as the case this year.

https://deadline.com/2016/01/state-of-the-union-ratings-barack-obama-viewership-1201681973/

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Rep. Garrett Responds to President Obama’s State of the Union Address Once Again takes Iran Nuke Deal to Task

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January 13th 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) issued the following statement after President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address:

“Tonight’s State of the Union address seemed like a victory lap for the president, but for many Americans victory is still nowhere in sight. The six million people still looking for full time employment haven’t seen victory. Neither have those who lost their health care or preferred doctor because of ObamaCare. Or the future generations who will be burdened with debt because of the reckless spending of this administration.

“We must work hard to unleash the American spirit so everyone can pursue their dreams. That means meaningful reforms that reduce regulatory burdens, fix the broken tax code, and rein in the national debt. These are solutions that will empower Main Streets in New Jersey, not bureaucracies in Washington, D.C.

“Additionally, I was troubled by only one fleeting mention of the nuclear deal with Iran and nothing about the U.S. Navy vessels and their crews that are being held captive by Iran. This deal is fundamentally flawed and Iran cannot be left on a path to obtain nuclear capabilities in a few short years.

“If the president wants to work on cutting red tape and regulations, I invite him to join the House Financial Services Committee in looking at the 400 new rules imposed by Dodd-Frank and their massive compliance costs that are being passed along to hardworking families. If he wants to put the American people first, I encourage him to look at the ObamaCare repeal bill that would put health care back in the control of the American people that he vetoed last week. And if he’s serious about the future of America, please Mr. President, deliver a budget next month that actually balances to preserve prosperity for our children and grandchildren.

“We can do better, and this year the House will continue to put forward ideas and legislation that put Americans in the driver’s seat to recovery. I invite the president to join us.”

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Tavis Smiley: On Every Leading Economic Issue Black Americans Have Lost Ground Under Obama

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Tavis Smiley: On Every Leading Economic Issue Black Americans Have Lost Ground Under Obama

Jim Hoft Jan 11th, 2016 8:53 pm

On Monday night urban radio show host Tavis Smiley told Megyn Kelly Barack Obama has failed black Americans as president.

Megyn Kelly: On the subject of race, are we better off today that seven years ago?

Tavis Smiley: I’m not sure we are and I think ultimately the president missed a moment… On every leading economic issue, in the leading economic issues Black Americans have lost ground in every one of those leading categories. So in the last ten years it hasn’t been good for black folk. This is the president’s most loyal constituency that didn’t gain any ground in that period.

Conservative Larry Elder wrote about the increase in black poverty under Obama last year.
Via Townhall:

What about poverty? In 2009, when Obama took office, the black poverty rate was 25.8 percent. As of 2014, according to Pew Research Center, the black poverty rate was 27.2 percent.

What about income? CNNMoney says, “Minority households’ median income fell 9 percent between 2010 and 2013, compared to a drop of only 1 percent for whites.” The Financial Times wrote last October: “Since 2009, median non-white household income has dropped by almost a 10th to $33,000 a year, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s survey of consumer finances. As a whole, median incomes fell by 5 percent. But by the more telling measure of net wealth — assets minus liabilities — the numbers offer a more troubling story.”

What about net worth and the black-white “wealth gap”? The Financial Times said: “The median non-white family today has a net worth of just $18,100 — almost a fifth lower than it was when Mr. Obama took office. White median wealth, on the other hand, has inched up by 1 percent to $142,000. In 2009, white households were seven times richer than their black counterparts. That gap is now eightfold. Both in relative and absolute terms, blacks are doing worse under Mr. Obama.” Remember, these numbers apply to all “non-whites.” For blacks, it’s worse.

When looking only at “black net worth” — which is lower compared to non-whites as a whole — white households are actually 13 times wealthier than black households. From 2010 to 2013, according to the Federal Reserve, white household median wealth increased a modest 2.4 percent, while Hispanic families’ wealth declined 14 percent, to $13,700. But blacks’ net worth fell from $16,600 to $11,000. This is an astonishing three-year drop of 34 percent. Investors Business Daily put it this way, “That’s a steeper decline than occurred from 2007 to 2010, when blacks’ net worth fell 13.5 percent.” The black/white “wealth-gap” has reached a 25-year high.

What about unemployment? In 2009, black unemployment was 12.7 percent, and by 2014, it had fallen to 10.1 percent. This sounds like good news until one examines the black labor force participation rate — the percentage of blacks working or seeking work. It’s the lowest since these numbers have been recorded.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/01/tavis-smiley-on-every-leading-economic-issue-black-americans-have-lost-ground-under-obama-video/#disqus_thread

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Poll: Obama Has Failed on Every Issue

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Americans Obama has become Obummer

by MIKE FLYNN9 Jan 20161,559

A new poll from FoxNews finds voters souring on President Obama’s tenure in office, as his presidency enters its final year. President Obama entered office in 2009 with some of the highest approval ratings recorded in modern politics. He prepares to leave office with every poll finding his approval rating underwater.

This isn’t simply the weariness of voters with a President entering his eighth and final year, but a growing sense that he has failed on every major issue and leaves office with America weaker than when he arrived.

In this latest Fox poll, 61 percent of voters say they are unhappy with the direction of the country. Only 38 percent say they are largely satisfied. This is consistent with most other recent polls. A CNN/ORC poll last week found that 75 percent of Americans were “dissatisfied” with the governing of the country, with 69 percent at least “somewhat angry” about the situation.

Only 23 percent of Americans describe the economy as “good” or “excellent” in the Fox poll. More than three-out-of-four Americans, 76 percent, describe the economy as “fair” or “poor.” Just 27 percent say America is strong and confident today.

There isn’t simply an ennui that has settled over the body politic. Rather, the voters believe that Obama has failed on very specific issues. On “improving health care,” 53 percent of voters say Obama has “mostly failed.” Stimulating the economy? Fifty-one percent say Obama has failed.

A strong majority, 58 percent, say Obama has failed in “making the country safer.” Sixty percent say he has failed to “improve America’s image around the world.” Two-thirds of voters, 65 percent, say Obama has failed to “handle ISIS.” A similar number, 62 percent, say he has failed to “handle illegal immigration.”

Perhaps most disappointing, given the promise that swept him into office, 59 percent say Obama has failed to “improve race relations.” The same number also believe he has failed to run a “transparent administration.”

Presidents are often eclipsed in their final year in office, as the political world turns its attention to the campaign for the next President. The “best and the brightest” in any Administration have long departed for a calmer, or in many cases more lucrative, life after government. Even in Congress, the political debates and discussions turn to policies and budgets that stretch beyond a President’s tenure.

Traditionally, Presidents devote their time to foreign policy, striving to solidify their legacy as a global statesman. In this case, however, President Obama is constricted by a series of world events that raise more questions about his culpability, rather than leadership. Obama’s unconventional pivot to the divisive issue of gun control last week is indicative of his weak hand in global affairs.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/01/09/poll-obama-has-failed-on-every-issue/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

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Most Americans are totally broke

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By Quentin Fottrell, Marketwatch

January 6, 2016 | 1:24pm

Americans are starting 2016 with more job security, but most are still theoretically only one paycheck away from the street.

Approximately 63 percent of Americans have no emergency savings for things such as a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair, according to a survey released Wednesdayof 1,000 adults by personal finance website Bankrate.com, up slightly from 62 percent last year. Faced with an emergency, they say they would raise the money by reducing spending elsewhere (23 percent), borrowing from family and/or friends (15 percent) or using credit cards to bridge the gap (15 percent).

This lack of emergency savings could be a problem for millions of Americans. More than four in 10 Americans either experienced a major unexpected expense over the past 12 months or had an immediate family member who had an unexpected expense, Bankrate found. (The survey didn’t specify the impact of that expense.) “Without emergency savings, you may not have money to cover needed home repairs,” says Signe-Mary McKernan, senior fellow and economist at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on social and economic policy. “Similarly, without emergency savings, people could raid their retirement account.”

https://nypost.com/2016/01/06/most-americans-are-totally-broke/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPFacebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow

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U.S. Doesn’t Know How Many Foreign Visitors Overstay Visas

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By RON NIXONJAN. 1, 2016

WASHINGTON — The question from the congressman to the Obama administration official was straightforward enough: How many foreign visitors overstay their visas every year?

The reply was simple too, but not in a satisfying way. “We don’t know,” the official said.

The testy exchange during a recent congressional hearing between Representative Mark Meadows, Republican of North Carolina, and Alan Bersin, the assistant secretary for international affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, highlights what some law enforcement officials call a critical weakness in the United States foreign visa program.

The issue has taken on added urgency as part of a broader examination of immigration policy following the mass shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., that left 14 people dead and 22 wounded. Tashfeen Malik, one of the attackers, was granted entry to the United States under a K-1 visa, also known as a fiancé visa. Her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, was an American-born citizen. Both died in a shootout with the police. While Ms. Malik did not overstay her visa, the attack added to fears that a terrorist could exploit gaps in the system.

Nearly 20 years ago, Congress passed a law requiring the federal government to develop a system to track people who overstayed their visas. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, an entry and exit tracking system was seen as a vital national security and counterterrorism tool, and the 9/11 Commission recommended that the Department of Homeland Security complete a system “as soon as possible.” Two of the 9/11 hijackers, Satam al-Suqami and Nawaf al-Hazmi, had overstayed their visas.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/02/us/politics/us-doesnt-know-how-many-foreign-visitors-overstay-visas.html?_r=0

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Obama’s Gun Grab

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Obama to impose new gun control curbs next week
By Juliet Eilperin January 1 at 3:35 PM

HONOLULU — President Obama will press ahead with a set of executive actions on guns next week despite growing concerns in the U.S. over terrorism that have dampened some Americans’ enthusiasm for tighter firearms restrictions, according to several individuals briefed on the matter.

The president will meet with Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on Monday to finalize a series of new gun control measures, according to several individuals who asked for anonymity because the plan was not yet public, and announce his package of proposals shortly after that.

One of the main proposals Obama is poised to adopt–expanding new background-check requirements for buyers who purchase weapons from high-volume gun dealers -enjoys overwhelming public support: a Quinnipiac University poll in December found 89 percent supported background checks at gun shows and for online sales.

But Obama’s executive actions also come as Americans have become more fearful about the prospect of terrorist strikes and have voiced an openness to having ordinary citizens carry guns.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/01/obama-to-impose-new-gun-control-curbs-next-week/

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Obamanomics: The rise and fall of the American middle class

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Blog Editors Note : try increasing taxes, insurance and education costs , coupled with decline of the two parent household  , decline of work ethic, and regulating small business out of existence 

By John Aidan Byrne

December 27, 2015 | 2:34am

Downward mobility is catching on fast with America’s new economic underdogs — the emerging middle-class minority.

The ranks of the American middle class have sunk to a shocking new low.

After four decades as an economic majority, middle-class Americans are no longer in that admirable place. They’re down to 49.9 percent from 61 percent of the population in 1971, with the ranks of the poor and ultrarich growing to a majority in the US.

“The fabric of income distribution is stretching thin,” Rakesh Kochhar, lead author of the recent Pew Research Center study “The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground,” told The Post.

“There’s been a hollowing out in the middle, a bulking up on the edges. The gaps are at record highs,” Kochhar said, adding that the wealth of upper-income families is now about seven times that of the middle class, compared with three times about 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, the middle-class share of US household income has plunged from 62 percent in 1970 to 43 percent today.

And for lower-income families looking to move up to middle-class status, that accomplishment is getting harder to pull off, according to new analysis.

Analysts offer no single explanation for the decline of America’s middle class.

Years of wage stagnation, the decline of unions, a skills gap, economic malaise, taxation, debt and policymaking are often cited, as is technological efficiency in a more globalized economy that rewards outsourcing. Some analysts say the Fed’s trillions of dollars in quantitative easing ended up disproportionately in the hands and wallets of bankers and other upper-middle-class Americans.

https://nypost.com/2015/12/27/the-rise-and-fall-of-middle-class-america/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPFacebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow

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U.S. economy set to grow less than 3% for the 10th straight year

US President Obama waves from a golf cart in Kailua

Published: Dec 22, 2015 10:08 a.m. ET

The economy expanded a touch slower in the third quarter than previously reported, revised government figures show, but the path of growth is still the same: The U.S. running well below the historical norm more than six years into a recovery.

Gross domestic product — the sum of all the activity in an economy — increased at a 2% annual pace from July to September, according to the government’s latest update. Previously the Commerce Department had said the U.S. grew at a 2.1% rate after a 3.9% increase in the second quarter.

The slight downgrade was triggered by a larger trade deficit and a smaller buildup in inventories than earlier estimates showed.

The U.S. expanded at a 2.2% rate through the first nine months of the year, and the economy is projected to grow at a similar pace in the fourth quarter that ends on Dec. 31. If so, the economy will have failed to reach 3% growth for the 10th straight year, marking the slowest stretch since the end of World War II.

Historically the economy has expanded at a 3.3% rate.

The government’s second update on GDP growth reflected a somewhat worse trade picture in the late summer and early fall. Exports rose a slower 0.7% instead of an earlier 0.9% estimate. And imports climbed 2.3% instead of 2.1%.

Companies also rebuilt inventories somewhat less than the government had tallied.

The value of inventories increased $85.5 billion, down from a prior $90.2 billion estimate. Inventories had jumped by $113.5 billion in the second quarter when the economy expanded at a much faster 3.9% clip.

Spending on home construction rose at a faster 8.2% pace in the third quarter instead of 7.3%, the revised Commerce Department figures show.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/third-quarter-gdp-growth-trimmed-to-2-2015-12-22

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Diana West: Republican And Democratic Elites Moving America Towards Socialism

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by MICHELLE FIELDS

17 Dec 2015

Conservative author Diana West says America is seeing a “lining up of Democratic and Republican elites,” working to move America towards socialism.

West told Breitbart News Daily host Stephen K. Bannon that the latest, trillion dollar budget deal reflects the priorities of Republican and Democratic elites, but doesn’t reflect real conservatism.

“It is the definition of what the party elites are, the people in power are, but I don’t think it’s the definition of what a conservative is.”

She also argued that they are sending America down a path to socialism.

“There has been this movement really for 80 years in our history, of socialization….in terms of introducing the tools and mechanisms and practices of socialism into our economy, into our thinking, into our culture” West said. “Even on the right side of the spectrum there is very little consciousness that theres anything else or that there ever was anything else. “
West also told Breitbart News Daily that there appears to be an awakening amongst the American people and that it’s time for them to choose whether America is going  be a country with, “sovereignty and with control over our representatives who are supposed to be working for us– the citizens, or whether we’re going to be sucked into the mob of the collectivist internationalist globalist enterprise.”
She added that it, “comes down to, again, this notion of are we citizens or are we subjects.”
Hear the complete interview:

https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/17/diana-west-republican-democratic-elites-moving-america-towards-socialism/