Why We Don't Trust Government

Surprise!

Americans don’t trust the government.

After a few weeks of Obama officials acting like the gang that couldn’t talk straight before Congress, it’s no wonder Americans wonder who is running the government asylum.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee that he has no idea who is leading the IRS investigation that was promised by Obama and Holder. He also had no idea how many agents have been assigned to the case — or even if FBI agents talked to any of the targeted groups before or after they sued the IRS.

This follows a parade of administration officials whose sworn answers before Congress do not inspire confidence, transparency, or trust in government Here is a sample:

“I don’t know.”

“I just don’t know.”

“I can’t recall.”

“I don’t remember.”

“I can’t discuss that because it is under investigation;” and/or, “I’ll get back to you.”

Two of my favorite Ronald Reagan quotes are appropriate:

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help.’”

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you’ve got.”

The Obama team has caused Americans to wake up and remember Reagan’s warnings.

According to a Rasmussen poll, 56 percent of Americans consider the federal government a threat to individual rights and most of us believe the IRS’s targeting of conservative organizations was politically motivated from Washington.

A just released Fox News poll is even more revealing:

• 52 percent say Attorney General Holder should resign.
• 62 percent feel the National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) collecting the phone records of millions of Americans is unacceptable.
• 63 percent believe the Department of Justice going after reporters was for political — and not national security — issues.

So where do most Democrats and the media stand?

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, initially told CNN that he “would wrap up” the IRS case and “move on.”

Much of the mainstream media, still infected with Obama idolatry, did its best to play down, the Benghazi and IRS scandals — only becoming engaged once word got out that DOJ came after their own.

The American people are not stupid.

According to the same Fox poll, an overwhelming number of Americans want Congress to go full speed ahead and investigate the:

• Administration’s handling of the attacks in Benghazi (73 percent).
• Justice Department’s seizing journalists’ records (76 percent)
• IRS scandal (78 percent).

How did we get to the point where so many mistrust the government?

One of government’s first big lies was telling the American people in 1936 that Social Security numbers (SSN) would only to be used to track earnings for social security benefits — not for identification.

Today in the private and public sectors, SSN’s are routinely used to conduct business, making them a virtual national identity card.

How many times are we asked by banks, insurance companies, healthcare providers and a host of private and public institutions the same question: “For identification purposes, what are the last four digits of your social security number?”

Now that we know the IRS will implement and police parts of Obamacare; and, that the official who oversaw the targeting of tea party groups is in charge, alarm bells are going off.

Yes, Mueller and members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees believe the collection of phone and Internet communications by NSA is fully legal.

Others are concerned.

If the government can get Verizon to turn over your phone records and can get your emails from Internet providers, do you really think that your “medical history” is going to be safe in the hands of the IRS, HHS and any third party they choose to give (leak) them to in the Obamacare cobweb?

After all, we haven’t seen any arrests resulting from the current IRS scandal and, as mentioned above, Mueller seems oblivious to the investigation.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a main sponsor of the Patriot Act, thinks NSA actions are beyond the scope of the original law and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., believes the government has no right — through a single warrant — to search everyone’s records.

Americans’ lack of trust apparently concerns Obama who said that if people can't trust the executive branch, Congress or federal judges, “then we're going to have some problems here.”

We sure do.

Based on its actions, why should we “trust” the same executive branch that gave us:

• White House lies about changes to the Benghazi talking points and Susan Rice’s misleading comments on talk shows.
• Attorney General Eric Holder’s apparent lie to Congress concerning potential prosecution of journalists.
• National Intelligence Director James Clapper’s apparent lie when he answered “No sir” in response to a question on whether the NSA collects any type of data on millions, or hundreds of millions of Americans.
• IRS targeting conservative and pro-life organizations.

If this isn’t enough, we now learn of still another brewing executive branch scandal.

A State Department whistleblower has accused top officials of covering up an investigation into allegations of soliciting prostitutes by our ambassador to Belgium.

And Obama wants us to trust his executive branch. Is he kidding?

Clarence V. McKee is president of McKee Communications, Inc., a government, political and media relations consulting firm in Florida. He held several positions in the Reagan administration as well as the Reagan presidential campaigns and has appeared on many national and local media outlets. Read more reports from Clarence V. McKee — Click Here Now.