The Resistance is real

Rick Santelli has become the face of the Resistance. His rant this week on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, dubbed the Chicago Tea Party, is the latest installment of the vociferous fight against Obama's policy proposals.

The GOP governors are mounting a resistance of their own, publicly turning down funds from the stimulus package, citing the restrictions attached to the legislation are too strict to be effectively used. This is not random, nor should it have been unexpected.

I believe the battle cry was started when Rush Limbaugh stated, without fear of retribution, that he wanted President Obama to fail. Initially, it came across as an idle rant. Now, based on the actions we saw during the debate in Congress, and the subsequent aforementioned actions, we know that the plan is in motion.

Now that the resistance has fired the first shots, the Obama team has to counter, and show no mercy. However, the weapon they have to use is not political retribution. It has to be aggressive intellect and unbridled populism.

The President has implemented part of that strategy, travelling the country to sell the stimulus plan. He needs to continue that strategy and his team needs to ramp up their populist skills. It would also be important to make public the nominees for Commerce and HHS quickly. The longer the team is not complete, the tougher it is for the administration to carry out the agenda.

Which reminds me, what is taking so long for Rep. Solis to be approved as the Labor Secretary? Another thought for another day.

Meanwhile, Obama has to realize now that Washington is not going to change unless pressure is put on them. The President has a State of the Union speech to give Tuesday. That should be the battle cry to crush the resistance.

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