An Editorial Opinion

From Sep 5, 2017

Contributed by James Laney, Aberdeen

Why are the Republican-led Congress, and the present executive branch, trying to destroy the previous administration’s legacy?

To be blunt, the Republican-led Congress and President Trump are in the process of repealing or overturning all of President Obama’s achievements, to the detriment of this country.

Here are a small sampling of those achievements:

* Health Care Reform, also known as the Affordable Care Act.

* The Paris Agreement: For the first time, this agreement charts a new course in the global effort to fight the climate crisis.

* The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010: This Act allows the USDA, for the first time in 30 years, to make real reforms to school lunch and breakfast programs, including the enactment of Nutrition Fact Labeling.

* President Obama’s decision to change immigration policy toward Cuba. The United States and Cuba officially re-established diplomatic relations July 1, 2015.

* The Clean Power Plan, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.

* The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has protected millions of undocumented kids from deportation.

* The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 powers July 14, 2015, also known as the Iran Deal.

“Every new president changes course, particularly those succeeding someone from the other party,” Peter Baker wrote in The New York Times. “But rarely has a new president appeared so determined not just to steer the country in a different direction but also to actively dismantle what was established before his arrival.”

For President Trump, and his past and present actions toward this country’s first African-American president, was he motivated by politics or hate, or acting for the same reason he waited 48 hours to explicitly respond to what happen in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12?

James Laney, Aberdeen