Obama Intimidation

The New York Times is reporting that a journalist who wrote an article on Monday has left the wire service. A Reuters spokeswoman declined to say whether the journalist, Terri Cullen, left voluntarily, or why. “I can’t really go into any detail,” said the spokeswoman, Courtney Dolan.

Ms. Cullen stepped down less than a month after being hired for the newly created position of wealth management editor. She had worked for more than a decade for The Wall Street Journal Online.


Her article said that Obama’s budget amounted to a backdoor tax increase for middle-income and even lower-income people, based largely on the scheduled expiration of income tax cuts passed in 2001, but the gang at the White House insisted that Obama had actually proposed keeping those cuts in place for all but high-income families.

After a complaint from the White House, Reuters caved, and withdrew the article, stating that it was inaccurate.

Inaccurate? Really?

The Hill blog is running an article, “President Obama’s budget seeks an end to tax break for the middle class,” that begins: Grappling to contain record deficits, Barack Obama is seeking to end a middle-class tax break he once said would be permanent.

The $3.8 trillion budget request rolled out by the White House on Monday would renew the Making Work Pay tax credit for fiscal 2011, but then would have it sunset. That’s a switch from last year, when Obama’s budget called for making the tax credit permanent.

Where to begin? Lets’ start here:

“Obama had actually proposed keeping those cuts in place for all but high-income families” — hey, gang, a proposal is only that — a proposal. Try taking one to the bank and cashing it.

But, far more important is the fact that, once again, Obama and his henchmen didn’t hesitate to pressure Reuters, and now Obama can add one more to his legions of unemployed.

Free speech is a wonderful thing — but not in ObamaWorld.