Spring is in the air. It’s a time of renewal with new flowers sprouting from the ground, gardens being planted, and the aroma of fresh-cut grass encircling the neighborhood.

I doubt many in the Obama Administration have stopped to take in the sights and sounds of spring. To say the spring of 2013 (so far) has been tough on the Obama Administration would be an understatement – and summer is still over a month away. That means people will be paying attention for a while longer before school is out and they head off on vacations.

You can bet that some of these issues will stick around and have an effect on the 2014 mid-term elections and some will be the topics of the Presidential race of 2016. Here are the top five issues that the Obama Administration (as well as Democrats) now own and will have to defend for the next few years:

5. VA Disability Claims Backlog

Although the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has always had problems keeping up with disability claims, it has gotten worse since the United States has been involved in two simultaneous wars. Some veterans are waiting over two years for their claims to be reviewed and this lack of production from the VA will harm the Obama Administration with veterans (who vote).

Lately, Democrats seem to have become the party that supports Veterans more, but with the Obama Administration unable to handle the VA claims backlog, the love affair might not last.

4. Department of Defense Sexual Assaults

I recently wrote that the Department of Defense estimates that 26,000 sexual assaults occurred DOD-wide in 2012, which was a 37% increase from the last survey done in 2010. Plus, the head of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention unit was arrested for sexual assault.

Right now parents are telling their children if they join the military that besides going to war or being shot at or blown up, they now have another thing to worry about and that is being sexually assaulted.

This is a sad chapter in our military history.

3. Background Checks for Gun Purchases

With the failure in the U.S. Senate to expand background checks when purchasing guns, the Obama Administration took one on the chin. While the fight to expand the background checks is not over, the Obama Administration looked weak since they could not get this legislation passed. It was supported by a large majority of Americans.

With several pro-gun senators voting for this bill, it could harm them down the road unless it is passed and everyone sees that it was no big deal and that nobody is coming for their guns.

2. Benghazi

The Benghazi attack was an act of terrorism that claimed the lives of four Americans. Some observers believe the only reason this is an on-going issue is that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may run for President in 2016. Conservatives will try to keep this in the news to use against her.

Benghazi was not handled very well by the Obama Administration, but as time goes on it is becoming difficult to distinguish legitimate concerns by Republicans from politics.

1. IRS Targets Conservatives

It is pretty serious (some called it chilling) when a government agency targets certain groups because of the group’s political beliefs, but that seems to be the case with the Internal Revenue Service apologizing for singling out conservative groups like the Tea Party.

On the other hand, if you are one of those groups, then this is a gold mine for you. Membership should skyrocket and that means the Tea Party’s shelf life will last a few years longer.

TheTeaParty.net fired off a press release saying the apology from the IRS is not accepted, and the Sunday talk shows were full of people who were outraged at the IRS (and the Obama Administration).

The IRS issue is historic, so don’t look for this problem to go away anytime soon. I cannot wait to see the political ads…

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