Dear America,
I sat there thinking...is this really the way it's gonna go? He's just so predictable, you know. Right out of the gate he gave us this:"Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, there is much progress to report. After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in five years, and less foreign oil than we have in twenty. Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before.
Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger."
And just in case you haven't caught on yet, "together" is the new "I" -- it's his go-to phrase to capitalize on the collective consciousness. It's not about HIM anymore (yeah, right) -- it's about all of us, together.
"It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country – the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.
It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation.
The American people don't expect government to solve every problem. They don't expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. But they do expect us to put the nation's interests before party. They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can. For they know that America moves forward only when we do so together; and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task of us all."
But again, he says the "basic bargain" includes working hard and meeting responsibilities -- however, how does that explain all the emphasis on "redistribution," the blatant, unconscionable transfer of wealth, hard work and responsibility to people who have done nothing to deserve it? Does he really understand, even respect, what true free enterprise is and how it works? Don't answer; these are simply rhetorical and asinine questions I ask myself here in my happy place...
"In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn't agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion dollars' worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year. These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness. They'd devastate priorities like education, energy, and medical research. They would certainly slow our recovery, and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. That's why Democrats, Republicans, business leaders, and economists have already said that these cuts, known here in Washington as "the sequester," are a really bad idea."
So if it's such a bad idea and so harmful to the economy, why would we even be considering it any kind of viable option? Who says we have to do it then? We don't do other things we are "supposed to do..." like function from an annual, fully operational budget...by law, congress is supposed to do that, too.
This part was really wonderful --
"...So let's set party interests aside, and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. And let's do it without the brinksmanship that stresses consumers and scares off investors. The greatest nation on Earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next. Let's agree, right here, right now, to keep the people's government open, pay our bills on time, and always uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America. The American people have worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another."
From the party of "never let a crisis go to waste" taken to an art form. Hard to believe he could spit this out keeping a straight face..."cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next." Unbelievable nerve.
And then we get this --
"Let me repeat – nothing I'm proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. It's not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth."
All this president has done is grow a bigger government! This is just total deception.
How does trying to enforce a new minimum wage hike to $9/hour favor investment, business growth, hiring more people instead of less? YOU ARE AN IDIOT.
Here we go:
"Tonight, I propose a "Fix-It-First" program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. And to make sure taxpayers don't shoulder the whole burden, I'm also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children. Let's prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America. And let's start right away."
Because we always get back to the roads and bridges.... says the Agitator-in-Chief in a twisted sort of way, like, "you didn't build that." He seems to only respect private money and investment only when it's handed over by the boot to the neck for his administration to use and abuse. And maybe just because adding 6 Trillion dollars to our national debt (over just four years mind you!) is not nearly enough.
AND on a totally different subject -- so what, we wear green ribbons now for victims of gun violence? Does Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, just wear them 24/7 now, or was that just for show for the night?
This is fascinating --
"Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. But today, fewer than 3 in 10 four year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can't afford a few hundred bucks a week for private preschool. And for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. "
Never mind that the nation's Head Start program has just recently been discovered to have added no value whatsoever for the nation's poorest children. [We talked about this just week's ago, why would the president include something like this, its so fresh, but we digress]
And here's an interesting agenda sounding more like something out of an era gone by:
"But defending our freedom is not the job of our military alone. We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected here at home. That includes our most fundamental right as citizens: the right to vote. When any Americans – no matter where they live or what their party – are denied that right simply because they can't wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals."
Never mind that in this day and age ANYONE can get an absentee ballot mailed to their home weeks in advance; and never you mind about the number of military personnel each election struggling to vote from combat, or having their ballots "lost in the mail" or simply not given to them in a timely fashion. While this may be just being nit-picky, but is our right to vote really our MOST Fundamental Right?
But Oh! how he brought it all to a ruckus close, no? How many times did he point out that somebody, anybody, everybody, deserves your vote? Gun control gone wild finished the night off with a bang.
And now let us raise our glass TOGETHER:
"We are citizens. It's a word that doesn't just describe our nationality or legal status. It describes the way we're made. It describes what we believe. It captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations; that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others; and that well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great chapter in our American story.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America."
WOW. What he really wants us to take away here, is that it no longer matters if you are even legal -- if you live within our borders, we are all citizens and we are in this together; we need to "fix this" together. It would be a beautiful thing if it weren't so Chavez-esque, disrobing the naked socialist beneath. Surely a little TMI for the lot of us who are still capable of seeing right through him, but for the walking dead who adore him, they just eat this stuff up.
Makes me cringe the line, "that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others." NO, they aren't. Read the Declaration of Independence, Mr. President! Our rights (from the MOST fundamental to the least...if there is such a thing) are certain TRUTHS, self-evident and righteous, and endowed by our Creator. Individually speaking for all of us, these rights are unalienable and independent from one to another. And you, acting on behalf of the governed, dear sir, get the magnificent opportunity to lead this nation, lest we forget TEMPORARILY, directly from the consent of the governed. And never you mind that these rights come complete with duties and obligations and great responsibility to be the best citizen we can be, for the sake of the State of the Union. Government has very little, and nearly nothing, to do with our success.
Make it a Good Day, G
For a great review, go to National Review, here.
And thank you to ABC News for the use of the transcript, here.
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