During the State of the Union (SOTU) speech, I was taken aback by the simple refusal of most of the GOP to acknowledge to think that 99% of President Obama's ideas aren't even worth considering. It started with seeing Vice-President Biden wearing a green remember Sandy Hook lapel pin (for lack of a better term) while House Speaker Boehner wasn't wearing one. What's the matter, Speaker, shouldn't we remember the children and teachers killed? And I thought that seeing Representative Ryan wearing a No-Labels moderate GOP button was truly a joke. This is the author of a budget that gets rid of social programs like Head Start and Meals On Wheels while slashing all domestic programs by at least 40% while keeping tax loopholes for big businesses and the top 1%. This would happen while the Defense Department not only doesn't get any cuts, but gets more money. This is a moderate GOP member? Actually, from the reactions of most of the GOP during the speech, he may very well be.
While President Obama Obama spoke of his ideas for a better America, most GOP members just sat on their hands. Now on things like global warming and cap and trade, I can understand their questions. I don't agree with them, but I do understand them. And even on things like the minimum wage being high enough to keep a family out of poverty and pre-school for all children, I can see where there can be debates on how to achieve the goal. But on items like investing in education, manufacturing, and infrastructure, immigration reform and a streamlined path for citizenship, passing the The Violence Against Women Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, a call for stronger families, and a voting commission to make voting easier and faster kept many of the GOP from clapping. Even President Obama's call for putting country before party, which many stood and applauded, couldn't get Speaker Boehner to rise. While Speaker Boehner did stand when President Obama called for votes on gun control acts, he was the very first person seen to sit back down while the President was still naming places where gun violence has struck recently. Aren't any of these ideas worth backing for the GOP? Only getting troops out of Afghanistan was largely popular on both side of the aisle. It was a one hour speech, and it seemed on TV that for most GOP members, it seemed to last days.
Then Senator Rubio gave the GOP response to the President's speech. And at no time did he make any sense to me. While he railed against government, he admitted that he got his education through government grants. He railed against medicare costs while telling how he would never hurt his mother, who uses medicare. But for those in the future, what cuts would he think would be acceptable? Then, he simply lied about the reason for the 2008 financial collapse and the subsequent recession and the cuts in some hourly workers due to The Affordable Care Act. Then he said that less government would help the country get to a simple 4% growth. Simple? Very few times in the history has growth been 4% or more, and these were boom times. A growth of 2 and 1/2 to 3% is thought by most economists to be robust and generally sustainable. And a Balanced Budget Amendment? Would you explain how this helps grow jobs? Oh, so you give no details, but complain that the President didn't in his speech?
Today, after watching the State of the Union speech and the GOP response again, I again found the President's speech well thought out, with excellent ideas to make the country better, and with a rousing, moving finish. The GOP response was simply a call to get rid of government. Is this their alternate idea to Democratic ideas? If so, they didn't need a Tea Party response. Senator Rubio gave the country the Tea Party response, and I think it flopped badly.
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