It's been awhile, I've been on hiatus trying to get things in order. The good news is that I might be moving to South Korea to teach English in the near future. I also just got another job so I might just be able to pay for food and rent. Ha!
On the State of the Union;
Oh what a development this is, don't you think? Not the State of the Union itself, Obama's speech reached many people and touched on many points in an otherwise vague way. No, I mean the response from the religious right.
The funniest so far is from Alex Castellanos who said on CNN “I think I’ve said before that I think a speech by Barack Obama is a lot like sex. The worst there ever was is still excellent, and I thought he gave a very competent performance tonight.”
But some of the more ludicrous ones came right from the post speech response.
The GOP's response was the worst droning dribble I've heard in a good long time. The woman there is Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and she delivered the post SotU address response by the GOP.
(Full transcript here http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/us/politics/text-of-the-gop-response-to-obamas-speech.html?_r=0)
The first thing to note is that it was tapped before the State of the Union Address aired and is based on a transcript of Obama's speech rather than the actual speech itself. This means that it has nothing whatsoever on how the audience reacted to the speech.
The first problem I have with the response is how it addresses the US. "Tonight we honor America, a nation that has witnessed the greatest rise of freedom and opportunity our world has ever seen, a nation where we are not defined by our limits but by our potential, and a nation where a girl who worked at the McDonald’s drive-through to help pay for college can be with you from the United States Capitol."
Rep. Rodgers asserts a massive contradiction here, we as a nation have limits, those limits are defined and thus they define us as a country. Our potential, being an unknown thing, is undefined, and the logical fallacy asserts that we are defined by the undefinable. More importantly, we have the potential to be great or to fall flat on our faces. The next big issue is that Rep. Rodgers makes the speech about her and not the people or the SotU speech. She makes another fallacious argument that, because she worked at McDonalds while in college and now is an Elected Representative that everyone who works at McDonalds must be in college and can make the same move as she does. Of course this doesn't come across in the written form, but that is the air with which she speaks if you listen.
The next paragraph again doesn't address the speech, but rather sets up an Ad Hominem argument that is appealing to the personal events of the viewers rather than taking on any specific part of the speech.
"But the most important moments right now aren’t happening here. They’re not in the Oval Office or in the House Chamber. They’re in your homes, kissing your kids good night, figuring out how to pay the bills, getting ready for tomorrow’s doctor’s visit, waiting to hear from those you love serving in Afghanistan or searching for that big job interview. After all, we the people have been the foundation of America since her earliest days, people from all walks of life and from all corners of the world, people who come to America because here no challenge is too great and no dream too big. That’s the genius of America."
Of course this section ignores many problems and challenges that people are facing today; hunger, homelessness, the fact that the GOP is pushing to kick out even more foreign persons and immigrants, but it is also a misnomer, the argument doesn't follow the SotU or any of it's major points. It really doesn't have a place in the response. Sadly it becomes the basis of the rest of the speech.
"Tonight the president made more promises that sound good but won’t actually solve the problems facing Americans. We want you to have a better life. The president wants that too. But we part ways when it comes to how to make that happen."
This section made me laugh, the President's points were solid and if it were true that the GOP wanted us to have a better life they wouldn't stand in the way of legislation that would force regulations on businesses who are taking advantage of the American workers. If it were true, the GOP wouldn't be pushing to give big businesses more tax breaks while forcing higher taxes on the poor and middle class, or making claims like "The poor should pay more taxes because they can pay with welfare" (Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (R) has proposed raising taxes on the poorest Americans even if the only money they have to pay is money that they get from government programs like welfare.~http://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/2014/01/david-edwards-louie-gohmert-raise-taxes.html).
"So tonight I’d like to share a more hopeful Republican vision, one that empowers you, not the government. It’s one that champions free markets and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you. It helps working families rise above the limits of poverty and protects our most vulnerable, and it’s one where Washington plays by the same rule that you do. It’s a vision that is fair and offers the promise of a better future for every American."
This is the last pertinent piece of the speech for several minutes as she drones on about her life growing up and having to work hard. A anecdote that has little to do with the issues at hand and seems to present the idea, as most GOP speakers do, that if people were to just work hard they'll get ahead. Sadly this isn't the case in the US. She talks about her son after she was elected who has down syndrome and stated "But when we looked at our son, we saw only possibilities. We saw a gift from God. And today we see a 6-year-old boy who dances to Bruce Springsteen; who reads above grade level; and who is the best big brother in the world."
This is her first reference to 'god' in her speech and it won't be the last. It's clear that her religious views are more and more a factor in her speech and how she, and the GOP, perceive how the US works.
She again illustrates her lacking understanding of logical contradiction as she states; "...whether we’re born with an extra 21st chromosome or without a dollar to our name, we are not defined by our limits, but by our potential, because our mission, not only as Republicans, but as Americans, is to once again to ensure that we are not bound by where we come from, but empowered by what we can become. That is the gap Republicans are working to close. It’s the gap we all face: between where you are and where you want to be."
Besides the obvious grammar errors, this is a crucial insight as to what the Republicans would like us to do, that is, to forget what they've done in the past so as to empower them to continue doing what they're doing now. Let's get rid of the extra verbiage shall we? Paraphrased "Our mission as Republicans is to once again ensure that we are not bound by where we come from, but [are] empowered by what we can become..."
Restated: Our missions as Republicans is to not be held accountable for our past mistakes so we can remain empowered to do what we want in the future. The "gap" is the closing of the control of the Democrats seats and government at large. This reminds me of the subversive speech Umbridge spoke at Hogwarts...Rodgers Umbridge...maybe there's a connection there.
"The President talks a lot about income inequality, but the real gap we face today is one of opportunity inequality. And with this Administration’s policies, that gap has become far too wide. We see this gap growing every single day. We see it in our neighbors who are struggling to find jobs, a husband who’s now working just part-time, a child who drops out of college because she can’t afford tuition, or parents who are outliving their life’s savings."
It's funny, actually, the GOP doesn't seem to grasp that "Opportunity" is tied to "Income". If you want to fix the opportunity gap you have to fix the income inequality gap. Whatmore, Rep. Rodgers wants to blame Obama's policies for the gap becoming "far too wide", but doesn't seem to grasp or doesn't want the audience to grasp that it is GOP obstructionism that blocked policies that would have lessened that gap. A similar sentiment was expressed by Michelle Bachmann when she went up against Bernie Sanders in a debate.
Michelle completely fails to acknowledge that it is GOP partisanship and obstructionism. She says "We've had five years of Obama's Policies and the Economy is in the tank." Ignoring that fact that we've had five years of Obama trying to get policy into place and five years of the GOP standing in the way at every turn preventing 39 of 41 asked for policy changes last year and 90% of all policies in his first term.
How about that hypothetical college student? Yeah, the one who can't pay tuition? Well for a start tuition costs have increased dramatically, because of many different factors including decreases in available FAFSA funds. So students have to take out more loans and go further into debt to go to college. So what is the GOP plan for education? Not one damned thing, nothing. Nor do they make any such plan clear in their speech they just jump to another area, the job market.
How about that hypothetical college student? Yeah, the one who can't pay tuition? Well for a start tuition costs have increased dramatically, because of many different factors including decreases in available FAFSA funds. So students have to take out more loans and go further into debt to go to college. So what is the GOP plan for education? Not one damned thing, nothing. Nor do they make any such plan clear in their speech they just jump to another area, the job market.
Can we fix the tuition in the US? Hell yes we can. (http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/how-washington-could-make-college-tuition-free-without-spending-a-penny-more-on-education/273801/)
The Atlantic reported that higher education institutions (aka colleges and universities) earned about $60 billion dollars in tuition while the US Federal Aid Program (FAFSA) spent some $77 billion dollars on that tuition (via grants and tax breaks) and covering interest and other costs. Rather than making students take out loans and go into debt the US could pay for the cost of higher education for free for all students giving all students and people applying to school a step up which would drive the economy and bring money into the economy rather than taking it out as more and more students' debt skyrocket.
"Last month, more Americans stopped looking for a job than found one. Too many people are falling further and further behind, because right now, the President’s policies are making people’s lives harder. Republicans have plans to close the gap, plans that focus on jobs first without more spending, government bailouts, and red tape. Every day, we’re working to expand our economy, one manufacturing job, nursing degree and small business at a time."
This was already fact checked by Politifact and Factcheck.org. This statement ignores that many people who left the workforce are retirees, and again Rep. Rodgers asserts a fallacy that it is the President's policies that are making people's lives harder, it is the GOP's policy of obstructionism that has prevented policies that have affected and made people's lives harder.
If it is true they have a plan to help create jobs without extra spending, bailouts, or red tape, working to expand the economy, etc, they've not shown it. Every policy that would have made getting a job easier, that would have helped people, was blocked by the GOP. How exactly are they going to expand the economy? They don't bother to say in this speech. However, if it follows past trends, it will rely on the debunked trickle down economics model and will only put the economy in the tank all the more.
It should also come as no surprise that GOP wants to take away welfare support from the people who need it the most. " Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) floated the idea of capping government benefits for women who have children out of wedlock...."(http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/01/29/3220881/rand-paul-welfare-cap-children/)
Or that the GOP has little to no respect for our President. One even walked out on his SotU (http://www.examiner.com/article/republican-congressman-walks-out-during-obama-s-state-of-the-union-address) Rep. Steve Stockman walked out halfway through the President's speech. Stating as an explanation "Tonight I left early after hearing how the President is further abusing his Constitutional powers. I could not bear to watch as he continued to cross the clearly-defined boundaries of the Constitutional separation of powers...Needless to say, I am deeply disappointed in the tone and content of tonight’s address." "After five years in office Obama refuses to admit his policies have failed...He instead demands we double down on the bitter class warfare that has left Americans jobless and hopeless. Obama’s plan for higher taxes and more spending is a blueprint for perpetual poverty. The last thing America needs is more of the Democrats’ class warfare that has left our economy a barren landscape."
If you're thinking that this sounds familiar, you'd be spot on the nose. The GOP wants to make the President's policies look as though they've failed, all the while ignoring their hand in making them fail.
This section of the SotU response made me laugh "And with too many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, we have solutions to help you take home more of your pay, through lower taxes, cheaper energy costs and affordable health care."
The GOP has blocked all policies that have been attempted to push better clean energy solutions in the US like wind turbines, solar, etc. They've pushed for further fracking, coal mining, and oil production including a massive oil pipeline that would go right through the central plains crossing three of our major aquifers. I've already shown that several GOP members want to raise taxes on the poor and middle class while reducing taxes on the rich. They've spent an estimated $50 million dollars to repeal Obamacare which was originally a GOP program, and they've made wild claims about Obamacare's effectiveness when people they hired and their own sponsored site was designed to create denial of service attacks on the website. Cheaper energy costs...more like damaged environment and more sick people from more human caused environmental disasters.
The funniest part of the speech is this statement "The president said many things tonight. But now I ask him to listen to you, for the true state of the union lies in your heart and in your home."
I think that it is the GOP who needs to listen to the people, as the President already has and he's doing his best to do what the people have asked of him.
The last part of the GOP response is the most disturbing and clearly shows a religious bias. "So tonight I simply offer a prayer, a prayer for Sergeant Hess’s family, your family and for our larger American family, that with the guidance of God, we may prove -- proves ourselves worthy of His blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For when we embrace these gifts, we are each doing our part to form a more perfect union.
May God guide you and our president, and may God continue to bless the United States of America."
This section only proves, again, the GOP is very christian and holds no respect for people who aren't christian. It's insulting for them to address the US this way, they represent dozens of people and yet they make some pretty big assumptions. I'm annoyed at best with this final statement. The whole of the response was vague, offered no concrete expectations or realistic plans. It didn't describe anything beyond the same old rhetoric.
That's it for this post. I'm still working on my debunk of the anti-gay site....look forward to the next post soon.
Krist
