State of Union…Bad
We are going to delve into the speech here in a moment but “Let me be clear;” Nancy Pelosi claps like a seal. Look it up, laugh, thank me. It’s uncanny, but all trying to be funny comments aside let’s get into the meat of this speech. This speech, which is by my arbitrary count, the 1,067th “most important speech of his political career.”
“…we have recovered most of the money we spent on the banks. Most, but not all. To recover the rest, I have proposed a fee on the biggest banks. I know Wall Street isn’t keen on this idea, but if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.”
I know we hate the banks but some of these banks have already paid TARP money back. Some of them never wanted any money in the first place. Why are the banks being punished when GM, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac aren’t required to give anything back
“the Recovery Act, also known as the Stimulus Bill. Economists on the left and the right say that this bill has helped save jobs and avert disaster.”
Anytime Obama says, “<insert profession> on the left and right,” this is his cue that he is about to lie to you. Sometimes, instead of “on the left and right”, he uses “across the political spectrum <insert lie>.”
By this point in the speech I was becoming more disillusioned than usual. I started noticing Republicans whispering amongst themselves and wondering how many of those whispers were, “C’mon, do it, You Lie! Just shout it out.” During this fantasy, I watched all my dreams come true and realized it was real life.
“Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”
It is during this passage of Obama’s speech where he is admonishing the Supreme Court, with members of the Senate and House cheering, Pelosi’s clapping like a seal while doing her best Skeletor impersonation, then Samuel Alito seems to say, “Not True.” I say, “Awesome!”
“Sadly, some of the unity we felt after 9/11 has dissipated. We can argue all we want about who’s to blame for this, but I am not interested in re-litigating the past.”
What? I swear there was something earlier…
“At the beginning of the last decade, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. That was before I walked in the door.”
“We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this August.”
Okay, pulling out combat troops.
“But make no mistake: this war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home.”
All of them? You just said combat troops. The more you talk the more confused I get.
The speech was more of the same. There was no pivot, no sign the administration is listening to the people. We voted for “Change We Can Believe In,” and got “Stay the Course.”