There isn’t much to say about the state of the union speech that hasn’t already been said by a trillion pundits. (NOTE: “trillion” is the new billion.) It is a bit surprising that the New Obama–you know, the One who’s been tacking to the center–didn’t really say anything new or different. Sure, “spending” is now “investment” but even that rhetoric has been used before. Have the socialist spin doctors run out of words?
Sure, Obama’s poll numbers are up but then he really hasn’t done anything to us since the November election. He told us in the speech that we are capable of greatness but warns that the rules of the global economy have changed. Somehow I am neither inspired nor reassured. Instead, I am reminded of the scene towards the end of the movie Saving Private Ryan where a German and an American soldier are engaged in a life-and-death struggle in the upper room of a house. The German is on top, pushing a bayonet toward the heart of the American and as they struggle he whispers “Shhh!’ as if to say, “Don’t worry, it will all be over soon. Just relax.”
I’m not about to relax, nor am I willing to give up the struggle. I am inspired by another Ryan: Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, whose short speech spoke of common sense and the way forward. We in the Tea Party movement have been speaking the words he spoke for almost two years and it was truly inspiring to hear them spoken from the chairman of the House Budget Committee. We have a voice at last!
We need to reclaim our American system of limited government, low taxes, reasonable regulations, and sound money, which has blessed us with unprecedented prosperity.
But his was not the only voice. In a very unusual move, Michele Bachmann of Minnesota gave a Tea Party perspective on the state of the union. Her talk was more about facts and figures, and emphasized the vital need to repeal Obamacare and return to free market solutions.
I’ve always been proud to be an American. Today I am also proud to be a Wisconsin native and the descendant of immigrants who settled in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
We’re on the right track. As another American hero said, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
Leave a Reply to Poker Face Cancel reply