Wednesday, January 25, 2012

SOTU: Translated and Decoded

I've been a life long black Democrat but the Obama presidency has led me to leave the Democratic Party. I didn't watch the State of the Union speech for the first time in 22 years but I read it. I just can't listen to Obama anymore. All my criticisms of Obama over the last 2 years were confirmed last night. Progressives must be willing to do anything to defeat this worthless Stealth Republican. We must be willing to accept the election of Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney to protect core Progressive principles because Obama will negotiate and compromise away all progressive policies. We can rebuild a Progressive political party but not with Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi at its head. We should abandon the Democratic Party in 2012, vote Progressive party in 2014. Here are some phrases from the SOTU that caught my eye:


Death, cremation, burial of the Public Option:

But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more. That’s why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and States. That's why we’re getting rid of regulations that don’t work. That's why our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a Government program. 

More Compromise and Capitulation:

Finally, none of these reforms can happen unless we also lower the temperature in this town. We need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction; that politics is about clinging to rigid ideologies instead of building consensus around common sense ideas. 

Obama to continue to protect his Wall Street benefactors by delaying prosecution with new committee:

We will also establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people's investments. Some financial firms violate major anti-fraud laws because there’s no real penalty for being a repeat offender. That’s bad for consumers, and it’s bad for the vast majority of bankers and financial service professionals who do the right thing. So pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count. 


No Wall Street bankers will ever go to jail:

And tonight, I am asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.

Obama offers to cut taxes on the rich (current law - 35%, 1/1/2013 - 39%):

But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of Members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes. And my Republican friend Tom Coburn is right: Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. In fact, if you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes shouldn’t go up. You’re the ones struggling with rising costs and stagnant wages. You’re the ones who need relief. 

Obama plans to cut SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid:

The American people know what the right choice is. So do I. As I told the Speaker this summer, I’m prepared to make more reforms that rein in the long term costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and strengthen Social Security, so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors. 

After 3 years in the White House, Obama is going to investigate unfair trade:


Tonight, I'm announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trade practices in countries like China. There will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. And this Congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over American manufacturing when it comes to accessing finance or new markets like Russia. Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you -- America will always win.


Jokes:

I'm a Democrat.


Words or phrases not mentioned:

Free Trade,  Capital Gains, NAFTA, World Trade Organization, Stimulus, Foreclosure, Guantanamo, Civil Liberities

1 comment:

  1. I am afraid that the only "Reform" we would ever see in a completely "Private" system of medicine in the USA is one that would reform itself to exclude as many people who have less material means as humanly possible - - - which is, in essence, exactly what Free Enterprise Republicans want to see happen.

    What possible profit can there be in serving the needs of people of lesser material means who must have lower costs if they are going to be able to see a doctor?

    America does indeed have the best Medicine in the world - - - if one is rich enough to be able to afford it!

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