Before I get into the State of the Union, I need to note something. My friend Chip Roy received over 80% of the vote in the GOP primary in Texas last night. He was the only Republican with multiple challengers to get over 80% of the vote.
Chip is a Congressman. He stood up to Donald Trump. He forced every member of the House on record over whether they think the 2020 election was stolen. He condemned Trump’s behavior related to January 6th. He has fought the establishment Republicans repeatedly. He pushed Trump right and opposed Trump on big spending initiatives.
In short, Chip Roy is one of the most principled people I know and he is fearless. He does not cave to the police of political correctness. He does not shy away from tough fights. He’s willing to lose. In 2020, Abortion Barbie a/k/a Wendy Davis challenged him in a far more moderately shaped district. Chip refused to waffle or go left to win votes. He doubled down on his conservative principles and Christian faith. He won. And now he’s the only Republican with multiple challengers in Texas to make it through a Republican primary with over 80% of the vote. Character still matters and Chip is one of the genuine men of principle in politics.
Also, Ken Paxton needs to go and yes you should support George P. Bush against Paxton’s corruption or you’re going to have a Doug Jones moment where Texans elect a Democrat Attorney General in the fall. Bush will challenge Paxton in a runoff.
Now, on to the State of the Union.
Two days ago, President Joe Biden walked across the White House lawn alone and in a mask. Last night, we walked into a crowd of congressmen rejoicing that no more masks were needed. It was the perfect metaphor for Biden at governance and Biden at speech.
First, forgive Biden for his flubs and twisted words. He is almost eighty and has a stuttering problem. As someone who grew up with a stuttering problem, I’m sympathetic. He is neither Cicero nor Churchill, King nor Kennedy. He is Joe from Scranton. The problem was not the words or delivery. The problem was the message.
The speech last night was not for you or for me unless you are a moderate, Democrat-leaning voter who is frustrated with Biden and looking at the GOP for November. Despite all the talk about multiple audiences, Biden is trying to keep wavering moderate voters on board.
He hit on, for example, securing the border. That’s an issue he has done nothing with, but it shows up in the polling as a problem for Democrats. So he mentioned it. He called Afghanistan an “extraordinary success” but it polls terribly for him so he chose not to spend time on it. The whole thing after Ukraine sounded like it was written by pollsters panicked by the GOP’s current numbers.
The problem for Biden and the Democrats is simple. This speech is going to be forgotten in two days, but the public will still see empty store shelves, high prices, and the cost of filling up their car. The President offered nothing to address these issues. In fact, it is now widely accepted his COVID relief package sparked inflation and the President not only defended it but called for even more spending.
President Biden started with a unifying moment about Ukraine. He had applause from both the Republicans and Democrats. He then pivoted straight into an attack on the Trump tax cuts with a lie about those cuts benefiting the top 1%. Even the supposed fact-checkers rebut that.
He continued to call on Congress to pass an agenda Congress has repeatedly failed to pass and advocate for positions most Americans reject. There was no reset. He doubled down on progressivism. He doubled down on growing government. He refused to offer gas price relief but instead announced he wants to expand the green new deal.
Forget the flubs. Forget the rhetorical stumbles over Iranians instead of Ukrainians, etc. This is Biden. He is not the best orator. Forgive him those things.
The problem with the speech is that Biden offered Americans a vision of what they’ve already rejected and bookended it with calls for unity after firing Americans for not taking a vaccine.
It is really hard to tell Americans we need to get past our differences after spending two years maligning those who wouldn’t go along with his agenda. He went from calling those opposed to his agenda “racists” to calling them his “fellow Americans” and urging them to unite. But he never offered an apology for his own harsh words.
This speech offered no reset. It offered no new vision. It offered no olive branches. It was patently designed to rally Democrats and hopefully get moderates back into the camp.
The President may get a bump in the polls over Ukraine, but the polling will get trumped by gas prices and bare shelves.
Now, if you want a reaction to the President’s speech from the left, consider the Daily Show, which posted the image below and then deleted it when their crowd got triggered. But they captured the moment.
What is the republican platform? McConnell stated that his job was to obstruct the democrats even if it hurts his own constituents. Republicans that voted against the infrastructure bill have gone back to their districts touting benefits that are coming about as a result of the bill that they voted against. Republicans are not for middle class and poor white people, they just want their votes. Using culture wars to get their votes. They work for the business elite and rich. Trump doesn't care about poor people. Now if you guys in these comments are all rich, business people, then I understand you supporting Republicans. Makes total sense, but outside of that you're voting against your own interests. They really don't care about you. Just like dems and minorities. They don't really care either. People getting riled up about politicians that could not care less about you. Both parties would rather their people suffer than to agree with something proposed by the other side. EVEN IF IT HELPS BOTH SIDES. Its ridiculous. Erick should use his voice more to bring folks together Like Jesus. Instead of fanning partisan fires....
"First, forgive Biden for his flubs and twisted words."
First, this is the POTUS - big responsibility to get the message right, including read the text in front of him (Ukrainians are not Iranians!).
Second, SOTU is a monologue, not a dialog - he controlled the message...and mis-spoke/flubbed like we've not seen from a POTUS in my lifetime. His message missed opportunities to unite, went down the death-spiral of "accomplishments" we all know to be failures.
There was a reason Biden campaigned from his basement - DNC didn't want to give the voters a chance to examine the man running, just kept MSM, Dems and a few never-Trump RINO's beating the anti-Trump drum. As Harris accidently stated recently, "...you get what you voted for...". Voting decisions made in an echo chamber without considering unintended ramifications yield our current POTUS.
Yes, Erick, he is an 80-year old man, and I pray for him daily. My father is 87 years old, has better cognitive ability than our POTUS and also knows better than to think he should run the country with his aging frailties. What made Biden think he has the capability to shoulder the worries of our country (and the world as a super-power)?
Why would Jill take her husband there? She, of all people, knows he is incapable. We've seen her step in to "rescue" him in public appearances.
DNC could do no better than Biden against Trump? Apparently so. Goes to show how important the Electoral College really is when pitting populous echo-chamber states against the remainder of the country.