The President's Jan 25, 2011 State of the Union Address

Last night's State of the Union Speech was notable in the  unusual disposition its audience; Democrats and Republicans sitting together rather than across the aisle in separate sections.  

 

I suppose that was nice.  

 

But what is important is not where one sits, but where he stands.

 

President Obama and the Democrat legislators stand for unlimited government, the diminishment of liberty, exemptions for privileged groups, unending spending (investment as Mr. Obama repeatedly and euphemistically called it) the restriction of the production of wealth in the free market, welfare state reliance, business regulation and control, opaque government operations, and abortion on demand.

 

Our new Conservative legislators in the House of Representatives stand for Limited Government, Liberty, the rule of law, fiscal responsibility, a relatively unrestricted market, entrepreneurship, transparency in government, self reliance and the sanctity of life.   We put them in office, because we believe in these American values too. 

 

We need to keep supporting them when they uphold those values and correct them when they stray.

 

Two years ago, when President Obama came into office, he promised an end to earmarks.   One of the first bills he signed (ARRA, the stimulus bill) contained over 6,000.

 

Last night, as if the previous promise never happened, he pledged to eliminate earmarks.  A bold repetition of an empty promise.

 

The federal deficit was high at the end of the Bush administration.    Under Obama it increased nearly exponentially.

 

But now he's realized the error of his ways and  made during his speech a "commitment" to fiscal responsibility.   He's promised some $40 billion of cuts in government spending over the next 10 years.  Sound like a lot, but given our nearly $14 trillion deficit, this amounts to  about 1/28 of the debt, or if my calculator is working right, a reduction of less than 3.5%.   Some commitment.

 

It'd be nice if we could hold our breaths until 2012 but that's not practical.  So let's take deep breaths and continue the struggle.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Bernie