As a Conservative, I feel compelled to point out the areas of his speech that provided reassurance that there are still some of the bedrock Conservative principles at work in the White House. President Bush raised the banner of Conservatism last night in some areas even though it drooped quite a bit in others.
Even though he gave it no real emphasis and spent no great amount of time on it, President Bush did remind us spoiled Americans that we have a rip-roaring economy to be proud of:
... "We are now in the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth - in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs ... so far. Unemployment is low, inflation is low, and wages are rising. This economy is on the move - and our job is to keep it that way, not with more government but with more enterprise." ...
We were reminded that our federal government needs to get its fiscal act together and encouraged to hear that they might just do it:
... "Together, we can restrain the spending appetite of the federal government, and balance the federal budget." ...
Thanks to the infamous "bridge to nowhere" and other ridiculous earmarks, the average informed American understands what happens to a great number of our federal dollars -- dollars that should be returned to taxpayers or used to meet more urgent national needs and President Bush addressed this:
... "The time has come to end this practice. So let us work together to reform the budget process ... expose every earmark to the light of day and to a vote in Congress ... and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half by the end of this session." ...
Quality education should be a choice that EVERY parent is empowered to make for his/her children regardless of income level:
... "We can lift student achievement even higher by giving local leaders flexibility to turn around failing schools ... and by giving families with children stuck in failing schools the right to choose something better." ...
Health insurance could be within reach for all citizens if the federal government relieves some of their tax burden to free up the funds:
... "And for the millions of other Americans who have no health insurance at all, this deduction would help put a basic private health insurance plan within their reach. Changing the tax code is a vital and necessary step to making healthcare affordable for more Americans." ...
President Bush continued to outline Conservative ideas with regard to healthcare, ideas that just make plain old good common sense to some of us:
... "We need to expand Health Savings Accounts ... help small businesses through
Association Health Plans ... reduce costs and medical errors with better
information technology ... encourage price transparency ... and protect good
doctors from junk lawsuits by passing medical liability reform. And in all we
do, we must remember that the best healthcare decisions are made not by
government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors." ...
It was somewhere after all this that the banner of Conservatism began to droop. He began to lose me. The President began sounding a lot less Conservative and a lot more like a big government bureaucrat...
Immigration reform didn't sound much like reform; it sounded like business as usual except, hey, let's add a few more border agents -- who may later be imprisoned for doing their jobs. Needless to say, with the new Democrat majority in Congress, he will likely have no problem getting his non-reform enacted. Although, I have to wonder how many Democrats in Congress will be contacted by their constituents requesting a tougher line on illegal immigration and the idea of amnesty... with any luck, President Bush will have to make a tougher stand against illegal immigration thanks to Democrats who want better border security and are tired of paying the social and economic cost of illegal immigration on our society.
Energy reform through government interference is NOT reform. It should be left to a free market where good progress is rewarded and bad ideas scrapped by the competition. Setting new standards only allows the continuance of current practices; it does nothing to reward innovation and new thinking. Government interference -- especially via subsidies which are sure to remain in existence as we simply move them away from corn crops for food and apply them to corn crops for ethanol -- has cost America its ability to innovate and prosper in areas that are meaningful to us all.
As I watched the speech last night, there were one or two moments where some in attendance sat on their hands. It happens; it's their form of protest. However, one moment in particular simply stunned me:
... "As President, I have a duty to nominate qualified men and women to vacancies on the federal bench. And the United States Senate has a duty as well - to give those nominees a fair hearing, and a prompt up-or-down vote on the Senate floor." ...
Democrats sat on their hands. Ladies and gentleman, call me silly if you like but didn't we send ALL members of Congress to DC to DO THEIR JOBS? It is not supposed to be a question of whether they want to vote or not. Bills and nominations before them require a vote so that the business of this country can continue unimpeded by stalemates and nonsense. Are Democrats in Congress, by sitting on their hands, telling us that it's acceptable to refuse to vote on the business of this country? Is that okay with YOU? Well, it is certainly NOT okay with me! Ask State Representative Kathy Stein how I feel about that. It was an embarrassment to every American to watch members of Congress refuse to acknowledge that they have a duty to fulfill, a job to do, whether they like it or not.
Then it came... we all knew it was coming... the part of the speech about the war, the part that fell on deaf ears to some in attendance at the State of the Union speech. Those who had already made up their minds to publicly pull their support for another effort at victory in Iraq were unmoved. I'm sure most of us who support victory in Iraq expected as much but it's hard to watch this happen. However, I thought President Bush did a nice job of earnestly pleading for sanity and making the case for unifying this country behind the cause of victory:
... "This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory.
...
We went into this largely united - in our assumptions, and in our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq - and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field - and those on their way." ...
He took great pains to admit that we are not where we expected to be by now. He outlined the progress we have made and that progress has been pretty phenomenal, if the truth be told. He reminded every American that the enemy watches our actions and sees either strength or weakness. He tried. He should have used stronger language, in my opinion, but he tried to remind us all that this enemy intends to exploit every weakness of our Republic at every opportunity we give them.
The enemy, Islamofascists, intend fully to exploit what they learn through the right we Americans have to speak freely about our concerns and to criticize incessantly the actions of our Commander-in-Chief. They see a country at war with its own patience and fortitude, a country unsure of whether the cost of victory is really worth the time, the talent, and the treasure to achieve. They will exploit that at every turn, as long as it is within their power, to ensure that the very things being said by detractors of victory in Iraq become reality. To give ammunition to the decriers of victory, they will continue as long as possible to provoke and sustain sectarian violence knowing that not much more of it is needed to ensure a withdrawl of the forces who keep anarchy at bay right now. Chaos in Iraq will lead to the insecurity of all free people throughout this world. People concerned about the longer term dangers of global warming might want to consider the shorter term danger of a world where terrorism lands yet again on our shores (and those of other free countries) to be perpetrated unchecked because it was left to fester in Iraq.
(Yes, that was a rant... I apologize. I simply feel like I can't say enough about this because there seem to be fewer and fewer Americans who understand what I believe to be very simple but very difficult truths. I've said enough, I suppose.)
My favorite part of this year's State of the Union speech was the last. I loved the guests in the gallery. I'm sure many of us applauded loudly at home and/or in our hearts for the people he introduced. We applauded them for their heroism, charity, and determination. They represent the best of the American spirit that is at work in all of us every day: Dikembe Mutombo and his charity toward his impoverished homeland; Julie Aigner-Clark and her determination to see children live in safety; Wesley Autrey and his courage in saving the life of a fellow New Yorker; and Kentucky's own Sergeant Tommy Rieman who was awarded the Silver Star for his courage and valor in Iraq.
President Bush's speech was fine really. There are already numerous critiques of it available in print, on television and radio, and on the internet. Many Conservatives will slam it for not being strong enough on Conservative principles; many Liberals will slam it for being too strong on Conservative principles. You know what? The truth of the matter is that it was a conciliatory speech; there was something in it for both Liberals and Conservatives to applaud. The important point which seems to be missing from every critique I've seen/heard so far is that the end of the speech had much for every American to applaud regardless of political affiliation. President Bush used the words of Wesley Autrey to express what I've felt all along. This part of the State of the Union address will ring in my ears forever:
... "Wesley says: 'We got guys and girls overseas dying for us to have our freedoms. We got to show each other some love.' There is something wonderful about a ountry that produces a brave and humble man like Wesley Autrey." ...
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