Fyodor Dostoevsky once said that sarcasm is “the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of
their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded.”
Obama gave his version of the State of the Union Address Tuesday
January 28th. I gave my pre Address earlier knowing that there is much more at state in our Union than what Obama would talk about. I have dissected many
speeches and addresses over the years, usually responding with sarcasm, but
this time I would like to have those who have much more wisdom, those whose
voices are still very much needed and relevant to our time than they probably
ever imagined to respond- Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow citizens, I yield the
floor to our Founding Fathers in their rebuttal of the Obama State of the Union…
…The question for everyone
in this chamber, running through every decision we make this year, is whether
we are going to help or hinder this progress. For several years now, this town
has been consumed by a rancorous argument over the proper size of the federal
government. It's an important debate - one that dates back to our very
founding. But when that debate prevents us from carrying out even the most
basic functions of our democracy - when our differences shut down government or
threaten the full faith and credit of the United States - then we are not doing
right by the American people…
Many times argument and conviction to stand ground is necessary to
keep government from passing restrictive bills which do little but give more
power to the federal government thereby taking more power away from we the
people- a little gridlock is necessary to keep government in check as James
Madison said, “An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in
which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the
several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits
without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.”
Our Government was created to be a Constitutional Republic, NOT a
democracy. When our elected leaders
refuse to listen to the people, when one side refuses to allow debate, the
desires of we the people are ignored and are forced into a shutdown, this is their
democracy, as Thomas Jefferson described as “nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may
take away the rights of the other forty-nine.”
Those few who stood up to the mob; Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and
a handful of others knew that “government
in which the majority rules in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as
far as men understand it” as Henry David Thoreau once pointed out.
…As president, I'm committed
to making Washington work better, and rebuilding the trust of the people who
sent us here. I believe most of you are, too. Last month, thanks to the work of
Democrats and Republicans, this Congress finally produced a budget that undoes
some of last year's severe cuts to priorities like education. Nobody got
everything they wanted …
The President has certain duties as
outlined in Article II of the Constitution.
George Washington, our First President, who was also beloved by the
Continental Army over which he was General, had reservations about being
appointed as president, so only by agreeing to serve two terms he consented.
Yet he warned “It is important, likewise,
that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those
entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their
respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of
one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to
consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create,
whatever the form of government, a real despotism.”
The Legislative Branch, the Senate is given the job of passing a
budget, which they, under the leadership of Senator Harry Reid have not
done. Raising the debt ceiling is not a budget.
Government has grown into a massive over
bloated industry paid for by the labors of the people. Our Founders had much to say about finances
and budgets, but it was summed best by Thomas Jefferson who said “We
must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” And, “A
wise and frugal government... shall restrain men from injuring one another,
shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and
improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has
earned. This is the sum of good government.”
Again, our government did not pass a
budget, they argued over who would get, and who would have taken. Our Nation’s
Veterans and returning Troops lost again with the Ryan-Murray bill which was
passed by our Houses, and in the words of George Washington, "The willingness with which our young people
are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly
proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and
appreciated by their nation."
..Inequality
has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in
the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to
get by - let alone get ahead. And too many still aren't working at all. Our job
is to reverse these trends… what I offer tonight is a set of concrete,
practical proposals … Some require congressional action... But America does not
stand still - and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps
without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's
what I'm going to do…
It is not the job of the federal
government to legislate pay scales, nor is it the duty of the executive branch
to over step the Constitution and legislate from the Oval office. Again, Thomas
Jefferson makes the point, “To take from
one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired
too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not
exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first
principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his
industry and the fruits acquired by it” and, “Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we
should soon want bread.”
…it is time to heed the call
of business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders and law enforcement - and fix
our broken immigration system. Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have
acted. I know that members of both parties in the House want to do the same… when
people come here to fulfill their dreams - to study, invent, and contribute to
our culture - they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to
locate and create jobs for everyone. So let's get immigration reform done this
year…
First of all,
Unions and the Chamber of Commerce are not expert s when it comes to border
security and people coming through the wide open border illegally. The Immigration
Service and Border Guards would know better than the Chamber who belongs
here and should be rewarded with jobs which plenty of Americans would be able
and willing to do. As for allowing those
who entered our Sovereign nation illegally, “And what is proposed by the amendment is that they shall take nothing
more than an oath of fidelity, and declare their intention to reside in the
United States. Under such terms, it was well observed by my colleague, aliens
might acquire the right of citizenship, and return to the country from which
they came, and evade the laws intended to encourage the commerce and industry
of the real citizens and inhabitants of America, enjoying at the same time all
the advantages of citizens and aliens.” James Madison.
There is an idea perpetuated that illegals are merely immigrants
who desire a better life, and who are we to deny them of that right. Being that the United States of America is a
sovereign nation, a nation of laws which it is our Federal government’s first
duty to uphold those laws to defend and protect the citizens of this country,
one can hardly claim that all those millions who are here illegally deserve to
be given visas or amnesty, when one can’t possibly know whom they swear their allegiance
to. Thomas Paine said, “What we obtain too
cheap, we esteem too lightly; Tis dearness only which gives everything its
value.”
Those of us who have come through the system which everyone in
Washington and the media claim to be broken, learn about the history and
government of the United States before becoming citizens and then swear our
oaths publically (in English) to defend and uphold the Constitution. One who works to become a citizen values
citizenship much more than those who sneak into this country, and for our federal
government to consider rewarding those who are here illegally is not only an
affront to those of us who love and honor our new home, but is dangerous in
assuming that those who come here do so with good intentions. It is proven fact
and admitted that terrorists sneak into our country as well, and to do nothing
to secure our border is a dereliction of duty.
Theodore Roosevelt wasn’t a founding father, but he did have it
right when it comes to loyalty to this nation if one desires to immigrate here.
“We should insist that if the immigrant
who comes here does in good faith become an American and assimilates himself to
us he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an
outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed or birth-place or
origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American
and nothing but an American. If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own
origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn't doing his part as
an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. . . We have room for but
one language here, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that
the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and
not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding-house; and we have room for but one soul
loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people.”
…In the coming weeks, I will
issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their
federally-funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour - because if
you cook our troops' meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn't have to live in
poverty…
While many Americans are scraping to make ends meet, government
grows, requiring more workers who are paid by we the people. It seems like the sector which has the lowest
unemployment rate in the nation is the Federal government in Washington DC. Thomas Jefferson has something to say about
that as well. “The multiplication of
public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a
public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife.”
…Citizenship means standing
up for the lives that gun violence steals from us each day. I have seen the
courage of parents, students, pastors and police officers all over this country
who say "we are not afraid," and I intend to keep trying, with or
without Congress, to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans
in our movie theaters, shopping malls, or schools like Sandy Hook…
Citizenship means obeying the laws, but when they go against
Constitution, we have a sworn duty to uphold the Constitution and defend it.
Our Founders were clear when they embedded the right to keep and bear arms in
our 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The government has no right to infringe on
the law abiding citizens of this country to keep and bear arms. The fact that
these shootings are happening in areas of strict gun control- prove that an
unarmed citizen is an unprotected citizen- whether it’s some crazy who decides
to go on a shooting spree, or a government who is bent on complete control over
the people. "I ask, Sir, what is the
militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most
effectual way to enslave them." George Mason
…for more than two hundred
years, we have put those things aside and placed our collective shoulder to the
wheel of progress - to create and build and expand the possibilities of
individual achievement; to free other nations from tyranny and fear; to promote
justice, and fairness, and equality under the law, so that the words set to
paper by our founders are made real for every citizen. The America we want for
our kids - a rising America where honest work is plentiful and communities are
strong; where prosperity is widely shared and opportunity for all lets us go as
far as our dreams and toil will take us…
Our Founders believed that all are created equal, but that doesn’t
mean everyone will have equal outcomes. Fairness and equality are earned,
whether it’s playing little league sports or competing for a top corporate spot. Those who work hard should be rewarded for
their work regardless of shade of skin or gender- but to force others to reward
based on those qualities is not being fair and equal. To reward someone with
the same trophy because we don’t want hurt feelings is not helping that person
to become all they can be. We are all endowed by God, with gifts and talents
which if given the freedom to develop- can achieve incredible things not just
for our own personal gains but for all society. Government intervention by so
called fairness and equality stifle those who work hard at developing their
skills and gifts.
I leave you with this last word from Benjamin Franklin… “The Constitution only guarantees the
American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
C.A.E 2014
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