Nancy Pelosi spent much of Trump’s State of the Union address pretending to read a printout of it. She then ostentatiously ripped it up once the speech concluded. The moment captured the bitterness of a partisan watching a president she tried to overthrow moving closer to reelection. Trump delivered an effective address that made expert use of special guests in the audience, from Venezuela’s real president in exile to Rush Limbaugh to the widows and orphans of military heroes. All in all, it was a Reaganesque performance.
Far from derailing his presidency, impeachment seems to have energized it. Trump’s poll numbers are at the highest level ever, and after last night’s successful speech, the Senate will acquit him. Meanwhile, the Democrats are in disarray, reeling from a caucus they couldn’t run, and more bereft of a serious challenger to Trump than ever. Joe Biden’s poor showing in Iowa has exposed the depth of that problem. Already establishment figures, such as Chris Matthews, are questioning the viability of his candidacy. According to the Associated Press, his embarrassing fourth-place finish has donors looking elsewhere, perhaps toward Michael Bloomberg.
As the Democrats rush to the left, they leave the center wide open to Trump, which he filled on Tuesday night with a speech full of material and moments appealing to everyone. He could also point to tangible accomplishments that all Americans could celebrate. At the same time, he gave his base plenty of reassuring material, too. His honoring of the ailing Rush Limbaugh would never have been done by a more conventional Republican.
He also spoke openly about the failure of what he called at one point “government schools” — a phrase George W. Bush would never have used. Trump even called for prayer in schools and defended America’s Judeo-Christian tradition: “My administration is also defending religious liberty, and that includes the constitutional right to pray in public schools. In America, we do not punish prayer. We do not tear down crosses. We do not ban symbols of faith. We do not muzzle preachers and pastors. In America, we celebrate faith. We cherish religion. We lift our voices in prayer, and we raise our sights to the glory of God!” (Read more.)
From The Christian Post:
I am voting against the socialist policies of Reps. like Rashida Tlaib, who tweeted: “I walked out of that speech. The lies, the bigotry, and the shameless bragging about taking away food stamps that people depend on to live — it was all beneath the dignity of the office he occupies. Shame on this forever impeached president.”
My apologies, Rep. Tlaib, but helping people find meaningful employment so that they do not need food stamps is hardly “taking away food stamps that people depend on to live.” And empowering the poor is not bigotry. Of course, sites like Mother Jones agreed with Rep. Tlaib, tweeting, “While Trump brags on national television about the decline in food stamp enrollment and lifting people out of poverty, his actual policies "will cut off basic food assistance for nearly 700,000 of the nation’s poorest and most destitute people.”
But no one can deny that Americans, across the board, are doing better financially under the current administration. Even CNN acknowledged the truthfulness of Trump’s words when he said, “The unemployment rate for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans has reached the lowest levels in history.”
As noted on the CNN website, “Trump is correct. The unemployment rate for each of these three groups is at a record low, at least since the government has been issuing data on them. (The data for African Americans and Hispanics goes back to the early 1970s, while data for Asians only goes back to 2000.)”
CNN also added, “Trump inherited a positive trend that has continued during his tenure. The unemployment rate for all three groups had fallen substantially under President Barack Obama from the recession-era levels of 2009.”
Yet CNN could not deny the economic progress under Trump, one that truly benefits the people of America, including minorities. Including women. Including veterans. Including the disabled. Including young people. And so, when I vote for Trump, I am voting against the socialism of potential Democratic nominee like Sen. Bernie Sanders. The effects of his proposed policies, along with those of other leading candidates, would be disastrous. (Read more.)
I seem to recall a Clinton era philosophy on Government hand-outs when he said one, two, three times you're out regarding birth rate of unwed mother's. The more out of wedlock babies one had the more financial aid one would receive.
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