TightyRighty.net

I listened to the first 40-45 minutes of the State of the Union address last night and I was very underwhelmed.  The things I liked:

“I do not accept second-place for the United States of America”

“building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country.”

“It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.”  (These last two fell in consecutive sentences!)

I also heard we need to export more, we need trade agreements, we need to fight the deficit, we need small business tax credits, etc, all of which sound good.

However, I heard a lot I did not like (and which did not surprise me).  The President believes we need to stay the course on the programs which he supports to which the public has demonstrated either disdain or extreme opposition:

Heath Care:   President Obama made it clear he is still committed to the government takeover of 1/6 of our economy:

“I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people. And I know that with all the lobbying and horse-trading, this process left most Americans wondering what’s in it for them.”

No Mr. President, the problem is not that the American people don’t understand what you have proposed.  We understand exactly, and we do not want the government intruding in our lives on such a massive scale.  We also don’t want the increase in costs that government mismanagement of such a huge portion of our economy will inevitably result.  Additionally Mr. President, we are not the selfish folks you paint us to be.  The reason we don’t want this reform is not because we don’t understand what is in it for us, it is because we know it is bad for our country.

Climate Change:  The President remains committed to Cap and Trade legislation which will cripple our economy:

“it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.  I am grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year. This year, I am eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate. I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy; and I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change. But even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future – because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation.”

The Cap and Trade bill is not primarily built around incentives to make clean energy more abundant and cheaper.  It is based around significant disincentives ($685 Billion) to continued use of fossil fuel.  These additional taxes, which will be borne by anyone who uses energy, will blunt any mild recovery we may be experiencing currently.  Additionally, do you see the Chinese or Indians rushing to saddle their economy’s with this type of burden?  I think not.  I would much rather have a strong economy built on fossil fuels than a weak economy built on clean energy.

Regarding the “overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change”, perhaps the President has not heard of “Climategate”.  In addition to the fact the earth has not experienced any increase in temps over the last decade or so, the emails liberated from the Climate Research Unit demonstrate that any such evidence has dubious to downright false supporting data.

A lot of what the President said was simply populist rhetoric – we need more focus on creating jobs, better education, bankers are scum, etc. but the devil is in the details.  Most of what I heard was we need a government program for this and a government program for that.  I heard very little, if any, of  let’s get the government off the backs of the people and business and let the American people do what we have always done in the past, and that is work hard, innovate, strive to make a profit and get ahead.

But I wouldn’t expect that kind of talk from this President.  His actions in his first year in office have spoken much louder than any words he spoke last night. After a brief foray into addressing the economy (through the ineffective $900 Billion stimulus act), he turned his focus to his hard left agenda – taking control of industry (insurance companies, banks and auto companies to start), implementing draconian cap and trade taxes to limit our economic growth, and intervening directly in the life of every American through the as yet, thwarted government takeover of healthcare.

Accordingly, I am not surprised the President continues to push for these measures, while trying to make himself appear as a pro-economy deficit hawk.  The fact is, this man is a hard left ideologue and the sooner everyone understands that, the better we can deal with his proposals.

ps.  I almost forgot.  Mr. President, you are the President and have been for a year.  It is time for you to take ownership.  STOP BLAMING GEORGE BUSH!!!  You said the Stimulus bill would keep unemployment under 8% and you and the Democrats passed that bill.  YOU, not George Bush, own the current 10% unemployment rate.  Quit blaming George Bush and FIX IT!  I suggest that you formally and publicly drop your plans for health care reform, cap and trade, and that you commit to significant deficit reduction in order to eliminate the uncertainty which citizens and businesses face regarding taxes, inflation, etc.  This uncertainty is causing these folks to tighten their belts, not hire or start a new business, delay investments, etc.  Getting the government off the peoples’ backs will fix the economy significantly faster than your whining about the desperate situation you inherited.    DO YOUR JOB, Mr. President.