Posted on 01/31/2018 10:57:52 PM PST by Kaslin
Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), a rising star in the Democratic Party, was tapped to respond to President Trumps first State of the Union (SOTU) Address, an opportunity riddled with perils and potential. The State of the Union response can be a make-or-break opportunity for young, ambitious politicians.
Although State of the Union Addresses are typically too slow-moving for many Americans, they remain one of the most watched political events of the year, and the response to the State of the Union is the minority partys opportunity to provide an alternative vision for the future of the country.
What we learned in Kennedys SOTU response last night is that Democrats dont appear to have a vision for America or even a coherent policy proposal to offer. Theres plenty of charisma, sure, but nothing of substance.
In President Trumps address, he highlighted the tremendous economic growth the country has experienced over the past year.
African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, Trump noted. And Hispanic-American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history. Small business confidence is at an all-time high. The stock market has smashed one record after another, gaining eight trillion dollars and more in value in just this short period of time.
Kennedys response? He called the past year chaos and downplayed the state of the economy.
We see an economy that makes stocks soar, investor portfolios bulge, and corporate profits climb but fails to give workers their fair share of the reward, Kennedy said.
Really? Perhaps Mr. Kennedy thinks the millions of Americans who have received $1,000 bonuses over the past month arent getting their fair share of the reward, but Im willing to bet those workers are rather pleased with how things have turned out since the Republicans slashed tax rates.
And what about the billions of dollars corporations have said they will spend in investment over the next decade because of lower corporate tax rates? Apple alone has pledged to repatriate about $252 billion in funds held overseas to the United States because of the changes to the tax code, and the company plans to add 20,000 new jobs.
Kennedy also complained about the Trump administrations alleged zero-sum game.
They are turning American life into a zero-sum game, Kennedy said. Where for one to win, another must lose. Where we can guarantee Americas safety, if we slash our safety net. Where we can extend health care in Mississippi, if we gut it in Massachusetts. We can cut taxes for corporations today if we raise them on families tomorrow. Where we can take care of sick kids if we sacrifice Dreamers. We are bombarded with one false choice after another. Coal miners or single moms, rural communities or inner cities. The coast or the heartland.
Every single one of these claims is misleading, factually incorrect, or a deliberate lie. For instance, there is no plan under consideration that would extend health care in some states while gutting health care in others. With that said, its true Obamacare has been a massive disaster and that Republicans want to roll it back and replace it with a more efficient free-market system. But the new system wouldnt gut health care; it would make health insurance much more affordable for everyone, and states would have more control over how their health insurance markets work, allowing them to decide what programs need to be reformed and which do not.
Kennedys suggestion that Republicans chose to place the burden of the tax cuts on families is flat-out lie. Republicans tax reform legislation cut taxes for corporations, small businesses, and families; it doesnt penalize families to pay for tax cuts. The claim that families will have to pay for the tax cuts in the future assumes a future Congress and president will choose to let the individual rate tax cuts expire. That is extremely unlikely to happen, but even if it were to, it would be liberals, who are constantly calling for tax increases, working to end some of the tax cuts, not Republicans. Further, congressional Republicans stated repeatedly they wanted to make the individual rate tax cuts permanent, but it is Democrats who have refused to work with them on legislation that would accomplish that.
Kennedys statement that Republicans are forcing people to choose between Coal miners or single moms, rural communities or inner cities is an absurd, deceptive attempt to create a false narrative based on absolutely nothing Republicans have proposed or plan to propose. Lets not forget that its the Democrats, led by their fearless leader Barack Obama, who waged a ruthless war on the coal industry. Free-market advocates have been fighting tooth-and-nail ever since to save it. Further, its the supporters of massive government that are constantly forcing people in rural America to subsidize spending programs primarily focused on inner cities, not pro-liberty Republicans and moderate Democrats.
Perhaps even more striking than the lies Kennedy spewed throughout his SOTUS response was what he didnt say. What are liberals offering the American people? What policies are they suggesting that will make things better? What exactly does pay their fair share mean? Why has the economy skyrocketed since President Trump was elected? All questions Kennedy didnt bother addressing. Instead, he chose to bizarrely cry out for unity while at the same praising divisive groups such as Black Lives Matter.
Kennedys charm and liberal platitudes undoubtedly played well with left-wing activists, socialists, and Antifa protesters, but in the Heartland, hard-working Americans are only interested in real policy ideas and the results (or lack of results) they produce. If Kennedy and his comrades in the Democratic Party want to convince voters to support their cause in 2018 and beyond, they are going to need to do better than this.
The rat party is the party of no..... no guns, noGid, no life, no liberty, no tax cuts, no security, no America
What was with the dumbass car?
I loved Trump calling out Venuzuela, cuba NK and the rest of the ****hole countries, where the people are truly suffering.
Jalisco mi pisco, pelegro mi Oldsmobile...
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/ted-kennedy-sings-in-spanish/219152/
I watched his dumb buttness a few minutes before my cat scratched me from the nails on chalkboard voice coming from tv
I Like the picture. Slobbergate
Somewhere Caroline Kennedy is smiling, since she will no longer be considered the dumbest Kennedy. No wonder the Democrats keep hoping for a minority person who is really good at snappy patter and reading off a teleprompter.
And agree..........
Ha!!
I tried to watch it. I really did. It was horrible.
The kid looked terrified. His voice was wavering and you could almost see him trembling.
After about five minutes my wife said, “Enough of this,” and she put on a basketball game.
The content of Kennedy’s reply was erased in history by his own spittle. Visual beats audio.
Same here, I had on Mr. Chapstick a few minutes - all I heard was an overly dramatic delivery of class warfare rhetoric.
The Dems are desperate for a new, young face for the party and this was their attempt to elevate Joe to prepare him for a Presidential run - in the same manner they had succeeded with for Obama. This time it blew up in their faces.
Well - He's not quite as bad a public speaker as his aunt Caroline but he does drools a little more.
Maybe he should lay off the Tide Pods® before his next speech.
Angry Rich Kid had a Tantrum! UGLY to watch!
U.S. diversified stock mutual funds averaged 18.26% in 2017.
401Ks, IRAs are heavily invested in diversified stock funds. Why did these funds not keep up with the indexes? Are the "diversified" stock funds really diversified? Or are they skewed to the fund managers' biases?
Baby Boomers about to retire only averaged an 18.26% growth in their retirement savings that are in diversified funds.
One of the problems of crafting our message is that we talk about the Stock Market and people think of the Warren Buffets and Jamie Dimons.
We need to talk about the IRAs and 401Ks of the middle class worker.
LOL!!!! So TRUE!
Notice that none of the first string democrat crazies elected to make the rebuttal speech as they usually do.
They knew it would be a hopeless task and would show them up as bigger asses than normal.
So they sent out the second and third string - Maxie Waters, Bernie Sanders, Joe Kennedy.
They realize Trump only got in because enough of the Dem base wouldn’t support Hillary, and if Trump makes inroads with those various groups the Dems will be out of power for a long time. They’re going back to the safe topics of racial strife, persecution of sexual deviants, gender warfare, and “global warming” to rein in the freaks...
Another FReeper mentioned that his defining moment will forever be referred to as “ChapStickquiddick”.
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