Posted on 04/29/2021 8:30:52 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The junior Senator from South Carolina delivered in a big way at last summer's Republican National Convention, and he did so again last night. President Biden's speech to a joint session of Congress -- the optics of which are being criticized by some medical experts for discouraging vaccination by downplaying the vaccines' outstanding efficacy -- was a partisan laundry list of breathtakingly enormous spending proposals. Between his "COVID relief" legislation, his "infrastructure" plan, and his family plan, Biden has called for $6 trillion in new federal spending within the first 100 days of his presidency. As a point of reference, the federal government spent $4.4 trillion, total, in 2019. Biden spoke the words, but it was an Elizabeth Warren speech. And his magical math on pay-fors (no new deficit spending, no tax increases on the families making less than $400,000) is utterly unworkable fiction.
Biden closed by calling on Congress to pass immigration reform, gun control and a radical, partisan federal takeover of US elections. The man campaigned and won as a moderate compromiser and healer. He's governing like someone who wants to make Barack Obama look a centrist. Faced with the difficult and often thankless task of responding to a presidential address, Sen. Tim Scott performed superbly. He was warm, engaging and thoughtful; throwing some sharp elbows with a smile. His tone, pacing and substance were terrific. If Scott wasn't already in the 2024 presidential discussion, he is now. He is a likable person and a gifted communicator. Here's the full speech, followed by some of its best passages:
(1) On school closures: "I am saddened that millions of kids have lost a year of learning when they could not afford to lose a day. Locking vulnerable kids out of the classroom is locking adults out of their future. Our public schools should have reopened months ago. Other countries' did. Private and religious schools did. Science has shown for months that schools are safe. But too often, powerful grown-ups set science aside. And kids like me were left behind. The clearest case for school choice in our lifetimes."
(2) On Biden's partisanship and runaway spending: "All five [COVID relief bills signed by President Trump] got 90 or more votes in the Senate. Common sense found common ground. In February, Republicans told President Biden we wanted to keep working together to win this fight. But Democrats wanted to go it alone. They spent almost $2 trillion on a partisan bill that the White House bragged was the most liberal bill in American history! Only 1% went to vaccinations. No requirement to re-open schools promptly. COVID brought Congress together five times. This Administration pushed us apart. Another issue that should unite us is infrastructure.Republicans support everything you think of when you think of 'infrastructure.' Roads, bridges, ports, airports, waterways, high-speed broadband — we're all in! But again, Democrats want a partisan wish list. They won't even build bridges... to build bridges! Less than 6% of the President's plan goes to roads and bridges."
(3) On leftists' racial intolerance and police reform: "Nowhere do we need common ground more desperately than in our discussions of race. I have experienced the pain of discrimination. I know what it feels like to be pulled over for no reason. To be followed around a store while I'm shopping. I remember, every morning, at the kitchen table, my grandfather would have the newspaper in his hands. Later, I realized he had never learned to read it. He just wanted to set the right example. I've also experienced a different kind of intolerance. I get called "Uncle Tom" and the N-word — by 'progressives'! By liberals! Just last week, a national newspaper suggested my family's poverty was actually privilege because a relative owned land generations before my time. Believe me, I know our healing is not finished. In 2015, after the shooting of Walter Scott, I wrote a bill to fund body cameras. Last year, after the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, I built an even bigger police reform proposal. But my Democratic colleagues blocked it. I extended an olive branch. I offered them amendments. But Democrats used the filibuster to block the debate from even happening. My friends across the aisle seemed to want the issue more than they wanted a solution. But I'm still working. I'm still hopeful."
(7) On vaccines and the pre-pandemic economic success under GOP policies: "This Administration inherited a tide that had already turned. The coronavirus is on the run! Thanks to Operation Warp Speed and the Trump Administration, our country is flooded with safe and effective vaccines. Thanks to our bipartisan work last year, job openings are rebounding. So why do we feel so divided and anxious? A nation with so much cause for hope should not feel so heavy-laden. A President who promised to bring us together should not push agendas that tear us apart. The American family deserves better. And we know what better looks like! Just before COVID, we had the most inclusive economy in my lifetime. The lowest unemployment ever recorded for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans. The lowest for women in nearly 70 years. Wages were growing faster for the bottom 25% than the top 25%. That happened because Republicans focused on expanding opportunity for all Americans."
Scott's speech prompted an explosion of racist attacks online from "progressives," many of them white, who routinely unleash vitriol on racial minorities who refuse to vote and think as they're told. The venomous attacks and sneering among many elite liberal media commentators are pretty strong indications of how effective the Senator was. The South Carolinian did himself, his state, and his party proud. Bravo.
I want his opinion on Liz Cheney.
That will tell me what I need to know.
RE: None of it. His pandering and he is weak.
Donald Trump Himself disagrees with you:
https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/trump-trashes-biden-speech-with-maria-bartiromo/
TITLE: Trump calls into Maria Bartiromo morning show… ‘Tim Scott was fantastic’…
RE: And exactly what aspect of the conservative agenda is he willing to surrender to find common ground with democrats?
You tell me. How does Tim Scott vote in the Senate?
I don’t know if Trump was just being nice, he has to know how Scott really feels about him.
RE: There was one and only one response which is Biden and his administration are illegitimate due to election fraud.
Oh, OK, your solution is for him to make a one line speech and then say good bye. Got it.
RE: No defense of Trump or MAGA, just whining.
Trump himself disagrees with you.
See here: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/trump-trashes-biden-speech-with-maria-bartiromo/
TITLE: Trump calls into Maria Bartiromo morning show… ‘Tim Scott was fantastic’…
RE: I don’t know if Trump was just being nice,
I don’t purport to read Trump’s mind, I only know what he said. Unless Trump is being hypocritical about it, I’ll take what he said over speculation thank you.
He wants to meet the Democrats halfway on destroying the country, typical Assistant Democrat.
So your criteria are that you don’t want to hear any Republican speak, if they didn’t speak up about the electoral vote certification?
Joke post?
And exactly what aspect of the conservative agenda is he willing to surrender to find common ground with democrats?
Be good enough to point out which conservative agendas Tim “surrendered” will ya?
He showed his true rino self in early January of this year.
RE: He wants to meet the Democrats halfway on destroying the country,
Again, what part of his speech tells you that?
You are going to need to take your meds.
RE: He showed his true rino self in early January of this year.
So, by your lights then, only two Senators have not surrendered and are not RINO’s?
As a great radio show host once said, “what you are, screams so loud that I can’t hear you.”
It also begs the question, has Trump ever made a mistake?
Common ground, what common ground?
Bush League Republicans share much with Democrats, particularly amnesty, but none exists with conservatives.
Sure he’s made mistakes, but overall, he is pointed in the right direction, something you really cannot say about many other Republicans.
And as I always say, I didn’t look the gift horse in the mouth.
He may have sounded that way now, but it is later that worries me and Trump best stop trusting these guys. They did not stand with him.
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