Conservative Blogger: State of the Union...

Normally I judge how tedious any State of the Union Address is by the number of interruptions there are for applause. Last night, President George W. Bush was interrupted by applause sixty-two times.

SIXTY-TWO.

At least, that's how many are in the official transcript. That's just ridiculous.

First, it wasn't that great a speech. It never is, honestly. The President is a dreadful public speaker and I've always been able to admit that. Last night, was a bit of political "sleight of hand." President Bush hoped that by addressing domestic issues, we might all forget about the "elephant in the room," also known as the war in Iraq.

Unfortunately, in order to do that, the President sounded politcally schizophrenic. The themes he embraced in his speech were those that Democrats hold close to their hearts: energy reform, temporary workers, health care and even global warming. The larger issue for me--as a Conservative--is how the President wants to enact these items into law.

Starting with the last one first, President Bush is suggesting that there be targeted tax breaks to make basic, private health insurance available to all Americans.

Under The President's Proposal, Families With Health Insurance Will Not Pay Income Or Payroll Taxes On The First $15,000 In Compensation And Singles Will Not Pay Income Or Payroll Taxes On The First $7,500.

At the same time, health insurance would be considered taxable income. This is a change for those who now have health insurance through their jobs.

The President's proposal will result in lower taxes for about 80 percent of employer-provided policies.

Those with more generous policies (20 percent) will have the option to adjust their compensation to have lower premiums and higher wages to offset the tax change.

While that sounds like a good idea---to help all Americans obtain health insurance---the catch comes in the first bullet point: health insurance would become taxable income and you'd pay taxes on it. Anyone with relatively decent benefits at any large corporation would be subject to the tax.

That's "compassionate conservatism?" Oh, I don't think so.

Well, how about immigration?

Tonight, President Bush Will Call On Congress To Pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The President believes that America can simultaneously be a lawful, economically dynamic, and welcoming society. We must address the problem of illegal immigration and deliver a system that is secure, productive, orderly, and fair. The President calls on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that will secure our borders, enhance interior and worksite enforcement, create a temporary worker program, resolve – without animosity and without amnesty – the status of illegal immigrants already here, and promote assimilation into our society. All elements of this problem must be addressed together – or none of them will be solved.

The President's plan says it's not amnesty, but it has no penalties for anyone that's here illegally. Instead, it tries to move them to a legal status. Guess what, kids? Yep...that's amnesty. He won't call it that, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck...it must be amnesty.

As far as energy reform, the President is calling for more renewable energy sources and an overall reduction in gasoline usage. With global warming, Bush calls for reigning in carbon dioxide emissions.

Who the hell gave this speech last night?

The President has big ideas but, like the Liberals in the chamber last night, he gave no indication on how he was going to pay for them. He's floating a tax increase on working people and he's still spending like a drunken sailor at a strip club.

I don't know if the President thinks that he's got to float items that the Democrats will go for in order to get them to work with him on issues like Iraq or what. They will never see eye-to-eye with him on any facet of national defense. For George W. Bush to float an agenda that sounds like it came out of Nancy Pelosi's "First Hundred Hours" agenda, is disgusting to me as a Conservative and, frankly, it's not why I voted for him.

If he's caving on domestic agenda items like these, what else will he cave on? Judicial nominees?

President Bush's State of the Union address has left me with more questions than answers and, as far as I'm concerned, his "lame duck" status began at 10:03pm last night when the speech ended.

William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com

Posted by WilliamSmith on January 24, 2007 11:04 PM to Conservative Blogger