Alright. I have to give President Obama credit. He’s a good talker. I think he calls for some noble causes. Let’s get rid of policies against women that “belong in a ‘Mad Men’ episode.” Guantanamo Bay is long overdue for closing as well. And let’s get the minimum wage up. “$10.10. An easy number to remember.”
But
let’s face it. Obama and his administration dropped the ball this past year.
Obama misspoke, to put it lightly, about being able to keep our health plan on
Obamacare, and let’s not get started on the NSA’s government surveillance. It’s
going to take a lot from him to gain our trust back.
The
Republican Party’s response isn’t worth much, either. Rep. Cathy McMorris
Rodgers of Washington spoke a lot of lofty ideas about the American dream, and
about how she had to work at McDonalds to pay her way through College. She
talked about her son, Cole, who has Down Syndrome. Relating seeing “all the
things he can do, not those he can’t,” to the idea that “we are not defined by
our limits, but by our potential,” was a nice touch.
The problem is that there weren’t any real specific plans. It was just about giving the American people more “opportunities” as she called them. But there wasn’t any mention of what those opportunities would be. At least Obama had goals. She said it was a “more hopeful, Republican vision . . . one that champions free markets - and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you.” However, this is the same free market that is allowing multi-billion dollar companies like Wal-Mart to get away with not paying its employees a living wage. And some corporate CEO’s on the more conservative side of the political spectrum, are okay with this.
“If we eliminated the minimum wage law,” said Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, in an interview with The Daily Show’s Samantha Bee, “then individuals would be free to accept jobs at whatever pay they’re able to get.” Samantha then asked Schiff to “Paint me a picture of a person whose work would be worth $2.00 an hour.” Peter Schiff then went on to say, “Someone who would be . . . What’s the politically correct word . . . for, uh, you know, mentally retarded? I’m not gonna say that we’re all created equal, you’re worth what you’re worth.” If this is the kind of free market that Representative Rodgers is talking about, then she needs to rethink the whole Republican angle. It sounds like she’s trying to harp the same money-first, no rules economic system the Republican Party has been harping forever.
Also, her smile looked really phony, and her posture was far too rigid. Seriously, she looked like one of the Stepford Wives.
