Government is meant to serve the people, not supervise them
When Pres. Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave, he must know in his heart that this is not true. The President did not cause the economic and fiscal crises. But he was elected on a promise to fix them, and he cannot claim that
the last three years have made things anything but worse: the percentage of Americans with a job is at the lowest in decades. One in five men of prime working age, and nearly half of all persons under 30, did not go to work today.
Source: GOP response to the 2012 State of the Union speech
, Jan 24, 2012
No "have-nots": just "haves," and "soon-to-haves"
Those punished most by the wrong turns of the last three years are those unemployed or underemployed tonight, and those so discouraged that they have abandoned the search for work altogether. And no one has been more tragically harmed than the young
people of this country, the first generation in memory to face a future less promising than their parents did.
As Republicans our first concern is for those waiting tonight to begin or resume the climb up life's ladder. We do not accept that ours will
ever be a nation of haves and have nots; we must always be a nation of haves and soon to haves.
In our economic stagnation and indebtedness, we are only a short distance behind Greece and other European countries now facing economic catastrophe. But
because the world uses our dollar for trade, we have a short grace period to deal with our dangers. But time is running out, if we are to avoid the fate of Europe, and those once-great nations of history that fell from the position of world leadership.
You might dislike my decisions, but things ARE different
When I first took office, a radio caller said "I like what you say you stand for, but Republicans, Democrats, nothing ever changes. Nothing's ever different." I recall responding, "Sir, I'm careful not to promise what I'm not sure can be delivered.
But I'll promise you one thing. In a few years, you may disagree with decisions we've made, or actions we've taken. But you will not think nothing's different."
I'm pretty sure that good man would agree tonight that things are very different in
Indiana now. Then, we were broke and other states were flush. Tonight, while states elsewhere twist in financial agony, Indiana has an honestly balanced budget, a strong, protective reserve in our state savings account, and the first AAA credit rating
in state history, one of just a handful left in America. Our credit is better--imagine this--than that of the federal government.
We are not where we want to be, nowhere close. But we are poised for more progress, and better days.
