Spinning the Future: President Obama's State of the Union
By Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter
In his State of the Union address, President Obama wasn’t winning the future. He was spinning the future – one where under an alias big government still taxes, borrows, spends, and regulates too much in a vain effort to erect five new pillars of America’s economy. But the President is mistaken: our future isn’t big government; our future is self-government.
And our future is now.
The Age of Globalization – particularly its communications revolution – has empowered human beings to extents undreamt. Such momentous change has brought challenges and travails. Throughout America, families have necessarily made painful financial decisions with their personal finances and enterprises have become more flexible, accountable and competitive in the global “consumer driven economy.” Only government has refused to make similarly necessary decisions. Instead, a status quo committed big government went on a two year spending binge to further engorge itself at your expense. Now, the consequences, including potential bankruptcies, are manifestly at hand for states and the federal government.
As the leader of the party wedded to wealth redistribution and culpable for this massive expansion of government’s power and price, the President insists on the oxymoronic goal of a “smarter” and “leaner” big government. Beneath the cant, he still contends the solutions to globalization’s economic and social challenges are more government, including an increased collusion between big government and big business; and, implicitly, more big government control over our decisions and money.
But a greater concentration of our money and decisions in Washington is the antithesis of what is occurring in our daily lives. Able to communicate around the globe with family, friends, customers and sellers and, thereby, empowered with greater choices in and control over our decisions, why would we transfer this power – literally – from the palm of our hands into the hands of Washington politicians and bureaucrats?
We shouldn’t and we won’t.
Thus the crux of the spending debate: The President and Democrats want to perpetuate the antiquated, “elite” driven welfare state. Republicans know we must transcend the anile welfare state and match our “consumer driven economy” with a “citizen driven government.” Founded upon liberty, only the complementary and mutually reinforcing economic and governmental models of free people and free markets will sustain America as the world’s leading economy and its bastion of freedom.
True, transforming Washington’s centralized and suffocating bureaucracy will require reaffirming or reorienting root assumptions about the role of government in our lives.
The American consensus rightly holds that workers, innovators and entrepreneurs have made our economy the most prosperous and equitable in human history; and, further, holds that within our economy a social safety net is both necessary and just. This is why, from the consent of the governed, Americans support government helping those who cannot help themselves; and that, wherever possible, such assistance must be temporary and must promote a citizen’s return from governmental dependence to self-reliance.
But the President and his party purport that the American economy is Washington’s to recreate on a whim; and, further, that our political consensus must change to an entitlement mentality that demands wealth redistribution and expands governmental reliance. This bogus consensus is as non-sustainable and unjust in the Age of Globalization as it has proven in all others. Bluntly, you can’t lift an economy by burying it beneath big government; and you can’t empower a people by making them dependent.
While Republicans realize Washington’s immense, intrusive bureaucracy is the bane of liberty, prosperity, community and ingenuity, Republicans must show that proposed spending reductions are not, like the President seeks, simply designed to turn bloated government into big government. The GOP must articulate that spending reductions are strides toward transforming the non-sustainable welfare state into a truly 21st Century “citizen driven government,” one that spurs economic innovation and individual empowerment.
Because the current budget battle is about today’s debts and tomorrow’s government, the GOP must not merely seek reforms of “the budget process”; the GOP must seek the fundamental reform of the government’s purpose – specifically, the replacement of big government with self-government, something that is happening all around us every waking moment of our days.
If, however, Republicans simply parley amidst the ruins of the welfare state, a rhetorically skilled President will conflate opposing his means with opposing shared goals; paint the GOP as heartless accountants; drag the costly, decrepit carcass of the welfare state one small step further into the 21st Century and America one giant leap toward ruin.
This, then, is the true state of our union: a nation grappling with the present, grasping for the future; and, all the while, transforming today into tomorrow. High time their servants in Congress did the same by burying the welfare state’s crumbling remnants; nurturing a 21st Century “citizen driven government”; and ensuring the last, best hope of earth’s future remains in the safest hands of all – yours.
Thaddeus G. McCotter is the U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District and the author of Seize Freedom, which is available from ISI Books.
Categories: Constitutional Issues, Social Policy, political leadership, Partisan Politics
Tags: Barack Obama economy historical perspective partisan politics political leadership
I'm all on board. Push this to the limit.
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Nice to see you moving away from socialism. The last few posts have been troubling. Rep. McCotter, welcome to the fold. I think that you are on the side of our better self.
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Not sure what all the fuss is about. The SOTU is just a photo op now anyway. Just playing to the cameras. Nothing of substance has come out of one in at least 20 years.
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I'm with govissue on this one. There hasn'tbeen anything practical o come out of the State of the Union since Bush the first. It's just a chance for the President to show off his oratory skill (or lack of them). What sticks out for me this time is that considering hes Obama is supposed to be a great speaker, the speech fell flat for me. It's like he phoned it in.
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The whole Caltech water as fuel example shut him down for me. I know the researcher in charge of the project, and even she would admit that right now it's in a research phase. It's horribly innefficient, and getting it right will be 20 to50 years from now. The President presented it as if this was going to be on the market sometime soon. It won't.
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What is it with you people thinking that every Democratis out to steal your "freedoms"? We're just trying to make sure everyone gets a shot at success.
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Hey - you're the kufa fascism guy. I like your approach on that. What I didn't understand was that with all of the serious problems facing the country, all I remember is Obama rambling on about bullet trains and a lame joke about salmon. I think it would have been better TV to have the parties seperated and at least we could enjoy the standin os and the boos. It might have improved Obama's delivery.
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The main thing that the President is supposed to be in charge of, at least in the Constitution, is foreign policy. I mean, he sets the domestic agenda, but his real power is in our place on the world stage. He gave that what - 2 minutes, maybe...
At this point, in as dangerous place we are in with regard to world events (2 wars, a world economy, terrorist threats, and rogue nations ignoring us) it seems less important that conservatives think that Obama is a socialist. It seems more important that Iran, North Korea, China, Russia and our allies think that he's a buffoon.
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He's blowing it in Egypt for sure. Mubarak is no pro-democracy guy, but he isn't killing off his people like Saddam. The most likely player to take over is the Muslim Brotherhood - super Islamists. They make Iran seem pro-western. Obama is set to complete Carter's second term.
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Valerie, it's not like we think ALL democrats are socialists bent on the destruction of America, just this particular bunch. JFK would be hounded out of this Democratic Party as a Tea Party radical. That's how far the Dems have traveled.
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What about the guy who used to be with the UN - El Baradi? He's gone back and is taking part in the demonstrations.
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El-Baradei has no cred inside Egypt. He will either fade to the sidelines or be co-opted by Muslim Brotherhood and marginalized. Same problem as Iraq and Afghanistan. The old leadership has gotten rid of any effective replacements.
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Expecting Obama to get it right on Egypt is not something that's gonna happen. Nothing outside his domestic agenda is a priority. Whoever comes up in 2012 will have to fix it after the fact. The pat down joke in the speech was really not appreciated. The guy who orders the pat downs doesn't get to joke about it.
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It's not like I'm looking for anything intelligent to come out of Washington, I just wish the idiocy would slow down a little.
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I think that the President hit the right note. He was conciliatory, and reached out to the Republicans while holding his ground on matters of importance. The right sees a boogeymen everywhere. That doesn't mean there is one. Calm down and come to the table.
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Burying the welfare state means cutting off those in the most need in this country. That is heartless and not who we as a charitable people are. You are out of touch.
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I have to agree that the rhetoric is harsh, but the reality is that the current system does not help people to get off welfare. It just pays them to stay on. really liked the idea of the jobs training program offered a couple of weeks ago here, even though I have some doubts about the government's ability to put it in place effectively. There's a lot of room to get things done if we can work together on common goals rather than just point out our differences.
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Spinning the future and America's wheels. I hope the country is still around in 2 years.
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One man can only do so much damage. That's the genius of the system our founders designed. With the new Republican majority, Obama is not going to just get his way anymore and some of the damage can be repaired. Still, the only way to get Rep. McCotter what he wants is the election of a Republican President in 2012. And not just any Republican. It needs to be a Republican who shares actual conservative values. No RINOs need apply.
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You would think that with the country in as big a mess as we are in, that Obama could do better than break out a laundry list of pet projects that he wants to spend our money on. Investment my behind, it's thievery.
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I listened but didn't hear anything new. I'm not sure if he thinks rearranging the deck chairs is working, or that he just doesn't care anymore. His small business package looks like it will cost more in regulation than applying for the money is worth. I'm gald that ice cream parlor is doing well though...
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