President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address before Congress on Tuesday, February 5.
Here are six great moments from it:
1. “We have unleashed a revolution in American energy — the United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world. And now, for the first time in 65 years, we are a net exporter of energy.”
The growth in oil and natural gas production in the United States in recent years doesn’t get enough attention. It’s the opposite of the 1970s, when our country was a prisoner to OPEC. This is good news, not bad news. And this is what Green New Deal-ers want to take away.
2. “On Friday, it was announced that we added another 304,000 jobs last month alone — almost double what was expected. An economic miracle is taking place in the United States — and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations.”
Avoiding foolish wars was a high priority for Candidate Trump and it remains one of the best planks in his platform. He hasn’t been as quick to disengage us from unnecessary conflicts as he might have been, but his recent progress in that arena is encouraging.
3. “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn’t work that way! We must be united at home to defeat our adversaries abroad.”
The Russian collusion investigation continues to net charges and convictions for acts that have nothing to do with conspiring with the Russian government to alter the results on the 2016 American election. Criticizing it won’t end it, but it should be criticized, nonetheless.
4. “No issue better illustrates the divide between America’s working class and America’s political class than illegal immigration. Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards. Meanwhile, working class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal migration — reduced jobs, lower wages, overburdened schools and hospitals, increased crime, and a depleted social safety net. Tolerance for illegal immigration is not compassionate — it is cruel.”
Advocates for illegal immigration often act not only as if they have the moral high ground but as if they’re the only ones who have a heart. But in this case, saying yes to faraway people who don’t have a right to be here means saying no to close-at-hand people – our people – who do. It’s immoral to stick it to our own people in order to import people from other countries who are, statistically speaking, likely to depend on government assistance. Charity, as they say, begins at home.
5. “Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence — not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.”
It’s hard to believe that less than 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall anyone has to be persuaded that socialism doesn’t work and is wrong, to boot.
It’s a tribute to the American educational system that so many young people nowadays seem to think that socialism is in somehow workable or just. It isn’t.
We should be grateful that we have a president who will call it out.
Just so, though, we regret President Trump’s pushing for a federal mandate for paid family and medical leave. Right now the federal government requires unpaid family and medical leave from companies that meet the threshold. The president’s idea is to mandate six weeks of paid leave.
Family and medical leave is a great idea – but it ought to be worked out between employers and employees, who in the long term will only have the ability to negotiate working conditions acceptable to them if they have a job and have mobility to find another one. That’s something burdensome federal programs endanger.
6. “There could be no greater contrast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our Nation saw in recent days. Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth. These are living, feeling, beautiful babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world. And then, we had the case of the Governor of Virginia where he basically stated he would execute a baby after birth.
“To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb.
“Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life. And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: all children — born and unborn — are made in the holy image of God.”
Can you imagine a Republican president ignoring abortion and infanticide only days after what happened in New York and Virginia?
We can.
So we’re grateful that President Trump not only called out the outrages, but did so in such effective fashion.
We cannot heal what ails us in our country while countenancing the slaughter of our innocents.
