The President reveals his plan for America: a cradle to grave welfare state.
During his limited engagement with the media, President Joe Biden, a self-proclaimed “gaffe-machine,” is often tongue-tied, incoherent, or absentminded. On one notable occasion, he forgot the name of his own defense secretary, Lloyd Austin (that “guy that runs the Pentagon”); during another, he referred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) the AFT.
It took the President more than 60 days to have his first solo press conference, which he didn’t hold until March 25th, and even that was a heavily controlled production. (Biden apparently relied on notes that provided not only his speaking notes, but the list of reporters who were allowed to ask the questions.)
That’s why we waited for the President’s pseudo State of the Union Address on Wednesday night with growing anticipation. What he delivered—to a sea of empty seats, no less—was a passable attempt to build national unity, using rhetoric clearly designed to appease both sides (in one breath, demanding we "Buy American,” while in the other, remarking on the "knee of injustice on the neck of Black America").
We shouldn't be distracted by his empty rhetoric, though. The President's address made it clear that he will continue his habit of introducing massive government programs that will put the hand of the state in your pocket and the arm of the state into your home.
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President Joe Biden.[/caption]
PARANOIA AND DIVISIVENESS SETS THE TONE, EVEN BEFORE BIDEN SPOKE
Despite the empty words about "unity," the tone for the President's address was set early and intentionally by the Democrats. We knew from the get-go that the night was going to be all about COVID-19, the Capitol riots, and cheap shots to win favor with America's woke elite.
[I]t wasn't just COVID-paranoia that set the tone for the evening. Last night's joint session was also designated a National Special Security Event…
We knew Wednesday’s address would be truly a COVID-19 event with just 200 people attending the joint session of Congress. Normally, about every seat in the House chamber—about 1,100—would be filled for a presidential address to a joint session, including all 535 members of Congress and their guests. "It will be its own character, it will be its own wonderful character, no not worried at all," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gushed to reporters about the program. "We went from 1,600 people to 200 people. That is a different dynamic, but it has its own worth”
The Democrats and their allies, of course, have made a parade of social distancing since the DNC. One NBC commentator argued that the COVID-19 limits on Biden's speech were "what the country needs after Trump's theatrics." But as some lawmakers and commentators rightly pointed out, these restrictions were absolutely ridiculous since all of the 535 members of Congress received their COVID-19 vaccinations months ago.
Senate Democrats held a lottery to adhere to the new requirements, a congressional aide told NPR, what several Senate Republicans called a "first come, first served" approach. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Marco Rubio (R-Fl) were among those who were absent.
"I will not be attending, and one of the reasons why is the ticket numbers have been really limited; they’re making people sit in the gallery," Rubio told "Fox and Friends" Tuesday. “It’s interesting—when it came to coming together to impeach Donald Trump for the second time after he was out of office, they put 100 senators in the same room sitting just inches apart for hours at a time over five or six days," Rubio said. "Apparently, COVID was not an issue then. But now, of course, for something like this, we can't have that many people in the room sitting next to each other. So it’s kind of silly season here.”
We know exactly how immersed Joe Biden is in the COVID-19 theology. He is apparently so concerned about catching the virus on a Zoom call with world leaders that he actually wore a mask on screen. (During an interview with veteran journalist Brit Hume, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson quipped during his nightly television show Tuesday night, “Do you think that Putin could have infected him through the fiber lines?”)
But it wasn't just COVID-paranoia that set the tone for the evening. Last night's joint session was also designated a National Special Security Event by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to address what CNN reports were "heightened security concerns in the wake of the January 6th Capitol attack."
Amid all that fanfare and paranoia, the event started awkwardly, with the VIPs entering the room not looking too certain where they were supposed to sit. When President Biden entered the room to the traditional call of “Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States,” he himself looked a little confused as he ambled towards the podium and faced what looked like an empty theater.
“Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President,” Biden began, before he was interrupted by applause from the chamber and a whoop from a female lawmaker. Basking in the wokeness, Biden paused. “No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it’s about time."
"Throughout our history, Presidents have come to this chamber to speak to Congress, to the nation, and to the world to declare war, to celebrate peace, to announce new plans and possibilities.” Biden continued. “Tonight, I come to talk about crisis and opportunity, about rebuilding the nation, revitalizing our democracy, and winning the future for America.”
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President Joe Biden.[/caption]
PLAGIARIZING AMERICA FIRST—ALL WHILE DESTROYING AMERICAN LIVES
Joe Biden has a long history of plagiarism and appropriation. Wednesday's address was no different. “We all know life can knock us down,” the President said, “but in America, we never, ever, ever stay down. Americans always get up. Today that is what we’re doing. America is rising anew, choosing hope over fear, truth over lies, and light over darkness. After 100 days of rescue and renewal, America is ready for a take-off, in my view.”
[T]he President also spent some time describing his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, pretending that the vaccine miraculously dropped from the sky just in time for his inauguration...
So what was going on during most of the last four years of the Trump administration with a booming economy, before it was broadsided by the COVID-19 crisis which subsumed the nation in fear and lockdowns for the rest of his term? If President Biden is truly serious about building national unity, he could occasionally acknowledge that it was his predecessor, not he, who built a strong economy and created the conditions for America’s rapid post-pandemic recovery.
Of course, no praise could be spared for former President Donald Trump, not when Biden was teed up to take the credit.
The President also spent some time describing his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, pretending that the vaccine miraculously dropped from the sky just in time for his inauguration—and without the assiduous work of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed. “When I was sworn in on January 20, less than 1% of the seniors in America were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. One hundred days later, 70% of seniors in America, over 65, are protected, fully protected. Senior deaths from COVID-19 are down 80% since January. Down 80% because of all of you. And more than half of all the adults in America have gotten at least one shot.”
"Parents are seeing smiles on their kids’ faces as they go back to school because teachers and school bus drivers, cafeteria workers have been vaccinated," the President remarked. "Grandparents hugging their children and grandchildren instead of pressing their hands against a window to say goodbye." He celebrated all of this as his progress—“one of the greatest logistical achievements our country has ever seen.”
Again, no mention of his predecessor. Instead, he attributed it all to the last "100 Days of rescue and renewal" and the American Rescue Plan.
Of course, the President neglected to mention that the American Rescue Plan had little to do with rescuing America or COVID-19 and everything to do with spending money on pet Democratic projects, reinstating the welfare state, and bringing back what Jason Killmeyer, writing for Human Events, describes as “the days of old-school cash handouts unmoored from work requirements.” Those temporary welfare provisions to “rescue” Americans are about to become permanent. The President used Wednesday’s address to unveil his American Families Plan—yet another massive government program, one designed to undermine the independence of the family from the state.
The massive package, costing about $1 trillion in investments and $800 billion in enhanced tax credits, “extend or make permanent enhancements to several key tax credits that were contained in the Democrats' $1.9 trillion rescue bill, which Biden signed into law last month," reports CNN. President Biden envisions adding at least “four years of free education”—two additional years of schooling, before and after the current twelve years of education, paid for by the federal government: universal preschool for all 3 and 4 years olds, costing around $200 billion, and $109 billion for free community college. He also wants taxpayers to create more daycare spaces.
That’s not all. We also learned during Wednesday’s address that President Biden intends to lower the price of prescription drugs and the deductibles of the Affordable Care Act—which he describes as “a lifeline for millions of Americans, protecting people with pre-existing conditions, protecting women’s health.”
All well and good, but who is going to pay for all this?
“It’s time for corporate America and the wealthiest 1% of Americans to just begin to pay their fair share—just pay their fair share,” the President declared. “This is all about a simple premise: Health care should be a right, not a privilege in America. … I’ve made clear that we can do it without increasing deficits.”
That may have been the most resoundingly implausible and just plain stupid remark of the evening. His phony COVID-19 bill, combined with the still-gestating American Jobs Act, will cost over $4 trillion dollars. Now, he’s adding another $1.8 trillion and counting with the American Family Plan. How can he possibly pretend that the deficit isn’t going through the fiscal roof?
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President Joe Biden.[/caption]
WHAT SAFETY AND PROSPERITY MEAN FOR THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
Instead of owning up to the economic cliff America now hangs over because of his administration’s unlimited spending spree, the President pointed his finger at the greedy wolves on Wall Street, suggesting that they “did not build this country.” But do you know who did? “The middle class built this country. And unions build the middle class,” Biden insisted, clearly forgetting that unions had and have something to do with what used to be called America’s working class.
If economic policy means climate change for the Biden administration, yesterday's address was also instructive about what security means.
In an apparent attempt to broaden that middle class and redistribute Wall Street’s wealth, Biden then asked Congress to send to his desk a $15 minimum wage bill: “No one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line,” he said, adding that, “e need to ensure greater equity and opportunity for women. And while we’re doing this, let’s get the Paycheck Fairness Act to my desk as well—equal pay.”
The President was clear: the wage bills aren’t just about giving waitresses a leg up. It’s about restructuring our whole economy and future. “The American Jobs Plan will be the biggest increase in non-defense research and development on record. We’ll see more technological change, and some of you know more about this than I do, we’ll see more technological change in the next ten years than we saw in the last 50.”
He then continued to spin the fantasy that green energy—which is what the American Jobs Plan is really about—will be a boon to the economy: “For too long, we have failed to use the most important word when it comes to meeting the climate crisis, jobs. Jobs. Jobs.” Jobs where? Building solar panels and electric cars that he wants to force upon the American buying public, of course. For President Biden, this rapid acceleration towards our Green New Future means that “America’s back” and is leading the world on his flagship issue: “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.”
If economic policy means climate change for the Biden administration, yesterday's address was also instructive about what security means. Though he promised to end America’s military presence in Afghanistan and that "terrorism has metastasized" over the past 20 years, the President revealed a confusing set of priorities to keep America safe. He completely glossed over the crisis at the border that threatens to eclipse his administration, one that’s creating a national security crisis that has begun at the border and is accreting across the nation. He then had the gall to suggest that the answer to our border crisis is to have Vice President Kamala Harris talk to the leaders of Central America and use diplomacy to stop illegal immigrants from storming the border.
The President pledged to combat “the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today,” what he claimed was “white supremacy.” Meanwhile, he said nothing about the lawlessness and violence that has pervaded America’s streets throughout the coronavirus lockdown, nothing about the looting and rioting that become all-too-common in American cities, and nothing about Black Lives Matter being a lethal threat, pledging instead to “root out systemic racism that plagues American life in many other ways.”
Keeping America Safe, for President Joe Biden, meant asking the House to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, asking Congress to pass the Equality Act (which is, of course, anything but) and making a final pitch for gun control. “These kinds of recent reforms have overwhelming support from the American people, including many gun owners. … Congress should act. And this shouldn’t be a red or blue issue.”
Going off-script, he added: “no amendment to the Constitution is absolute. You can’t yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater. From the very beginning, there were certain guns, weapons that could not be owned by Americans. Certain people could not own those weapons ever. We’re not changing the Constitution…”
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President Joe Biden.[/caption]
THE WAR ON AMERICAN VALUES AND WAY OF LIFE
This may have been Biden’s best media moment since his election night speech declaring victory. Still, the evening did not prove to be riveting for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who appeared to be asleep during part of the speech. Biden was so sedate, in fact, it was almost as if he’s trying to lull Americans into accepting his administration's blunders.
President Biden continues to show himself as a president whose best policy statements belong to someone else...
This administration has and will continue to waste trillions of dollars, as evidenced by the fake COVID-19 recovery bill and a phony infrastructure bill that hasn’t even been written yet. By dismantling former President Donald Trump’s border security measures and refusing to deport people, it has created a catastrophe on the southern border—one that the President has assiduously ignored for months, only admitting last week that this looming disaster might constitute a “crisis.” And who can forget the Democrats’ For the People Act—an odious bill that will ensure that voter fraud not only remains a question for future elections but a planned fact of life. Now, it seems President Biden has set his sights on the American family, essentially widening his war on American values and way of life.
President Biden continues to show himself as a president whose best policy statements belong to someone else—whether that’s former-President Trump (when he said that we should all buy “buy American” it was nothing but a plank from Trump’s policy platform), or his own party’s radical factions who want to dismantle this country from top to bottom. And with their help, Biden is increasingly forging a cradle to grave welfare state that will rival anything socialists have created—and then been forced to dismantle—all over the world.
