Tonight, my guess is that the Democrats, and the President will come out looking fine, not because they’ve done well, but because overall they are preferable to the alternative. It will also be interesting to see the Republican rebuttal.
I anticipate that regarding Obamacare, aside from a brief mention by the President of the “enrollment” numbers and the illogical conclusion that “millions more Americans will have access to healthcare,” (see several posts including, “Ask Them to Explain “Better Coverage For Less Money,” 12/31/13, http://conoutofconsumer.blogspot.com/2013/12/ask-them-to-explain-better-coverage-for.html) the issue will be left at that…By the President.
Republicans will be looking for ways to challenge the President on Obamacare in their rebuttal, which makes sense because of the unfolding problems with Obamacare.
But EVEN WITH the notable failures of Obamacare, in my opinion, Republicans still lose the American people, especially for those who read the Republican alternative to Obamacare proposed, the "Empowering Patients First Act, HR 2300," which I discuss in my post, “Democrats Bad, Republicans Worse,” http://conoutofconsumer.blogspot.com/2014/01/democrats-bad-republicans-worse.html.
Aside from having to lie and misrepresent in order to report good news, the behaviors that have negatively impacted the President in recent months, there are some claims he can make with factual support.
For instance, while including his pep talk that there’s more to be done, the President can emphasize the “improved” employment situation,” incorporating the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013 Current Employment Statistics, (http://www.bls.gov/ces/), which states, “The unemployment rate declined from 7.0 percent to 6.7 percent in December.”
Logically, Republicans would rebut the seemingly good news with the information provided by the website FactCheck.org that reported on October 8, 2013 that, “Income and wages have stagnated under Obama, and poverty has worsened,” http://www.factcheck.org/2013/10/obamas-numbers-october-update/. Instead the Republicans will probably toss around their own meaningless words about slow recovery.
It’s not that Republicans aren’t logical, it’s that they’ve backed themselves into an ideological corner. The Republican Party has been so verbal about so many policies that alienate so many enormous segments of our population, that they cannot credibly point out the real problems with Democratic actions and inactions.
Take the worsening poverty situation mentioned above. Unless a citizen has been snoozing he or she would be hard-pressed to believe that Republicans really care at all about worsening poverty. Their answer is always ideologically confined to a discussion that relies on the old-fashioned idea of trickle-down economics, proven wrong for decades of experience with an economy that not only is not a “free market” but has enacted legislation designed to protect the rich.
The President has not helped the situation, (search articles about cash-rich companies and individuals) but the policies that perpetuate the problem are arguably more Republican than Democratic.
Imagine, for an instant, a Republican with the audacity to bring up the “worsening poverty” that has occurred under the President’s leadership. Who would attribute any truthfulness to a Republican claiming concern about our nation’s poverty when we have Republican statements, quotes, and votes all designed to further impoverish the impoverished from minimum wage to reducing SNAP benefits, to cutting long-term unemployment benefits?
The President likely will not bring up the fact that just about everything costs more under his leadership, leaving less money in our pockets. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Summary, “Over the last twelve months the all items index increased 1.5 percent before seasonal adjustment,” http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm.
The President will also probably avoid a discussion of the MEDICAL CARE INDEX, which the same report discloses, “The medical care index also decelerated, rising 2.0 percent in 2013. This compares to 3.2 percent in 2012 and was its smallest December-December increase since 1949. The index for medical care services rose 2.5 percent, while the medical care commodities index increased 0.3 percent http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm.
However, again Republicans are stuck. They cannot bring these things up because they are in an ideological corner. Republican reasoning is simplistic to the point of idiotic. Reduce taxes on business and then business will have more money and then all good things will happen for the American people.
It has not worked. Maybe, in some bygone day before offshore workers, offshore tax shelters, and offshore bank accounts there might have been some truth to this, but it’s been YEARS.
When it comes to immigration reform, American citizens will likely see agreement between the two parties for reasons which in my opinion do not further American interests or ideology. Likely we’ll listen to the phrase “path to citizenship” more times than we’d like to rather than hear about a strengthening of policies that COULD reduce illegal populations including the mandatory use of E-Verify and the accompanying liability for every company to pay a fine and the costs of deporting illegals they hire.
Currently the estimated COST to the government of deporting a single illegal is at about $9,000. If this became a profit for the government, strict liability (since E-Verify has been deemed almost 100 percent accurate) for employers who hire illegals that they must pay the expenses of deportation AND a fine, we’d see a drastic drop in employment of illegals.
But it’s unlikely you’ll hear a Republicans say, “Hire American,” because businesses would revolt against increased penalties on them for hiring illegals or increased costs they’d have to pay by hiring American.
Democrats use hackneyed and illogical arguments about how we’re a nation of immigrants, blurring the lines between legal entrants into the country and illegals, and Republicans are bound by their loyalty to big business which would rebel against any real consequence placed on them for hiring illegals, both bad ideologies for American consumers but likely to create agreement between the parties on some half-baked amnesty program for illegals.
We’ll see.
