Last night while sitting here at the computer, I am reflecting on what brought me to support President Obama in 2012 after years as a Republican activist and supporter at all levels from Presidential campaigns to county campaigns and non-partisan Mayor's races.
As I listened to the President, I was reminded that I first started supporting him because he truly cares about all the American people not just members of his party. He is a huge believer in education and so am I. The cuts to education by Republicans are a sin in my book. Have yet to figure out how cutting arts and humanities which take up such small parts of the budget are a target of the GOP members of Congress and State Legislatures. Makes no sense to me. To deprive any child of a first rate education is flat out wrong and should get the people who vote in the cuts fired from office.
Charter schools have become vogue in GOP circles with most being run by big donors and follow no standards. Evangelical Christian schools here where parents send their kids sometimes because they can make better grades and not worry about flunking are providing an inferior education and one where everyone is taught to think alike. Teachers do not have to be certified and in once instance north of us some of the teachers have no degrees but who cares as they are members of the same family.
Then there are the home schoolers -- we have some in our neighborhood and many of us are wondering when they do their lessons as they are always outside during the school year. Their parents are not qualified to be teachers but that doesn't make any difference because they can teach creationism and the earth is 7,500 year old theories instead of real science courses.
Cheered the President when he said that we need schools that teach our children the various trades and skills to get jobs. He is so right that we have to spend more money on vocational training and the two year college programs because many kids are not 4-year college material and need to know that they can get good paying jobs by developing the skills they need. Manufacturers are looking for skilled employees and are willing to bring back jobs from overseas which has been a nightmare in some instances if they are guaranteed a skilled workforce. We need to give manufacturers that skilled workforce and get the jobs back in this Country with better quality control.
You would never watch or hear this speech from today's Republicans who are so much into limited government that it hurts people in disasters but then the GOP in Congress doesn't believe the Federal Government should be helping during disasters. Today's GOP has the least empathy I have ever seen out of politicians and probably the rudest. Speaker Boehner looked like he was sucking on a lemon last night as did Cantor and Rubio. The Majority Leader of the House turned his back on the President last night. Cantor has the class of a gnat. On second thought a gnat probably has more class.
It took four GOP to answer the President's State of the Union and all were failures. Rep Cathy McMorris Rogers was a joke saying Republicans support women on healthcare when that morning the GOP House passed another anti-abortion/contraceptive bill. Reading her speech left me cold. All four were billed as answers to the President's State of the Union and obviously they didn't know what he was going to say because none of the four were on the same page and didn't answer what he was talking about. More of the GOP following a narrative with little facts.
Thought the President was masterful last night as he zapped Republicans in a nice way but left no doubt what he was doing. I compared him a basketball player getting slam dunks. It was so funny to watch Vice President Joe Biden enjoying himself and Boehner looking like he was sucking on that lemon. Even on parts of the speech like bringing our troops home from Afghanistan or no more long term commitments of our troops overseas fighting with no end game, the GOP just sat there. Their lack of reaction to making sure our veterans get everything they deserve was met with the same blank stares -- lot of lemons being sucked on the GOP side last night.
Many of the President's ideas were about a better America and how we get there by working together but with Republicans who will give this President no credit for anything, that is a steep mountain to climb. The American people could see what he is up against last night and the GOP loses. They lose on having four responses with none of them making much sense. They lose on no new ideas by regurgitating their old smaller government for economics but big government for social issues. That flies in the face of most Americans.
Last night at the end of the speech I said it has been a long journey going from Republican to Democrat but I am at home with the Democrats and have quit being in dust-ups since leaving the hard right GOP behind. I am on the same side of people who believe education is important, our water and air should be clean, renewable energy sources should be explored, our veterans should be a priority as well as a decent wage for everyone. I believe that infrastructure needs fixed across America which will bring good paying jobs. Anyone who has traveled I-40 from the east going west knows when they cross into Oklahoma with the accordion road. Parts of it have been fixed but it needs a total redo. Bridges are in bad shape across the Country although Oklahoma is near the top for bad bridges and roads.
As an American, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother I feel that we owe our children and their children the same opportunities we have had over the years. For every rough spot, there has always been the belief that better days were ahead and sure enough they always came. Want our children and grandchildren to have that same belief and be able to make their dreams come true in the years ahead. We do that by working together not having a major political party be a bunch of obstructionists and defeatists. We are to the point in DC that either GOP is with the President in getting the job done for all Americans or get the he** out of the way. No more can the American people allow the GOP to hold our Country hostage for their flawed agenda. Time to jump on board to help elect people who will get the Country moving forward not back in time.
Together, let's make this the biggest Get Out the Vote effort ever in 2014 to give the President a Congress who has his back instead of stabbing him in the back.
