For a first ever State of the Union Address, Trump was largely successful. Both One America News and I kept a tally of rounds of applause and Trump was easily applauded over 100 times, mostly by Republicans. However, what shocked me the most was that, for the first time in our nation’s history, the Democrats inadvertently proved conservative theorists correct about their party.
Though I originally believed that conservative theorists were accurate about the left wanting to keep people dependent on the government to secure a voting block that will be unwaveringly loyal to the Democratic Party, I had grown skeptical of the position when I realized there was no conclusive proof of that charge. However, tonight, the Democrats made it clear through their lack of applause that they want the poor to remain poor and the sick to remain sick. They also proved that they have no desire to help the middle class or blue collar workers.
In his State of the Union Address, Trump spoke many things that transcend party lines and represent the American DNA of preserving and improving life, liberty, and property. In the days of Clinton and Kennedy, such policies that supported those aspects of American life would be applauded or at least acknowledged as important to the American essence. Kennedy was a patriotic democrat who loved America with every fiber of his being. Bill Clinton was a president whose main concern was ensuring the boom of the Reagan years continued throughout his presidency. On both counts, these were Democrats who made sure that the economy and America benefitted from the policies in Washington.
However, at this State of the Union Address, the Democrats were conspicuously silent concerning statements about preserving the American dream and lifting the poor out of poverty. Trump made it clear that he wants to ensure that everyone can live the rich life. It is hard to derive any other interpretation from his words: “we can lift our citizens from welfare to work, from dependence to independence, and from poverty to prosperity.” Republicans met this with a standing ovation; some were even whistling in approval. Loud cheering was heard from the rank and file of the Republican party. However, Democrats did not even so much as nod in approval. This makes one wonder: who are the Democrats working for? Whom do they want to succeed?
If the Democrats cannot rally behind such statements, then maybe it shows their ulterior motives. Perhaps it proves that Democrats want the poor to remain poor. Why else would one stay silent at such notions as lifting the poor out of welfare so that they can be rich? Perhaps the Democrats know that if the poor become rich they will no longer need welfare, and without welfare, what are the Democrats really giving to the American People?
However, this was not the only instance of conspicuous absence in response to shared party goals. Trump made it clear that he was going to work to drive down the costs of medication so that more people can afford the life-saving pills that keep them from saying goodbye to their loved ones: “One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs.” Trump even pointed toward the Democrats in Congress showing that he was doing it for them. He even stared right at them and motioned them to stand up and applaud. To Trump, it was clear that this was a policy that he deeply thought Democrats wanted, and he is not wrong. However, the Democrats were mostly silent during this concession. The Republicans, on the other hand, met the President with a standing ovation.
This is certainly suspect. If the President vows to do something that you have tried to do yourself, if he calls for the same exact policy that you support, then why stay silent? Why would a party stay silent at a proposition to lower prescription costs at all? Apparently the Democrats must believe that prescription drug costs are the right prices, prices that bankrupt families without insurance plans that cover them. Is it really more important to stay seated when your own proposals ring true to members of the opposing party, let alone a conservative president? Clearly the Democrats would rather not work with the President at all, who has pledged to help the American people.
However, one moment that really brought the entire point home was when Trump stated that the immigration policy that is being crafted as a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, giving concessions to both parties, would “[close] the terrible loopholes exploited by criminals and terrorists to enter our country, and it finally ends the horrible and dangerous practice of catch and release.” Republicans gave the President a standing ovation, but Democrats were silent. This was where I ultimately realized that everything the conservative conspiracy theorists wrote about Democrats was not conspiracies. If the Democratic Party cannot even stand behind policies that keep terrorists from entering the United States, then whom are they really working for? It was clear in that moment that Democrats want nothing more than to cast the American people side, keeping them poor and dependent upon the government, while allowing criminals and terrorists to enter the country so that the people will vote to keep their welfare policies and be totally dependent on Democrats to keep them safe instead of policemen or the FBI. In that moment, I realized that Congressional Democrats are out for themselves.
Photo: U.S. President Donald J. Trump delivers the State of the Union address as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (L) and Speaker of the House U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) (R) look on in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives January 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. This is the first State of the Union address given by U.S. President Donald Trump and his second address to a joint meeting of Congress.
Photo courtesy: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Publication date: February 1, 2018
