State of the Union 2023
On February 7, 2023, President Biden gave his annual ‘State of the Union’ speech on Capitol Hill, an address brimming with optimism, (mostly) justified applause bait, and a distinctly bipartisan tone. The problem is, however, the Republicans are just a bunch of jerks.
The President’s speech was clearly created to unify Americans at home as Republicans and Democrats linked arms and sung a little constitutional Kumbaya around the House Chamber campfire. However, you cannot make s’mores with f*ckers that horde the marshmallows.
Biden: Hey kiddos, let’s strengthen democracy, cap insulin prices, guarantee workers a living wage, and give teachers a raise <Camera 1 pans the chamber of outraged and grimacing GOP faces>
While the President was pushing a pretty solid case on our country’s challenges, the Republicans were hell-bent on showing us who they really are. Even when Biden lauded the very achievements that Republicans had supported, it was mostly only Democrats that clapped for those bipartisan victories.
These G-O-People were not there for unity; they were not there in good faith. They were there to oppose, deflect and ignite — to perform to the web of rhetoric their right-wing media has spun — and if we want to achieve any real change we need to openly challenge this bad faith. Which is exactly what the President did.
When invariably faced with power-drunk hecklers at the political baseball game, the President showed us old-school-Joe and forced those Republican hands to Kumba-f’ing-ya over Medicare and Social Security. A big win for the President and a massive display of Speaker McCarthy’s absolute inability to control the rabble.
However, we did not love every aspect of the President’s speech and were disappointed in his comments on police reform.“The answer is not to defund the police, “he said. “Fund them with resources and training they need to protect our communities.” But, Mr. President, the police are already funded — substantially so — and they already receive training. And repeatedly, both these measures do not work. So why are we focusing on messaging that centers bandaiding a contaminated and deadly system?
Tyre was not a war-hero who signed up for combat. He was a young man who chose life, and it was taken from him by a system that will now be refunded to the sound of clamorous applause. With all due respect, this is not good enough. We must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and legislate courageous, systemic change to protect American communities. We wish the Administration saw this too.
If we really want to light the campfire, we must keep extinguishing political bad faith — which the President did like a boss — yet, we also must be willing to push unexplored, progressive avenues to American rehabilitation. Because replicating old and deadly mistakes will not procure an advanced nation.
