As written prior to the President's SOTUS:
"A sophistical rhetorician, inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity ...."
-Benjamin Disraeli
There's a lot of speculation about tonight's State of the Union speech. Few expect it to be conciliatory in any way. In fact, the left is foaming at the mouth for a rabid speech that wages war on all things republicans find sacred. Personal liberties will be replaced by personal peccadilloes; Supreme Court and other courts will be replaced by court of popular opinion; and the House of Representatives will be treated like a house of cards. The onslaught officially begins tonight. Laws will be pushed through a combination of manipulated public opinion, executive orders, and unelected czars.
The whooping stick will replace the olive branch.
It will all be done under the banner of fairness and compassion, the kind of compassion that rewards sloth and punishes over-eagerness. The kind of compassion that makes people that entered the country unsung heroes and portrays those that dare suggest order and responsibility as enemies of the state. Sure it will sound syrupy and sweet, and there may even be a few tears in the room, but the kind of compassion we are seeing punishes the man that teaches himself to fish while rewarding those that never pick up a rod and reel.
The full Nelson yoke will replace the pat on the back of the loyal opposition.
The speech will weave common sense themes with contentious parts of the agenda, casting them all in a light of common sense and compassion. There will be a pitch for an economy that must run through the government, which somehow is the only place to do research and development or create jobs. These jobs will be dignified and high paying. Nurses will become doctors and apprentices will become master carpenters while the guy holding the "stop" sign at construction sites today will be the master welder tomorrow.
Let it be written...
All of this magic, all of this compassion, and all of this exuberance will carry a massive price tag. This will cost the nation not only money it doesn't have but also the nation's way of life that made it unique. Burying that individual ruggedness will not be easy, yet just knowing that's the goal of the White House puts it in check. We will hear how we are all in this together, yet the demonization of those not willing to pay as much as 60% of their income in taxes will ring loud and clear. Last Friday Ben Carson threw down a gauntlet at the National Prayer Service in front of President Obama.
The President was not amused, and he will surely counter the notion everyone paying the same percentage isn't punitive and isn't fair.
At this point it feels as if the market is bracing against disaster from Washington, and the hope is the GOP can hold off any more pressure. The stock market is ready to rally for a variety of reasons, and a lot are legitimate. :-)
For now, however, it is wait-and-see what happens tonight. If the rhetoric is as abrasive as the inauguration, then we should all be more worried because it could mean attempts to change or dump the Constitution and never-ending contention. There is no way that hammer could be unleashed and not eventually smash up everything in sight.