Minnie Bee's Rant:
This past week, President Obama,
like a shrewd and skillful fisherman, quietly baited his hook. He sent a
request to Speaker of the House John Boehner: may the President
come to address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday evening, Congress’s
first day back from summer recess, to lay out his proposed plan for putting
Americans back to work? The bait would draw out those members of Congress
who didn’t really give a damn about American jobs – those who found it
politically expedient to act as if jobs were their first priority – while
complaining that it was the President who was holding things up.
The President calmly cast his
line into the water and waited. He didn’t have to wait long to get a
bite. Boehner sent a letter to the President that on Wednesday, Congress
had “parliamentary and logistical impediments,” lame excuses meant to cover up
the complaints of the most conservative Republican members of Congress that Wednesday
night was the scheduled time for a debate among Republican presidential
candidates. Not the first debate, mind you, but one of many that will
take place in the next 14 months, before the election finally happens in
November, 2012. Publicly catching the "fish" who are politicizing the
problems of the American people in order to benefit their own political careers, the President
graciously moved his address to Thursday.
During those 14 months leading up
to the presidential election, some of the Republican presidential hopefuls
debating on Wednesday will drop out of the race by the end of the year.
Many more will drop out in the early months of 2012. Yet the harsh
realities of unemployment and our weak economy will remain. People will
go hungry; unemployed breadwinners will lose their homes; some families will
end up living in shelters; high school graduates will be unable to afford to go
to college and will join the ranks of the unemployed, along with many college
graduates.
Is the Republican debate on
Wednesday really more important than this? The most conservative
Republican members of Congress think so. By going fishing last week,
President Obama demonstrated that these people don’t give a damn about their
country or the U.S. economy.
I, for one, won’t be watching the debate on Wednesday. I will be watching
the President’s address on Thursday. I will be doing my part to help put
Americans back to work, whether it’s by phoning and emailing members of
Congress to support the President, helping unemployed relatives, friends, and
neighbors find jobs, supporting and voting in local elections this November for
candidates who make local jobs their first priority, or buying “Made in USA”
products. I ask you to do the same.
************
This week's recommended products:
Planning a Labor Day cookout with family and friends? Add these Made in USA condiments to
your table:
- Original
Juan mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, salsa – Made in USA by Original
Juan Specialty Foods, Kansas City, KS
Blog Sources:
“Obama moves on
jobs, and foes feel an elbow,” Peter Wallsten, The Wasington Post, 9/1/11
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