Speeches Galore

The Speech:  For the past few days Trump’s team put out the message that the theme of his state of the union speech would be unity.  Forget about that.  It certainly didn’t help that in a pre-speech not so “off the record” lunch with news anchors Trump slammed former VP Joe Biden as gaffe ridden and dumb, Senator Elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas, Senator Chuck Schumer  for being a nasty SOB, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam for choking like a dog and, then for good measure the very dead but very respected Senator John McCain because his book “tanked.”   Trump swaggered into Nancy Pelosi’s house, his hair more shellacked than usual and his tie slightly askew, something that remained visually distracting during his speech.  Much to the surprise of a momentarily befuddled Speaker Pelosi, he launched into his speech, dispensing with the custom of waiting until he had been formally introduced.  The speech was long, he didn’t say much that was new but did announce what almost every media outlet had already leaked, that he’s scheduled to meet his newest buddy North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in Viet Nam at the end of the month.  He talked about those migrant hordes again and of course attacked illegal immigration, particularly ironic given that the number of illegal immigrants who have been employed at his golf courses keeps growing, in fact one of them was in the audience, but held off from mentioning any of his “duct taped” women or declaring a national emergency to get his wall built largely because Senate Majority Leader McConnell had admonished him not to do so. Trump did not mention the shutdown or threaten another one, yet. Oddly enough he bragged about his contributions to national health care, particularly highlighting his commitment to those with pre-existing conditions despite the fact that various attorneys general from his party with the approval of his administration are currently suing to have Obamacare overturned.  To that end although he fired all the members of his HIV/AIDS advisory council in 2017 he announced a commitment to eradicate AIDS within the next ten years, laudable and maybe even possible but certainly not because of his commitment. Possibly because his base doesn’t really come alive over AIDS eradication, he also slammed abortion, calling for legislation to outlaw late term procedures.  He also talked about ramping up research to eliminate childhood cancer but then followed up by pledging to boost spending by only a rather anemic $500 million over the next ten years, a fairly embarrassing amount from the guy who is seeking a $5.7 billion deposit on a WALL.  As to that WALL and the crime he asserts it will prevent, he once again cited El Paso as a community that has benefitted from barrier border security, something that continues to baffle officials in El Paso, a city where crime and migrant hordes have not been a problem.  On the international front he talked about bringing troops home from Syria and Afghanistan and notably managed to mention Venezuela and slam radical Democrats and their socialist tendencies in one sentence.  As to Syria, earlier in the day during testimony before  the Senate General Joseph Votel, the general in charge of military operations in the Middle East stunned when he said he was not consulted prior to last month’s announcement by Trump that he planned to withdraw all 2000 US troops from Syria.  In what appeared to be a blatant effort to appear inclusive and racially tolerant, Trump directed attention to Alice Johnson, the Black woman that he pardoned for her drug related offense at the request of “consultant” Kim Kardashian, one of the beneficiaries of the new prison reform legislation and a few Holocaust survivors.  In the most humorous moment of the evening, while bragging about his economic accomplishments Trump cited employment gains by women.  He was greeted with a standing ovation from some of those beneficiaries, the large number of Democratic women elected to Congress largely in protest of his presidency.  The new House women, mostly wearing Surrogate White,  chanted USA, USA while Trump shook his head and said that wasn’t quite the response he expected. Disturbingly, early on in the speech, taking a page from the Nixon playbook, Trump called for the end of the “partisan investigations” into his criminal activities but then went a step further threatening to hold up the legislative agenda and asserting that the continuation of the investigations would derail the country’s “solid economy,” the one he attributes solely to his actions most notably his tax reform and his tariffs, the ones that consumers pay in the form of higher prices for goods but that he continues to think are paid for by the Chinese. His words about the investigation sounded ominous mostly because they were intended to be. That said, Mueller who was nowhere in sight, probably is not shaking in his boots and the investigation goes on and judging by recent reports continues to spread its tentacles Yesterday it was reported that many if not all of the people who worked on Trump’s inauguration have received invitations/subpoenas from federal prosecutors and a memo detailing Inauguration Chair Tom Barrack’s plans to financially benefit from his proximity to the new Trump administration was published by ProPublica.   

2020:  The official Democratic response to the Trump’s speech was provided by one time Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams.  Thankfully her speech was significantly shorter and her delivery far more pleasant, no snorting, no water screw up and no Chapstick smudge.  She called for lower health care costs and a more inclusive immigration policy, and focused on an issue near and dear to her, easing access to the voting booth for all Americans.  To that end she said “Let’s be clear: Voter suppression is real.”  Adding, “we must reject the cynicism that says allowing every eligible vote to be cast and counted is a ‘power grab.’ Americans understand that these are the values our brave men and women in uniform and our veterans risk their lives to defend.” The “power grab” comment was a direct reference to Mitch McConnell who last week used that phrase to denounce House Democratic legislation to expand voter access.  Apparently McConnell thinks that more people voting is bad for his party.  Abrams is not running for president but if Democratic leadership has its way she will throw her hat into the 2020 Georgia Senatorial race in an attempt to unseat Republican Senator David Perdue.  On the presidential front, Minnesota’s very popular senior Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that she’ll be announcing her candidacy on Sunday in Boom Island, Minnesota, she welcomed everyone to attend her outing, adding to her down home appeal by recommending that all attendees wear their warmest hats and gloves.  Beto O’Rourke taped a soon to be aired interview with Oprah Winfrey, an indication that he is getting closer to formalizing his plans.  And in case anyone is paying attention, David Duke, formerly the KKK Grand Wizard, endorsed Hawaii’s Democratic Congresswoman/presidential wannabee Tulsi Gabbard tweeting that he supports her because she’s a candidate who “will actually put America First, rather than Israel First.” Also, to the extent that anyone was up for more speechifying, that other unannounced but likely candidate Bernie Sanders provided his “official response” to Trump’s speech after Abrams spoke while Kamala Harris who likes to get out early, provided hers even before Trump spoke.  One last thing, the situation in Virginia is not getting any better. Governor Ralph Northam has not stepped down and Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor at Scripps College has identified herself as the woman who accused Lieutenant Governor Fairfax of accosting her back in 2004. To make matters worse for Fairfax, she has hired Christine Blasey Ford’s law firm.