Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) said it best when he constantly shook his head at President George W. Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday night. For approximately half of his 55 minute speech the president spoke about the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and terrorism - nearly everything except the pressing domestic issues that plague the United States at this moment. "People are really hurting in terms of their costs of education, in terms of their health care costs," said Kennedy following the address. The State of the Union should be a representation of how the United States is faring overall. Indeed, the reality of the situation is that we have reneged on fundamental human rights, weakened the economy, let our brave men and women in uniform die, backed out on legislation for our children, and allowed the upper class to become even more elite in society.
The war in Iraq is not over and soldiers are still dying. A few days ago the toll reached 500 dead and has continued to rise. Perhaps the most startling and least used statistic is that 2,983 soldiers have been wounded since the start of the war. There is no question that we should wholeheartedly support the brave Americans who fight for our country. However, President Bush has not shown any positive evidence of weapons of mass destruction and there is no set timetable for removing the troops. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) accurately expresses the fact that "American taxpayers are bearing almost all the cost, a colossal $120 billion and rising. More importantly, American troops are enduring almost all the casualties."
President Bush also referred to the Patriot Act and called for the renewal of several provisions set to expire this year. There are some points to this bill that do indeed safeguard our country, however the vast majority of provisions detract from our right to privacy, allow innocent U.S. civilians to be held without trial and without access to counsel, and give government officials the ability to circumvent judicial precedent without a court order. This is a fundamental breach of the checks and balances system that our Constitution is based upon.
The age-old right to judicial review was also attacked in the president's belief that, "If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process." He further stated that, "Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage," by not allowing homosexuals the same rights as other human beings. This segment of the population should be treated with the respect and dignity afforded to all other people and they should be given equality under law without question. Just last week, President Bush used a recess of Congress to circumvent the Constitution and install Charles Pickering as a federal judge though his record on civil rights and abortion stands in contrast to the law.
Though he claimed that the tax cuts stimulated the economy, a quick glance at the Bush presidency shows that a net loss of three million jobs has occurred - the first loss since Herbert Hoover. The "death tax," which was unfairly characterized as pertaining to lower and middle class families, actually only affected those in the upper echelons of society. Due to its repeal, a loophole has been created whereby those that make exorbitant amounts of money in capital gains can now get away with their earnings tax-free.
Perhaps the greatest disservice to America has been the underfunding of the No Child Left Behind Act. Designed to impose national testing standards on schools across the nation, it was supported in a bipartisan effort, yet the requisite amount of funding was never appropriated to support the change. "Millions of children are being denied the better teachers, smaller classes and extra help they were promised," responded Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). Now, Bush has unveiled two new plans: Jobs for the 21st Century and a charge to increase Pell Grants. This is well overdue, but how can we fund these programs if the No Child Left Behind Act is still dragging in the dust?
The 68 percent lack of public support for his proposed moon and Mars expeditions, along with his unconstitutional Partial Birth Abortion Ban, were not mentioned in the speech, though he did call for federal funding for faith-based charities and explained that "abstinence is the only certain way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases" in a call to increase funding for abstinence-only education in schools, which in many cases does not allow teachers to refer to any type of birth control whatsoever in their lessons.
It is clear that this speech was the most partisan in recent history and did nothing to further the common agenda of both parties in Congress. President Bush only furthered the divide in Congress over key issues of the country, such as the economy, education and civil rights, while seeking to promote his foreign agenda that has cost precious American lives. When will the government start focusing on fixing old problems before starting new ones?