Friday, August 31, 2012

Bob McDonnell’s speech at Republican convention as memorable as the man himself


Gov. Bob McDonnell’s speech at the Republican convention on Tuesday was, like the politician himself, bland and unimportant. McDonnell employed his usual talking strategy by rhetorically patting his fellow GOP members on the back and showcasing Virginia’s economic progress under his governorship, or supposed progress. McDonnell also took time out of his speech to contrast Republican policies with those of the Obama Administration.

McDonnell stated, “While the Obama Administration borrows over $3 billion a day just to keep the lights on, Republican governors closed $65 billion in budget shortfalls, without raising taxes.”[1] In other words, Republican governors slashed away at the middle and working class while refusing to raise taxes on the wealthiest members of America.[2]

McDonnell also showed off his sense of humor when he remarked, “Imagine that, we’ll have a president who actually knows how to create jobs, and a vice president who actually knows what state he’s in.” Indeed, imagine a vice president who has the nerve to speak off-the-cuff and make occasional gaffes or a president whose attempts to create jobs are overwhelmingly blocked by the opposing political party!

Regardless of whether the vice president is always aware of what state he’s in, unlike Bob McDonnell, Joe Biden and Barack Obama are aware of what state Americans are in and have attempted to provide remedies for our country’s ills, remedies which the Republican Party has never seriously attempted to compromise with.[3]

To McDonnell’s credit, he is one of the few Republicans who have viewed compromise as a political necessity, as a means of getting things done. But McDonnell has also caved in to the most extreme elements of his party on several occasions, putting a question mark around his true policy positions[4].

McDonnell is not, therefore, the political leader of the future. As his speech at the Republican convention demonstrated, McDonnell lacks the vision, the insight, and the vigor that America needs to remain the world’s superpower in the 21st Century.



[1] http://washingtonexaminer.com/mcdonnell-plays-it-safe-on-national-stage/article/2506298
[2] http://www.enewspf.com/opinion/36017-wisconsin-workers-walker-appearance-suggests-romney-ryan-will-continue-class-war-on-working-people.html
[3] http://swampland.time.com/2012/08/23/the-party-of-no-new-details-on-the-gop-plot-to-obstruct-obama/
[4] http://www.theblaze.com/stories/virginia-gop-gov-bob-mcdonnell-flip-flops-on-abortion-bill-libs-liken-to-state-sponsored-rape/

No comments:

Post a Comment