President Barack Obama, our narccisist-in-chief, “let er rip” in a speech on the economy in Austin, TX on Thursday. Granted he couldn’t be bothered to actually travel to the border in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, but he did have plenty of time to talk about himself… mentioning himself 199 times in his speech on the economy delivered at the Paramount Theater.
He takes aim at Republicans before vowing unilateral action. Watch the clip of his speech below:
Here is the transcript of this particular clip:
President Obama: So when folks say they’re frustrated with Congress, let’s be clear about what the problem is. I’m just telling the truth now. I don’t have to run for office again, so I can just let her rip. And I want to assure you, I’m really not that partisan of a guy. My favorite President is the first Republican President, a guy named Abraham Lincoln. You look at our history, and we had great Republican Presidents who — like Teddy Roosevelt started the National Park System, and Dwight Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System, and Richard Nixon started the EPA.
The statement I’m making is not a partisan statement, it is a statement of fact. So far this year, Republicans in Congress have blocked or voted down every serious idea to strengthen the middle class. They have said no —
Audience: Booo!
The President: Don’t boo now, because what I want you to do is vote.
They’ve said no to raising the minimum wage. They’ve said no to fair pay. They said no to unemployment insurance for hardworking folks like Kinsey’s parents who have paid taxes all their lives and never depended on anything and just needed a little help to get over a hump. They said no to fixing our broken immigration system that we know would strengthen our borders and our businesses and help families.
Instead of investing in education that helps working families, they voted to give another massive tax cut to the wealthiest Americans. Instead of creating jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our ports that help every business, they’ve decided to protect tax loopholes for companies that are shifting jobs overseas and profits overseas.
The best thing you can say about this Congress — the Republicans in Congress, and particularly the House of Representatives — the best you can say for them this year is that so far they have not shut down the government — or threatened to have America welch on our obligations and ruin our credit rating. That’s the best you can say. But of course, it’s only July — so who knows what they may cook up in the next few months.
You can watch the entire speech here and find the transcript here.
President Obama has been one of the most partisan Presidents we have had since World War II. For him to claim nonpartisanship is laughable. To say “I don’t have to run for office again, so I can just let er rip” is demeaning to the office of the Presidency. Not that this particular President has done anything to elevate the stature of the office so I guess we shouldnt’ be surprised.
He goes to rationalize his use of executive action.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. There are a number of Republicans, including a number in the Texas delegation, who are mad at me for taking these actions. They actually plan to sue me. Now, I don’t know which things they find most offensive — me helping to create jobs, or me raising wages, or me easing the student loan burdens, or me making sure women can find out whether they’re getting paid the same as men for doing the same job. I don’t know which of these actions really bug them.
The truth is, even with all the actions I’ve taken this year, I’m issuing executive orders at the lowest rate in more than 100 years. So it’s not clear how it is that Republicans didn’t seem to mind when President Bush took more executive actions than I did. Maybe it’s just me they don’t like. I don’t know. Maybe there’s some principle out there that I haven’t discerned, that I haven’t figure out. You hear some of them — “sue him,” “impeach him.” Really? Really? For what? You’re going to sue me for doing my job? Okay.
While perhaps he has not issue as many executive orders as other Presidents, his has been far reaching, and he has done it in order to bypass Congress. Sorry, that isn’t how that works folks. I’m not saying every single executive order has been unconstitutional, but this adminstration has chucked the concept of proper checks and balances out the window.
You see Congress doesn’t have to act to enable his agenda. Congress is a check to his power.
I personally thank God that Republicans in Congress are “do nothing” (which isn’t true) because we saw what clear sailing got us before Republicans took the House in 2010 – Obamacare, the Stimulus package, deficit spending, etc.
President Obama reemphasizes in this speech his intent to bypass Congress, he said, “Whenever and wherever I have the power, the legal authority to help families like yours, even if Congress is not doing anything, I will take that opportunity. I will try to make something happen.”
Yeah we know he has a phone and a pen, he’s made that abundently clear. Whether he is using that authority lawfully is debatable as many of his orders go beyond impacting his just the executive branch (where he does have authority) to impacting you and me. Congress has the power to rein him in through the courts and they should.