President Obama giving the State of the Union Address on January 20, 2015
The Republican response to the State of the Union address was supposed to be an identical speech, presented in two languages. In a written announcement, the GOP told the media that Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) would give the official Republican rebuttal in English and Representative Carlos Curbelo (R-Florida) would deliver the identical "Spanish Language translated address of Sen. Joni Ernst (sic) response." At least that's what the GOP said; the reality was a bit different.
The irony of Ms. Ernst, who is a proponent of English-only would have to share the spotlight with a Spanish-speaking congressmen was delicious in itself, but the details of the two "identical" speeches were even tastier.
In truth, Ms. Ernst, a fierce opponent of immigration reform failed to make any mention--not a single word--of the President's remarks on immigration reform (because, well, white people, you know.) while Mr. Curbelo made it sound like the Republicans were chomping at the bit to get immigration reform passed if only the President would cooperate (because, well, you know, We-Heart-Immigrants-Especially-Hispanics).
Despite Ms. Ernst's silence on the subject, Mr. Curbelo's "identical" speech told the Spanish speaking audience, "We should also work through the appropriate channels to create permanent solutions for our immigration system, to secure our borders, modernize legal immigration, and strengthen our economy. In the past, the president has expressed support for ideas like these. Now we ask him to cooperate with us to get it done."
When the Republican deception was caught, neither Ms. Ernst nor Mr. Curbelo nor their aides were available for comment. Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) responded this way, "As in previous years' State of the Union responses, Senator Ernst...and Congressman Curbelo...spoke of the GOP vision of commonsense solutions and greater opportunity for everyone in this country framed by their unique stories and experiences.
Yeah, right.
Dear GOP, why the need for deception? You either believe in something or you don't. You either support something or you don't. If you believe your position is correct, then have the guts to stand up and say so--to everyone! Or maybe you just don't believe in anything at all?
GOP (rhymes with 'flop') does believe in something: "DECEPTION".
ReplyDelete