State of the Union –A Glimpse of Comity, Courtesy and Civility?

By Mary Mostert, Analyst, Banner of Liberty (www.bannerofliberty.com)

January 24, 2006

The underlying message in President George W. Bush’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday was an appeal to the, hopefully, vast majority of the American people who are not part of the extremist views that seem to garner most of the media’s attention these days. While we hear much about these extremist views being either “conservative” or “liberal,” in effect they are not either. They are mostly simply views that trash the Constitution.

From a Constitutional perspective, both extremes are saying approximately the same thing: that this is a democracy, based on mob rule, and our leaders have to do whatever those yelling the loudest demand. . In the November election, voters replaced the Republican controlled Congress with a Democrat controlled Congress and, we are told, now the President must do what THEY demand of him. .

On the one hand we have people like Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, who believes that China needs another revolution to oust current leaders because they have permitted far too much capitalism. He also hopes to lead a movement to impeach and remove President Bush from office because he claims the November election was a vote to “to end an immoral war on Iraq …But what they (the voters) got was just the opposite. … Bush promised more of the same. He announced a major escalation of the war.”

Actually, there is no constitutional authority that allows either the voters OR the Congress to make military decisions. That is the role of the commander in chief. The Constitutional authority of our commander in chief cannot be changed or eliminated by a vote to change a few members of Congress. Of course, the Congress can vote to defund the military, which is what a Democrat congress did to pull our troops out of Vietnam, which Avakian and some in Congress hope they can do again. Senator Ted Kennedy has already introduced Senate bill 233 to do exactly that, and it is co-sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer (CA), Sherrod Brown (Oh), Tom Harkin (IA) , Patrick Leahy (VT) Bernard Sanders (VT), Robert Menendez (NJ), and John Kerry (MA),

On the other hand, we also have people who claim to be “conservative” Republicans who seem to be in a race to see who is the most opposed to George W. Bush, them, the radical Democrats, the radical communists or the terrorists.

Based on the applause during President Bush’s State of the Union Speech, it appeared that his middle-of-the-road, firm but conciliatory demeanor was a welcome relief for many members of Congress who have been through a virulent election year in 2006. . The first words out of the president’s mouth after Nancy Pelosi, as speaker of the House introduced him was: “Tonight, I have a high privilege and distinct honor of my own -- as the first President to begin the State of the Union message with these words: Madam Speaker.” The expression on Nancy Pelosi’s face reminded me of a school girl all a-twitter at a compliment from a boy she secretly admires. That seemed to set the stage for the rest of the speech as 61 rounds of applause followed the rousing applause that followed the president’s gracious opening comment, gesture towards Nancy Pelosi and his broad smile.

It also appeared, from the applause, that the President’s common sense approach to several issues of concern to most Americans was well received. The illegal alien problem now has a better chance of being passed by Congress than in the 109th Congress, where a split Republican caucus failed to support his approach. His two health care initiatives to help more people purchase their own medical insurance and his approach to immigration reform that would “secure the border” while taking the pressure off the border with a temporary worker program were warmly applauded. Four sentences about immigration were greeted with three applause interruptions:

“We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals. (Applause.) We need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country without animosity and without amnesty. (Applause.) Convictions run deep in this Capitol when it comes to immigration. Let us have a serious, civil, and conclusive debate, so that you can pass, and I can sign, comprehensive immigration reform into law. (Applause.)

His comments on reducing our dependence on foreign oil while expanding our technology into new energy sources were interrupted eight times with applause. He noted:

“For too long our nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists -- who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, and raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy.” That was followed by a statement that the entire Congress seemed to enthusiastically and surprisingly applaud: “We must continue changing the way America generates electric power, by even greater use of clean coal technology, solar and wind energy, and clean, safe nuclear power. (Applause.)

Perhaps it will not last, but based on the applause and the smiles clearly in evidence Tuesday night, it does seem that President Bush has been able to defuse some of the anger, while simultaneously making it very clear, in his words what is at stake in the Iraq War. He said:

“If American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government would be overrun by extremists on all sides. We could expect an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran, and Sunni extremists aided by al Qaeda and supporters of the old regime. A contagion of violence could spill out across the country -- and in time, the entire region could be drawn into the conflict.

“For America, this is a nightmare scenario. For the enemy, this is the objective. Chaos is their greatest ally in this struggle. And out of chaos in Iraq would emerge an emboldened enemy with new safe havens, new recruits, new resources, and an even greater determination to harm America. …Nothing is more important at this moment in our history than for America to succeed in the Middle East, to succeed in Iraq and to spare the American people from this danger.” (Applause.)

Applause! From a Democrat controlled Congress! The President went on to say:

“And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq, and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field, and those on their way.” (Applause.)

Applause! For our troops in the field and those on their way! In spite of the polls and the commentary we hear, what we saw on our TV screens last night seemed to tell a very different story –a return of comity, courtesy and civility we haven’t see much of lately.