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| President Obama signing a Presidential Memorandum in Waukesha on job-driven training for workers. Photo: WaukeshaNow. |
President Obama visited Waukesha on Thursday, January 30, 2014. The stated purpose of his visit to Spring City was to tout a jobs plan; a simple stop on yet another tour filled with rhetoric and empty promises. President Obama gave a speech at the GE plant that builds motors and engines. Many of his points were restatements of his State of the Union speech. As usual, the visit is one of political motivation to promote a progressive agenda. Obama’s speech, the reason for the visit, and even the visit itself are all ironic and highlight the rampant hypocrisy throughout the Obama administration.
President Obama spoke for just over an hour, and his speech served to promote his agenda laid out in the State of the Union speech. The purpose of the speech was to promote innovation in job creation and worker training. Obama stated that under Labor Secretary Tom Perez, the old ‘train and pray’ federal programs, where workers are trained and you pray they find employment, are simply not functional. He then apprenticeship programs available to students and adults laid out that are run by state governments, like those here in Wisconsin. Once again, Obama simply brought attention to the fact that state and local governments can run job creation programs better than the federal government.
The President also spoke on other topics, seemingly unrelated to the main purpose of his speech. Equal pay for women, which has little to do with getting America back to work, was a main talking point. Obama even took the opportunity to once again plug Obamacare to an audience of union workers, most of whom receive healthcare as a benefit of employment. On Obamacare, the president stated, “The Affordable Care Act means nobody is going to get dropped from their insurance or denied coverage…” As we know, at least 4 million people have been dropped from coverage so far. Obama even took the opportunity to plug the 10 10 bill, which would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, even after numerous studies find that hikes in the minimum wage kill job creation. Additionally, Obama used the speech to make clear that he will go around Congress to enact his progressive agenda, saying America can not wait for Congress any longer. Such actions would clearly be in violation of the Constitution, and most likely would not stand in federal courts.
The reasoning behind choosing this particular GE plant to plug his progressive agenda is also one of political motive. Obama stated his appreciation for GE innovation and growth as one of the reasons behind the visit to Waukesha. Yet, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt was selected by Obama as the ‘jobs czar,’ leading a jobs-focused panel. It was essentially a kickback to a political ally who not only takes advantage of many of the corporate tax loopholes that Obama claims is destroying the economy, but who also leads a jobs panel after moving the GE X-Ray division from the red county of Waukesha to China as a sort of punishment for Governor Walker’s recall success. The political cronyism in what should be a clean-cut jobs speech is astounding.
The actual visit to Waukesha itself is in essence, ironic. Waukesha is a known conservative stronghold in Wisconsin. In fact, the President introduced Representative Gwen Moore, Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, and former Governor Jim Doyle, and not a single person from Waukesha county. While Waukesha Mayor Jeff Scrima is taking heat for not attending, one should not forget that governor candidate Mary Burke was also not in attendance, presumably because of the president’s toxicity in an election year. The presidential visit also prompted road closures of major thoroughfares, interstates, and downtown Waukesha. While this is standard procedure for a presidential visit, the closures created traffic problems and lost profits for Waukesha businesses. Not exactly appropriate for the president to give a speech on jobs while preventing business from taking place during peak hours.
President Obama’s visit to Waukesha to deliver a speech on
jobs is shrouded in ironic rhetoric and actions. The president has had five years to speak on
jobs, yet chose to use that time to force unpopular laws onto Americans and
weaken America on the international stage.
Every action the Obama administration takes also serves a political
purpose, whether it is to make a political ally look good or to shut down a
city in a red county during a busy workday.
The types of politically motivated actions taken by Obama’s
administration have not been seen by the world since the glory days of the USSR
and the fall of the Iron Curtain. It is
time for America to look past the Iron(ic) Curtain of rhetoric and to elect
leaders who act in the best interest of all Americans.
Published: Freedom Weekly February 5, 2014, Vol. 003 Issue 003
