State of the Union, 2011

Following President Obama’s latest snowjob of a speech to the nation, Republicans offered a Wisconsin congressman, Rep. Paul Ryan, another Judeo-Christian libertarian type posing as a defender of capitalism, which he is not, in a televised response. Congressman Ryan, speaking down to the American people and looking ridiculous with a gigantic red, white and blue ribbon pinned below his American flag pin, delivered praise for the dreadful Obama, Bible quotes, “reasonable regulations”, helping the poor and some nonsense about “tipping points”. What tripe. Pledging replacement, not repeal, of ObamaCare, he hardly mentioned individual rights and instead merely droned about limiting government control, which is like promising a kinder, gentler form of dictatorship, to paraphrase one of the fathers of Republican-led welfare statism. If Paul Ryan’s the opposition, boy, do we need an opposition. In contrast, a Minnesota Republican congresswoman, Michelle Bachmann, another cheerful and attractive brunette like Sarah Palin, was invited by Tea Party Express to respond to the President’s speech. Rep. Bachmann, expressing the spirit if not the substance required for political opposition to Obama’s agenda, said: “unless we fully repeal ObamaCare, a nation that currently enjoys the world’s best health care may be forced to rely on government-run coverage that will have a devastating impact on our national debt for generations to come.” That’s true. Unfortunately, Bachmann, like Ryan, did not make a moral case for capitalism and individual rights, an argument for egoism, so the Tea Party movement should look elsewhere for those qualified, such as banker John Allison or someone suggested by the Ayn Rand Center, to argue for reason, individual rights, and capitalism. Time, and this Rep. Ryan got right, is running out.