Can I be the President for five minutes?

CoffeeCat

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Jul-11-11 01:15 PM
Original message

Can I be the President for five minutes?

Edited on Mon Jul-11-11 01:18 PM by CoffeeCat

"Ladies and Gentlemen and members of the press--I am addressing you today because the Republicans and I
stand at an impasse.

During a time when middle-class folks are struggling and the unemployment rate is rising,
Republicans are fighting to enrich the bank accounts of millionaires and billionaires. They
won't consider rolling back tax rates to Bush-era levels, but instead want to cut Social
Security, Medicare and Medicaid--programs that provide assistance to society's senior
citizens, the disabled, the poor and other vulnerable groups.

The choice is clear for myself and the Democrats. We choose middle-class America before
the yacht owners and the bank CEOs, who by the way--were bailed out handsomely with taxpayer
dollars and have yet to use that money in any way that benefits this nation's economy.

Furthermore--and let me make myself very clear. John Bohner voted to raise the debt ceiling
seven times during the Bush Administration. The debt ceiling has been raised repeatedly
without a debate. Why on Earth is John Bohner's hair on fire about raising the debt ceiling
now--when he voted for it dozens of times--without so much as a whimper?

The Republicans want to dismantle Social Security, brick by brick--and they're using the debt ceiling to
create panic and to force me to agree to cuts in social programs that they want destroyed. I won't play
this game. Please remember that Republicans are devoted fans of the neocons and specifically Grover Nordquist,
who said that he wants to shrink government until it is small enough to drown in a bathtub.

That's a direct quote.

That's what I'm fighting.

Democrats didn't elect me to cut Social Security or benefits for disabled children. These grandmothers,
families and middle-class folks voted for me to protect their interests, not the interests of corporations
and the rich and the elite who make up the top one percent in this country. America cannot prosper
if only the top one percent are flourishing and the rest of the country is unemployed, disillusioned and
taking an income hit of 30 percent--which is what cuts in Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare would amount
to for those people.

Not on my watch.

I'm not going to take questions. You all have a transcript of this speech. Your questions should be directed
at John Bohner and the rest of the Republican chorus. You need to ask them why they've raised the debt ceiling
so many times, but this time they're throwing fits. You need to ask them how they can possibly hobble 80-year old
citizens of this country and middle-class families who will be left absorbing the medical and living costs for their
elderly parents when their benefits are cut.

Talk to John Bohner. Talk to the Republicans. Maybe you can get answers to these questions for myself--and for
the American people who are tired of the games."