Listening to the political right requires a willing suspension of disbelief

Above: Watch the first two minutes of Cathy McMorris Rodger's response to the 2014 State of the Union Address, if you can bear it, to hear some of the most absurd scripted foolishness you'll ever hear. It's an endless stream of talking points, coming from what appears to be an empty vessel. Rodgers is a Republican Congresswoman from Washington state. (I also thought Obama's speech was little more than talking points.)

Rodgers tells us that, in America, no dream is too big. Really? Is that why "It's An Exceptionally Bad Time To Be A Recent College Grad" and why "Recent Grads Have Lowered Their Expectations"? Because no dream is too big? 

Rodgers declares, with a serious look, "We want you to have a better life." Really? Is that why Republicans have worked so hard to reduce food & unemployment assistance to struggling Americans? Is that why they shut down the government, thereby delaying clinical trials for children with cancer? Is that why the man they voted to be president (Mitt Romney) scoffed at the idea that people have a right to healthcare and food and said it was NOT his job "to worry about those people"? Is that why Republican governors and legislatures have refused to extend Medicaid coverage to their low-income residents, even though it would cost them little or nothing to do so? Is that why Republicans killed legislation that would have created a public jobs program for unemployed veterans? Is that why they always resist an increase in America's pathetic minimum wage (one of the stingiest minimum wages in the developed world)? Because they want us to have a better life?

Rodgers says Republicans want to empower us, "not the government." But we are the government. Or at least we were, until Congress started sculpting a plutocracy by granting colossal tax breaks to the rich and then subsequently collecting the booty from that higher after-tax income (in the form of campaign contributions, lucrative jobs, gifts, bribes, etc., from the super-wealthy). 

At 1:22, Rodgers exclaims, in bizarre robot-like joy, that the Republicans' vision for America "champions free markets!!" Yes, Ms. Rodgers, we know all about your wondrous & deregulated free market. It unleashed a tidal wave of financial fraud on our country and, more recently, dumped poison in the drinking water of 300,000 West Virginians.

Rodgers tells us that the Republican vision "protects our most vulnerable." Is that why Republican politicians and voters have made a habit of calling our most vulnerable names like "leeches," "moochers," "takers," and "parasites"? Because they want to protect them?

Listening to the political right requires a willing suspension of disbelief, as Congresswoman Rodgers' delusional & deceitful speech shows. If you want to know what's wrong with America, and why the rich keep getting richer while everyone else is left behind, listen to Rodgers' lies about the compassionate Republican Party and the wonders of the holy free market.

And if you want to learn how to make America stronger, look to the New Deal--an era when government cared about all the people, not just those with deep pockets. An era when America focused on infrastructure, infrastructure that served as the backbone for America's post-World War II economic boom.