My Statement on the President’s State of the Union Address
by Jennifer on 01.28.2010
President Obama tonight spoke directly to Ohio's middle-class families who are tired and frustrated by Washington's failure to take action for real changes for them and their families in these times of great economic stress. The President acknowledged the loss of 7 million jobs due to this recession. He stressed the importance of health care reform to shore up government’s efforts to help U.S. businesses create more jobs. No amount of bickering in Congress or TV ads backed by insurance companies will erase the hardship that families, seniors, veterans and young people face when shut out of health care that should simply be a basic right.
We must not give up.
The State of the Union is still fragile and vulnerable as it affects those still without jobs, families facing foreclosure, small businesses fighting for credit, and veterans and seniors struggling to maintain their health and dignity. The partisan rancor in Washington must stop. The playing field must be leveled for families and middle class Americans so that large banks and moneyed interests do not own our politicians and our lives.
We need new priorities in our democratic government that focus on families and small businesses, not on mega-companies that export jobs overseas or that continue to gorge on the convoluted financial schemes of Wall Street’s moneyed interests. I applaud the President for recognizing that government must have the courage to make the tough decisions that will help stabilize the lives of everyday families.
Let’s stay involved and help make the President's speech the catalyst to holding members of Congress accountable, no matter their political affiliation. We must hold our lawmakers accountable for working for the good of the American people and not the extension of a political career.
The President recognized that our nation’s recovery and renewal will come through government policy that encourages small business creation and growth and our nation becoming a world leader in clean energy production. In Ohio we are already making progress to develop the infrastructure we need to convert our manufacturing base to clean energy production, so we not only preserve our precious resources but create sustainable jobs to spur our nation’s recovery.
Like the President, I believe in you, and I will fight to make our government worthy of its remarkable and resilient people. That’s why I’m running for the U.S. Senate.