Black Conservatives Critique President Obama’s State of the Union Address

Black Conservatives Critique President Obama’s State of the Union Address

Washington, D.C. – Commenting on President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address tonight, members of the Project 21 black leadership network saw a presidency lacking new ideas that suggested Obama may be “running out the clock” on his presidency without much vision but with plenty of continued class warfare and big government rhetoric.

martink_sm“President Obama really did not offer anything new in his address to Congress. All he did was present the American people with the same old clunker policies sprayed with a new car scent,” said Project 21 member Kevin Martin, a small business owner and Navy veteran. “President Obama wants more new taxes and more new spending, but he seems unwilling to do anything substantial to reduce our national debt, curtail unfunded liabilities, shrink the bureaucracy or really fight fraud and waste in our government. Conservatives, on the other hand, have preached that it’s the spirit of the individual — and not government — that has made America successful, and it’s that spirit that can once again return us to greatness. Massive, unrestricted government spending will not breed success.”

Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are available for media interviews related to the State of the Union address as well as other issues.

arps_sm“Listening to President Obama outline his plans for the remainder of his presidency tonight, it was clearly demonstrated to me that he was painfully aware he is a lame duck president presiding over an administration that is fresh out of ideas,” said Project 21 member Christopher Arps, the founder of the Move-On-Up.org black social media network. “Obama’s address to Congress contained more alleged freebies that will not, in fact, be free. And there was even more class warfare rhetoric and calls for increasing taxes on the so-called rich. The enthusiasm for hope and change that he allegedly brought to the White House appears to now be reduced to running out the clock until January of 2017.”

Project 21 members have offered rebuttal to all of President Obama’s State of the Union addresses.

lebon_sm“I am glad President Obama highlighted job creation in his address, but the reality is that over 16 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work. Many are black people in communities such as Ferguson, Missouri. What did President Obama say to them that’s really new and innovative?” asked Project 21 Co-Chairman Cherylyn Harley LeBon, a former senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. “The percentage of Americans participating in the labor force is at the lowest level since the late ’70s. Tonight’s rhetoric provided no real encouragement for those seeking decent jobs. It’s a problem for parents nationwide who struggle to get food on the table. In all that Obama had to say tonight, I saw no definitive hope for the young black man who sees that the only person ’employed’ on his block is the local drug dealer.”

cooper_sm“Having presided over the slowest economic recovery in modern American history using excess government regulation and destructive deficit spending, President Obama now plans to pursue more of the same policies. These policies, if enacted, will dampen whatever fleeting gains the economy is finally exhibiting,” said Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, a legal commentator who taught constitutional law at George Mason University and a former leadership staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives. “Full of tax hikes that punish investors and job creators and new domestic spending plans that America can ill afford, the President’s speech epitomizes the triumph of hope over experience.”

dozier_sm“President Obama’s foreign policy is a miserable disaster. This tone-deaf president negotiates from a position of weakness with enemies of the United States while turning on allies such as Israel and France. His foreign policy follies are notable for a series of bad decisions and miscalculations, including the removal of some sanctions against Iran, normalizing relations with Cuba and misjudging the terrorist threat facing America,” said Project 21 member Michael Dozier, PA, Ph.D., a consultant on national security issues. “Obama’s do-nothing approach, as demonstrated once again by his comments in his State of the Union address, is essentially aiding and abetting the enemy. Obama doesn’t seem to have a plan to defeat ISIS, nor does he appear to have any serious consideration of what it might take to do so. His lead-from-behind philosophy destabilizes the Middle East and has alienated America’s allies to the point that not even James Taylor can convince them that they have a friend in the United States.”

newsome_sm“President Obama’s announced plan for government to pay for a community college education for all takers is not only a typical liberal approach to a problem, but it’s also an example of choosing political pandering over the efficient management of taxpayer dollars. The President was correct that the cost of higher education is too high, but throwing money at the problem and not considering better ways to solve it is typical for liberals,” said Project 21 member Hughey Newsome, a financial analyst. “Why not propose a smaller initiative to connect needy families to scholarships and grants? That would be a less costly solution for taxpayers. That alternative may not get the splash and poll numbers the President needs, but it would be the prudent thing to do.”

green_smProject 21 member Derryck Green, who writes a monthly report on the federal jobless numbers and the state of the economy for Project 21, added: “Mr. President, your economic plans for middle class aren’t working. If they were, more than 92 million Americans wouldn’t be out of the workforce – more than 8 million who left since you became president. The labor force participation is at a 37-year low. Job creation and wages are stagnant. In the last six years, more businesses died than were created. As a result, the middle class is shrinking. If your policies worked, you wouldn’t be relying on divisive political rhetoric about income inequality – inequality that has increased during your presidency – to perpetuate class warfare. And your solution to this problem you preside over is little more than wealth redistribution through increased taxation. Isn’t the record $739,482,000,000 in tax revenues in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 enough? Mr. President, the nation needs more than the perpetual emptiness of your economic agenda.”

Project 21 members were interviewed or cited by the media over 2,000 times in 2014, including on TVOne, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox News Channel, One America News Network, MSNBC, the Orlando Sentinel, Westwood One, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, SiriusXM satellite radio and 50,000-watt talk radio stations such as WHO-Des Moines, KOA-Denver, WGN-Chicago, WBZ-Boston and KDKA-Pittsburgh on topics such as civil rights, entitlement programs, the economy, voter ID, race preferences, education, illegal immigration and corporate social responsibility. Project 21 is currently participating in three cases under review by the U.S. Supreme Court and has provided substantial commentary regarding the Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner judicial proceedings and their aftermaths. Project 21 has defended voter ID laws at the United Nations. Its volunteer members come from all walks of life and are not salaried political professionals.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over two decades, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (https://nationalcenter.org).

Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.

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