Tim Scott: A man for our time
April 30 | Posted by mrossol | American Thought, Biden, Democrat Party, Republican(s)It was excellent. “The first reason I am where I am is because I had a praying mother.” He also stated his becoming a Christian was decisive in his life. I was impressed with this man. mrossol
WSJ 4/30/2021
Sen. Tim Scott gives the GOP response to President Biden’s joint session address on April 28.
PHOTO: PRESS POOLThe worst job in Washington is delivering the out-of-power party’s rebuttal to a President’s address to Congress. Invariably the poor soul looks small in comparison to a President addressing all branches of government and the American people from the well of the House.
Until Tim Scott.
On Wednesday the junior Senator from South Carolina offered the Republican response to Joe Biden’s the-era-of-very-big-government-is-back speech. He laid out what the GOP is against in the Biden agenda, but also what it is for, and the principles behind it. He also called out progressive hypocrisies, such as those who call him “Uncle Tom and the N-word” because he is a black Republican. Underscoring his point, that same night “Uncle Tim” was trending on Twitter until the platform shut it down Thursday.
The most electrifying moment came when he squarely addressed an issue now tearing the nation apart. “Hear me clearly,” Mr. Scott said. “America is not a racist country.”
Most Americans know this. But too many of our leaders are unwilling or afraid to say so publicly. He made clear he was not saying America is perfect, or that racism is totally behind us. Even as a Senator, he said, he knows what it’s like “to be pulled over for no reason” or “to be followed around a store while I’m shopping.”
What he objects to are those who wield race as a political weapon, hoping “to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.” He called out Democrats for blocking even a debate on his police reform bill last year after the death of George Floyd.
But the bulk of his message was about hope. “This should be a joyful springtime for our nation,” he said. American families deserve “better” than what the President is offering—and then he went on to define better:
“Just before COVID, we had the most inclusive economy in my lifetime. The lowest unemployment ever recorded for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans. The lowest for women in nearly 70 years. Wages were growing faster for the bottom 25% than the top 25%. That happened because Republicans focused on expanding opportunity for all Americans.”
America’s “best future,” he said, “won’t come from Washington schemes.” He called President Biden a “good man,” but went on to say that what we need more than a multi-trillion dollar tax-and-spending plan is “common sense and common ground.” If he has hope in America’s future, it’s in part because he has seen what American opportunity can do for ordinary citizens, taking his own family “from cotton to Congress in one lifetime.”
In sum, Sen. Scott offered an optimistic Republican vision that stresses the dignity of work, individual freedom over government dependence, and belief in the principle of equal opportunity for all to rise.
That message is especially timely for a GOP that is still divided over Donald Trump, who wants the party to continue fighting over the 2020 election. That’s a loser’s game. Mr. Biden is trying to jam a super-sized government agenda through Congress with narrow majorities and no mandate. America needs a vital opposition party to make a principled case against that agenda and focus on the future. Mr. Scott showed them the way.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tim-scotts-gop-revival-message-11619735889?mod=opinion_lead_pos2
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.