After the presidential speech, Governor Reynold's spoke. What an honor for her to be chosen and how proud I am to be an Iowan. She has represented us well and has done some amazing things for our state, love her. I usually avoid politics, tonight I sat and watched her live on television and she was great! I had to include her speech ,because it was profound. I am proud to be an Iowan.
From the Internet, Iowa.gov- Wednesday, March 2, 2022 Good evening. I’m Kim Reynolds,
Governor of the great state of Iowa. Like you, I just watched the President’s
address. I listened as the governor of our state, as a mom and grandmother of
11, who’s worried our country is on the wrong track. We’re now one year into
his presidency, and instead of moving America forward, it feels like President
Biden and his party have sent us back in time—to the late 70s and early 80s. When
runaway inflation was hammering families, a violent crime wave was crashing on
our cities, and the Soviet army was trying to redraw the world map. Even before
taking the oath of office, the President told us that he wanted to “make
America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home.” He’s
failed on both fronts. The disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal did more than cost
American lives; it betrayed our allies and emboldened our enemies. North Korea
is testing missiles again at an alarming rate, the Speaker of the House
recently warned our Olympic athletes not to speak out against China, and now
Russia has launched an unprovoked full-scale military invasion of Ukraine—an
attack on democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. Now all Americans must stand
united in solidarity with the brave people of Ukraine as they courageously
defend their country against Putin’s tyranny. As they fight for their freedom. But
we shouldn’t ignore what happened in the run-up to Putin’s invasion. Waiving
sanctions on Russian pipelines while limiting oil production here at home;
focusing on political correctness rather than military readiness; reacting to
world events instead of driving them. Weakness on the world stage has a cost.
And the President’s approach to foreign policy has consistently been too
little, too late. It’s time for America to once again project confidence; it’s
time to be decisive. It’s time to lead. But we cannot project strength abroad
if we’re weak at home. And that’s what I want to discuss with you tonight. The
President and Democrats in Congress have spent the last year either ignoring
the issues facing Americans or making them worse. They were warned that
spending trillions would lead to soaring inflation. They were told their
anti-energy policies would send gas prices to new heights. But they plowed
ahead anyway, raising the price at the pump by 50% and pushing inflation to a
40-year high. Four decades ago, when our nation was last reeling from
inflation, I was a young working mom, just starting out. My husband Kevin
worked days while I watched our girls. Then we’d switch. We would pass in the
yard as he was coming home and I was leaving to work evenings at the local
grocery store. From across the checkout counter, I saw the pain of inflation on
my neighbors’ faces; I saw what happens when prices rise faster than wages. The
Biden Administration believes inflation is “a high-class problem.” I can tell
you it’s an everybody problem. I saw moms’ and dads’ paychecks buy them less
and less. I watched working people choosing which essentials to take home and
which ones to leave behind at the register. And now President Biden’s decisions
have a whole new generation feeling that same pain. When I took the oath of
office five years ago, I promised Iowans that I would never lose sight of who I
was working for. That I wouldn’t become detached from the problems they were
facing—from the problems I had faced myself. But you don’t have to check
groceries to see what high inflation does to people. You just need to step
outside the D.C. Bubble. Talk to Americans about what’s on their mind. Ask
them: What are your concerns? What keeps you up at night? They’ll tell you, and
I can tell you what’s not on that list. They won’t tell you that spending
trillions more and bankrupting their children is the answer to their problems. They
won’t tell you that we should be paying people not to work. And they certainly
won’t tell you that we should give billions in tax giveaways to millionaires
and billionaires in Democrat-controlled states like California, New York, and
New Jersey. But that’s what the Biden Administration has been pushing for over
the last year. That’s all part of Build Back Better. Thankfully the President’s
agenda didn’t pass, because even members of his own party said enough is
enough. Well, the American people share that view. Enough is enough. And it’s
not just with D.C. spending. Americans are tired of a political class trying to
remake this country into a place where an elite few tell everyone else what
they can and cannot say. What they can and cannot believe. They’re tired of
people pretending the way to end racism is by categorizing everybody by their
race. They’re tired of politicians who tell parents they should sit down, be
silent, and let government control their kids’ education and future. Frankly, they’re tired of the theater. Where
politicians do one thing when the cameras are rolling and another when they
believe you can’t see them. Where
governors and mayors enforce mandates but don’t follow them. Where elected
leaders tell their citizens to stay home while they sneak off to Florida for
sun and fun; where they demand that your child wear a mask, but they go out
maskless. You’ve heard the excuses. They
were just holding their breath. But it’s the American people who are waiting to
exhale. Waiting for the insanity to stop. We now live in a country where
violent crime is out of control, liberal prosecutors are letting criminals off
easy, and many prominent Democrats still want to defund the police. It seems
like everything is backwards. The Biden Administration requires vaccines for
Americans who want to go to work or protect this country but not for migrants
who illegally cross the border. The Department of Justice treats parents like
domestic terrorists but looters and shoplifters roam free. The American people
are left to feel like they’re the enemy. This is not the same country it was a
year ago. The President tried to paint a different picture tonight, but his
actions over the last twelve months don’t match the rhetoric. It’s not what he
promised when he took office. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is an
alternative. Across the nation, Republican governors and legislators are
showing Americans what conservative leadership looks like. What it means to
respect the people we serve. To hear them out. To stand up for them and walk
alongside them. We know our problems require bold action, but we also know that
bold action doesn’t have to mean government action. It’s Americans making their
own decisions for their own families and future. Republican governors faced the
same Covid-19 virus head on. But we honored your freedoms and saw right away
that lockdowns and school closures came with their own significant costs; that
mandates weren’t the answer. And we actually listened to the science,
especially with kids in masks and kids in schools. What happened—and is still happening—to our
children over the last two years is unconscionable. Learning loss. Isolation.
Anxiety. Depression. In so many states, our kids have been left behind and many
will never catch up. That’s why Iowa was the first state in the nation to
require that schools open their doors. I was attacked by the left; I was
attacked by the media. But it wasn’t a hard choice. It was the right choice. And
keeping schools open is only the start of the pro-parent, pro-family revolution
that Republicans are leading in Iowa and states across this country. Republicans
believe that parents matter. It was true before the pandemic and has never been
more important to say out loud: Parents Matter. They have a right to know, and
to have a say in, what their kids are being taught. Families also have every
right to live in a safe and secure community. And that begins with a safe and
secure country. But the Biden Administration has refused to secure our border.
They’ve refused to provide the resources to stop human trafficking. To stop the
staggering influx of deadly drugs coming into our neighborhoods. They’ve
refused to protect you. With Texas and Arizona leading the way, I, along with
Republican governors from several states have sent resources to the border. And
we’ve actually gone to the border—something that our President and Vice
President have yet to do since taking office. On the economy, the contrast
couldn’t be more stark. While Democrats in D.C. are spending trillions, sending
inflation soaring, Republican leaders around the country are balancing budgets
and cutting taxes. Because we know that money spent on Main Street is better
than money spent on bureaucracy. Today, I signed legislation that eliminates
Iowa’s tax on retirement income and sets our tax rate at 3.9%. That’s less than
half of what it was just four years ago. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise
that out of the top 20 states with the lowest unemployment rates, 17 have
Republican governors. Republicans may not have the White House. But we’re doing
what we can to fill the leadership vacuum. On the issues that are affecting
Americans, Republicans are leading. We are standing up for parents and kids;
we’re standing up for life. We’re keeping our communities safe and thanking
those in uniform. We’re fighting to
restore America’s energy independence, including biofuels. We’re getting people
back to work, not paying them to stay home. Most of all, we’re respecting your
freedom. Behind me stands Iowa’s Capitol, where we display our state motto:
“Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.” Those aren’t just
empty words. It’s a belief that the greatness of this state—that the greatness
of this country—lies in our people, not government. You shouldn't have to wake
up every morning and worry about the next thing the government is going to do to you, your business, or your
children. If we, as elected leaders, are doing our job, then the government is
working well but operating in the background. It’s supporting the ingenuity and
spirit of our people, not drowning them out. It’s keeping them safe, not
restricting their freedom. That’s what I believe. That’s what Republicans
believe. And that’s what Republicans are doing. I’m blessed to be the Governor
of Iowa, where people are humble, hard-working, and patriotic. We take care of
each other. And yes, we are, as they say, Iowa Nice. But you don’t have to be
from Iowa to see that those are the values of America at its best—all of
America. Over the last few years, I’ve put my faith in Iowans, and they haven’t
let me down. I encourage this President to do the same. To put his faith in
you, the American people, who have never wavered in your belief in this
country, regardless of who leads it. Because you know—you’ve shown—that the
soul of America isn’t about who lives in the White House; it’s men and women
like you, in every corner of this nation, who are willing to step up and take
responsibility—for your communities, for your neighbors, and ultimately for
yourselves. By that most important measure at least, the State of our Union is
indeed strong. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America..
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