Jack KImble's Response to the State of the Union

Tonight, our country has come together once again to hear our President give the State of the Union address.  Make no mistake about it.  This is a historic night and following any Presidential election, the State of the Union is a celebration of the principles our country holds dear.

President was eloquent, as always, in putting forth his beliefs for what America should be.   I hope you will allow me a chance to speak for those beliefs that brought me into public service and guide the Republican Party to this day.  Tonight, we celebrate the birth of Republican President Abraham Lincoln, so this is a truly special night for our party.

Unlike both President Obama and Marco Rubio, my parents were both born in this country as were my grandparents, but America has always been a country of immigrants and the Kimbles have long ties to the immigrant community.  Whether it was my Uncle and grandfather helping Japanese businessmen sell their businesses so they wouldn't be burdened with property obligations during World War II or my father hiring hundreds of Mexican immigrants to work on his olive farm, the Kimbles have always been proud to welcome people to our great country.  This spirit of service was instilled in me from an early age.

We may not have been poor when I was growing up, but to call us wealthy would be a stretch.  We were barely over upper middle class, but that didn't stop my parents from proving all us kids with a great education, clean clothes, healthy food, and obedient servants.  We always felt we belonged regardless of the private school or country club function.  Now that we're more prosperous, I still like to look back on those simpler times.

As the President made clear this evening, we are now in a time of challenge.  Violence is rampant on our city streets and one need only turn on the news to see yet another attractive blonde college student abducted or hear about another senseless shooting.  As a Congressman and an American, I often wonder how many of these senseless acts could have been prevented if we had made guns available to more people to protect themselves.  Now is not the time to unilaterally disarm ourselves and leave evil doers in possession of all guns.  Instead, we must begin to train teachers, nurses, homeless people, and cab drivers so that our cities can be safe once and for all.

One of the great things about our country is the wide array of choices that we as Americans have.   That's true of the car we drive, the soda we drink, and even where we live.   If people are unhappy in a post climate change warm state, there is an abundance of land in states like Alaska and North Dakota whose climates will only improve as the Earth grows warmer.  Climate change can be a boon to America as we acquire even more waterfront property and it is something we need to embrace.

Tonight, President Obama talked about jobs.   He has ambitious plans to help put American back to work and my colleagues in Congress and myself look forward to working with him, but there is one segment of the population that he has left out.   Every year, Americans buy over $25 billion dollars worth of goods made by child workers and it should be American children making those goods.  I would like to work with the President to once and for all give universal employment rights to all Americans regardless of age.  Let's work together to eliminate onerous child work rules for business.

America seems poised on the precipice of international disaster.  In 2008, when President Obama first took office Iran was less than 6 months away from building an atomic bomb.  They are now four years closer to that goal.  I had hoped that the movie Red Dawn would have awoken Americans to the danger of a North Koren attack, but the White House remains asleep at the switch.   Now is the time for a decisive foreign policy.

We face a troubling time, with the most clueless in ineffectual tyrant in American history as our Commander in Chief, but all hope is not lost.  We remain the greatest country in the world and as we boldly go forward we have no reason to fear the future.  Instead, the future should fear us.   We are coming and we will achieve our destiny and be a shining beacon on the hill once again as we always have been.  Thank you for listening and God bless you and your family.   Stay free America.  Stay always free.