The following was originally posted at The Huffington Post.
President Bush delivers his seventh — and mercifully, last — State of the Union address on Monday. If it’s going to be anything like the previous six, it will be loaded with misleading rhetoric that’s completely detached from reality.
For example, as I noted here before last year’s State of the Union, Bush has repeatedly pledged to bring about energy independence and affordable health care for all. In reality, he has led a band of conservative obstructionists, well-financed by corporate interests, to block progress towards those goals.
Why wait until he has the national megaphone all to himself to blast another round of distortions? Let’s tell the real story of the State of the Union, now.
At Campaign for America’s Future, we’ve launched an effort to deliver the “pre-buttal” to Bush’s State of the Union. We’ve taken the first step and released this video below, comparing last year’s address with what’s really happening to the foundations of our country.
But that’s just us. What’s your story? How has the state of our union, under seven years of conservative misleadership, impacted you, your family and your community?
At the new Campaign for America’s Future website, you can share your story. Collectively, we can push back on the false picture Bush will surely try to paint, specify how exactly conservative policies have failed us, and help establish an unmistakable mandate for lasting progressive change.
He may have the constitutional obligation to deliver the State of the Union — a rare instance when Bush follows the Constitution — but we have no obligation to sit idly by while he misinforms the Congress and the public.
It’s our democratic obligation to deliver the ground truth to our leaders. Let’s get to it.
