Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL) will slam President Barack Obama’s pro-amnesty immigration policy—and tout legal immigration—during the Tea Party response to Obama’s State of the Union address. Excerpts of Clawson’s speech were provided exclusively to Breitbart News.
“Success for our nation also means embracing diversity – including legal immigrants – and the millions waiting in line legally to begin their own American Dream,” Clawson will reportedly say. “Legal immigration has long been and remains a key to America’s greatness.”
A successful businessman before being elected during a special election in Florida last year, Clawson will transition into Spanish—which he is fluent in, as well as French—to speak directly to the Hispanic community. But Clawson will speak to Hispanics about why the law must be followed in America, and explain how struggling Americans need to find good-paying jobs—something that’s intricately connected to the number of immigrants allowed to work in America.
“Todos creemos en dios, la familia , el trabajo, y la libertad. Hay que respetar la ley. Pero, ustedes son bienvenidos con nosotros. Todos somos iguales. Por supuesto. Nuestra casa es su casa,” Clawson will say in Spanish.
The translation of that into English, as provided to Breitbart News by Clawson’s office and the Tea Party Express—which is officially hosting the Tea Party response to Obama’s State of the Union—is: “We all believe in God, the family, hard work, and liberty. The law must be followed. You are all welcome with us. We are all equal. Of course. Our house is your house.”
Clawson will go on to further argue that Americans who are out of work need to be treated fairly in any immigration debate.
“As we respect our immigration laws – we’ve also got to be fair to the more than 10 million Americans currently struggling to find good jobs!” Clawson will say. “To do this, we need to secure our borders first! This is important for fairness – and security – for all Americans.”
This is all in sharp contrast to what Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), who is delivering the official GOP response in Spanish, is expected to say based on his stance on immigration.
Other excerpts from Clawson’s response, provided exclusively to Breitbart News before the speech, show how Clawson aims to lay out an entirely different vision for America.
“President Obama just presented his proposals for America – pretty much the same rhetoric we’ve heard for the past six years,” Clawson will say. “I’m not here to pick apart his ideas one by one – but to offer a very different vision for our nation.”
He will also call in the speech for a strong economy:
A strong and vibrant economy will help businesses create millions of good-paying American jobs – while freeing millions from government dependency. To do this we’ve got to enable American companies to compete fairly in a global market. We’ve got to reduce burdensome regulations and reduce the business tax rate, currently the highest in the developed world.
Clawson will also quote former President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, to argue why Obama’s vision for America is wrong and the Tea Party movement’s vision is correct.
In 1962 – John F. Kennedy said: “There is no need for us to be satisfied with a rate of growth that keeps good men out of work and good capacity out of use.” A year later President Kennedy added: “The final and best means of strengthening demand among consumers and businesses is to reduce the burden on private income and reduce the deterrents to private initiative which are imposed by our present tax system.”
Taylor Budowich, the executive director of the Tea Party Express, said in a statement that it’s conservatives such as Clawson who have the policies America needs.
“2015 marks a year of new beginnings for the Tea Party movement,” Budowich said. “These new Tea Party members of Congress are brimming with ideas to make America economically stronger with opportunity for all to realize the American Dream. We are honored to present Florida Congressman Curt Clawson, the first Tea Party Express victory for the 2014 cycle, as someone committed to making Congress deliver for the American people.”
Newly elected Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa will deliver the official Republican Party response to Obama’s speech, in addition to Clawson’s Tea Party response and Curbelo’s official GOP Spanish-language response. It’s unclear what, if anything, Ernst will say about immigration. It’s worth noting, however, that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)–in a Senate floor speech pre-butting Obama’s speech on Tuesday–did not mention immigration.
Clawson’s first action in this new Congress—though he was technically sworn in in the middle of last Congress—was voting for a Republican alternative to Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) for Speaker of the House. Clawson, one of 24 total Republicans to do that, voted for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) for Speaker of the House. Technically, the Speaker of the House does not need to be a member of the House.
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