Wrapping Up Obama's Dead Fish Speech

Bill Smith, Editor: It is morning and Obama "pre-campaign speech" served up as the SOTU speech is over. Well almost! Unfortunately for you the reader, the SOTU speeche will be used as a benchmarks for some time. However, it will be treated like a "dead fish" on the pier. No one likes the smell, everyone notices it, it is examined from a distance, government rules stop us from prodding or kicking it off the pier, and no one wishes to get too close to the stinky thing. Sort of like politics.

After-action comments by others:
Erick Erickson, RedState: There need not be 7000 words, the length of the President’s speech, to break it down for you. . . . Barack Obama’s State of the Union is all about letting you know that government is going to do everything for you and when it can’t keep its promises, it will take from the successful and give to you. . . . The first half of his speech was about centralized power in Washington and the second half was about devolving power to the states and deregulation — trying to be all things to all people. But his actual proposals were one size fits all federal fiat with sops to unionization and swing states. . . . his State of the Union address, was light on the details of his laundry list, but at essence embraced the title of Food Stamp President that Newt Gingrich has given him. He wants a public and business community dependent on Washington. He wants a devalued high school diploma and an over valued college degree priced out of reach of the average person except through government run programs and subsidies. . . .

Mike Brownfield, Morning Bell: President Barack Obama described the state of the Union as he sees it — strong and getting stronger, with future growth fueled by his pursuit of progressive policies and an expansion of government, all architected to bring about his brand of “fairness.” The President essentially redelivered his 2011 State of the Union address — complete with the same empty rhetoric, class warfare cloaked in “fairness,” and proposals for massive tax and spending increases. he speech was notable for the items he did not mention, including many of the failed spending programs and policies he undertook over the past three years, the foreign policy and defense challenges he has exacerbated, and the economic actions he failed to take that would have created jobs and spurred economic growth. . . .

Myron Ebell, Freedom Action: Obama's State of the Union speech provided further evidence that his policies are the biggest obstacle to restoring the United States economy to a path of long-term, robust growth. After three years, the President seems to have learned nothing from his mistakes. In particular, President Obama remains clueless about the disastrous impact of the long list of his policies and new EPA regulations that are raising energy prices and thereby making consumers poorer, scaring away investment, and killing jobs. On top of all of his regulations designed to raise energy prices, he now proposes to impose a "Clean Energy Standard" that will make gasoline and electricity even more expensive.

President Obama claimed in his speech to Congress that he approved fewer new regulations in the first three years of his term than did President George W. Bush in his first three years. While the Bush years were not an era of light-handed regulation, President Obama's statement is spectacularly false. The Obama Administration has finalized more than four times as many major regulations (those with an economic impact of more than $100 million annually) in its first three years as the Bush Administration did during its full eight years. The costs of President Obama's regulatory onslaught on the private sector are colossal.

Silvio Canto, a Texas internet radio show host and blogger: Gov Daniels made more sense in 15 minutes than Pres BO's "shameless 90 minute class warfare" speech. Pres BO delivered his 4th, and hopefully last, State of the Union address. It featured more of the same: Let's tax the rich and blame everybody else. In other words, "shameless class warfare" that divides us between rich and poor, black and white, Hispanic and non-Hispanic, boss and employees, etc. . . . Gov Daniels reminded us that the private sector creates jobs not government. He spoke eloquently about Pres BO's mistakes, such as tying up $787 billion in a stimulus that did not stimulate OR a very unpopular health care program that a majority (52%) wants to repeal. . . .


Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference: What I heard from the President tonight was mostly a defense of his failed policies, and after three years of economic turmoil, that is no longer acceptable . . . . Instead of promising ‘more of the same,’ the President should have invited Congress to work with him on free market-solutions to revive our economy and put our fiscal house in order. So far, House Republicans have passed 27 jobs bills which take this ‘back to basics’ approach, but the Senate refuses to consider them and the President ignores them. That is not leadership.  Last week, the President’s own Jobs Council released a report validating many Republican ideas on job creation – including tax reform, regulatory relief, and expanding domestic energy production.  Those ideas can be the basis for bipartisan discussion and action.  But as we saw with the recent Keystone decision and tonight’s speech, the President has decided that while jobs can wait, his campaign cannot.

U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR): Facing high unemployment rates, rising gasoline costs and ever increasing regulatory burdens, Arkansans and all Americans, need to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time the President stop finger-pointing and reach-out to work together on common sense solutions to the problems and the challenges facing our country. Time and time again, the President’s rhetoric hasn’t matched his actions. His call for reducing our energy dependence comes on the heels of his rejection for a permit to build a pipeline that would decrease our need to rely on hostile regimes for fuel sources while simultaneously increasing jobs. President Obama spoke of an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy on energy and noted it was American ingenuity, investment and hard work that built major infrastructure projects like the Hoover Dam and the interstate system. I’d remind the President that we could be building the Keystone Pipeline which would put 20,000 Americans to work and lower gas prices for us all. There is no reason for him to have denied this major infrastructure project from getting off the ground. We certainly need to reform the tax code, close loopholes and ensure that the middle class are not bearing the brunt of the tax burden. However, President Obama’s vision of ‘fairness’ is based on the idea that raising taxes on the American people and our small business owners can solve our economic problems. Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ): After running up the three largest deficits in U.S. history, adding $4.6 trillion to the national debt and presiding over the worst economy since the Great Depression, it’s no wonder President Obama doesn’t want to discuss his record. Because the president cannot run on his record, he has no other choice but to play the blame game. While avoiding the issues and attacking House Republicans might be a convenient reelection strategy, it will do absolutely nothing to help restore the American people’s trust and confidence in their government. . . . Rather than vilify our attempts to cut spending and reform our debt-ridden safety net programs, he should join us as we work to balance the budget and preserve Medicare and Social Security for future generations. Instead of campaigning against us as the ‘do-nothing Congress,’ he should accept our invitations to work together to pass the more than two dozen House-passed jobs bills that have been stuck in the Democrat-controlled Senate for months. Time and again House Republicans have stood up to fulfill our pledge to America only to be attacked by President Obama every step of the way. From cutting spending to balancing the budget to removing barriers to job creation, House Republicans have delivered results for the American people; it’s time for President Obama to do the same.

Rep. Tim Griffin (AR-02): Sadly, President Obama has become a spectator to history when it comes to addressing our out-of-control spending and encouraging job creation. The time for talk has long passed; it’s time for him to lead or follow. I wish the President had offered a bold, real plan for balancing our budget – or pledged to work with us to get our spending under control. When the President talks about getting Americans back to work, it’s hard to take him seriously, one week after he killed thousands of new Keystone pipeline jobs. He needs to get real about job creation, and he can start by approving the pipeline, so hard working Arkansans – not Chinese – can benefit from these new jobs.

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