President Obama’s State of the Union address was premised on two political bets: that there’s a broad national appetite, spanning conservative and liberal ideologies, for certain populist reforms; and that Republicans in Congress are too deeply committed to opposing his agenda to back those reforms along side him.
His speech was peppered with the sorts of proposals that play well across the country. But after executing a three year plan of partisan opposition to his full agenda, Republicans can’t possibly support them — and that puts them on the steep side of an election Obama is framing while Republican presidential hopefuls tear each other down.
It was also sharp-elbowed. It read in a way as a series of critiques of the GOP’s most prominent rhetorical attacks on Democratic priorities, and as a piecemeal rebuttal of the talking points his most likely general election opponent Mitt Romney has levied against him in a bid to shore up support among Republican base voters.
Romney has raised eyebrows for opposing the auto-industry bailout. In his address, Obama chided, “[s]ome even said we should let it die.” This is largely true of many Republicans in Congress, who could not bring themselves to applaud a proposal to reverse tax incentives that encourage outsourcing and discourage repatriating jobs to the U.S.
Where Romney has called for allowing the foreclosure crisis to run its course, Obama said that “responsible homeowners shouldn’t have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief,” before introducing a mortgage modification plan to Congress that will give “every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year…by refinancing at historically low interest rates,” which was met with silence by the GOP.
Perhaps most famously, Romney has suggested that public appeals for addressing inequality and bringing equity to the tax code evince envy on the part of advocates who have pressed those issues into the national dialogue.
“When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich,” Obama retorted. “It’s because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference - like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet.”
Republicans grimaced at this, too, as they did when he gave policy shape to the Buffett Rule, “If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes.”
GOP leaders spent Tuesday — and really the last several months — preparing for Obama to take this turn.
On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Obama’s “goal isn’t to conquer the nation’s problems. It’s to conquer Republicans.”
“This election’s going to be a referendum on the president’s economic policies,” House Speaker John Boehner told reporters Tuesday.
That’s the battle for public perception that will play out over the next several months — between Obama’s calls for fairness and Republican reminders of people’s current woes, implicitly Obama’s fault they’ll say. If Republicans lose that battle they’ll find themselves flailing in the general election with nothing forward looking to offer voters. That’s the bet Obama made tonight.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
Tired_of_democrats You are full of lying bullshitty propaganda that you swallow all day and think that vomiting it up will make any difference in this total farce that US politics and current electoral show are. The world is tired of retarded "conservatives" like you.
Tired_of_democrats No wonder you don't have a job, who would hire such a dipshit, that thinks like you!!
Tired_of_democrats No question about. The Boner led House is the reason we have an increase in the economy. It's all the jobs bills they've passed. Wait a minute...
Tired_of_democrats What fantasy world are you living in? What have the Republicans done to help the economy? The answer is nothing!! At least this President is trying to help, even though the dumbass Republicans(such as yourself) have tried to hinder him at every chance you could, and even with this happening, the president has still been successful in turning around the economy. Imagine how successful this President could be without the Republican party trying to destroy America to make this President look bad. The American people have realized that the Republicans hate America and freedom. Why do you hate America? Maybe you should move to Argentina, since you know so much about their history. America is home of the brave, you don't belong.
Tired_of_democrats When Obama took office the employment rate was in worst nose-dive since the Great Depression; every month was worse than the one previous. But to pull a plane out of a dive you need to level off first.
The acceleration of unemployment peaked 2 months after Obama took office, concurrent with the stimulus. The unemployment rate finally leveled off 9 months later, in December 2008, and the stock market made an incredible rebound. At that point the GOP went into a panic realizing that if this continued they would be the ones with on their face, and therefore shifted into full blown obstructionism. So who is to blame for the meager recovery?
Of course, Boehner wants tie the economy to Obama's re-election. He's been working awfully hard for the last 3 years trying to obstruct every economic package the President can come up with, so people had better blame it on Obama. Otherwise it was a lot of wasted effort on the part of the GOP.
The President needs to go farther, making America the best place on the planet to have high-value business operations and high-paying jobs, so that the middle class will have market power again. See www.sharedeconomicgrowth.org for a specific proposal.
"On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Obama’s “goal isn’t to conquer the nation’s problems. It’s to conquer Republicans.”
Same thing!
kenmeltzer It sounds a lot like the republican goal of making Obama a one-term President instead of dealing with the nation's problems.
The republicans seem to think they have a right to start political wars, like the war on the middle class, and still be free of opposition in kind.
kenmeltzer That's exactly what I was thinking!
Obstructionism does not endear. And it most certainly does not solve anything.
Republicans just come across as out of touch. And trying to tear Obama down when they should be offering their own solutions, it's just counter-productive because it shows that they don't have their own policies. All they are left with is a tactic of attack and I very much hope that voters see through that.
Obama’s “goal isn’t to conquer the nation’s problems. It’s to conquer Republicans.”
Doncha love it?! It's ok only if your goal is to conquer Obama rather than the nation's problems.
delia-ruhe
Not to mention, Republicans ARE the main problem the nation faces.
delia-ruhe You can fight the symptoms...or cure the disease. In this case, curing the disease means overcoming the parasites that are causing the problem, and that means...yup...defeating the GOP.
I'd love to make some kind of remark here about the pot calling the kettle black, but some might mistake that as racist.
Obama gives good speach, maybe the best I have ever seen.
But I am more intersted in the quote from the man of clay:
"On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Obama’s “goal isn’t to conquer the nation’s problems. It’s to conquer Republicans.”"
This is what the man of clay said in January 2009:
MCCONNELL: We need to be honest with the public. This election is about them, not us. And we need to treat this election as the first step in retaking the government. We need to say to everyone on Election Day, “Those of you who helped make this a good day, you need to go out and help us finish the job.”
NATIONAL JOURNAL: What’s the job?
MCCONNELL: The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.
Nice one Mitch.
Slight tangent: Gabby Giffords is an inspiration of the first order.
why oh why cant the dems use historical examples of past GOP policy failures to gleam some kind of light on a more progressive policy direction. Why oh why?
Come on Brian. When your J-School prof said Keep It Simple, he meant avoid sentences such as this..."Perhaps most famously, Romney has suggested that public appeals for addressing inequality and bringing equity to the tax code evince envy on the part of advocates who have pressed those issues into the national dialogue." How about instead...", the most famous Romney suggestion is that people who want reforms of the tax code just envy the rich." Don't you guys have editors?
havenot Brian sadly prone to thumbsucking sentences. Har har har.
havenot Fell asleep and knocked over my coffee while reading that sentence.
havenot Maybe he's paid by the word?
seanman01havenot Payment by the column inch was the standard for freelancers when I started my newspaper days some three and change decades ago.
Judging from the GOP reaction, if Obama had legislation simultaneously introduced in the House and Senate to applaud Motherhood and Apple Pie, it would die in the GOP House and be blocked by GOP filibuster in the Senate. The GOP is still firmly committed to bashing the fictional characterture they have invented instead of the true American Patriot that Obama aspires to be.
Visit Newseum and look at front-page headlines from today's newspapers from across the country. Many of headlines point to the theme of fairness with something like "Obama says all must pay fair share of taxes". Also included on the front page of many of the papers is the Romney tax story of how he enhanced his fortune with the current tax code.
Excellent speech, Mr. President!
A laudable SOTU by our president! It appeared the corncob up Cantor's ass was glued to his chair.
This is the president I voted for. He finally got it right. He now understands Republicans for what they are and finally (re) drew the battle lines they themselves set up when he was elected. Republicans are at their core racist, elitist, big business, anti-union, anti-middle class. But with the "candidates" they now have they have gone even further and have become psychotic. The POTUS now understands they must be defeated and cannot be expected to come to the bargaining table for the good of the vast majority of people in this country.
wisconsin As the expression goes, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Republicans are reaping what they sowed.
Mitch McConnell looked extra jiggly
MyLastSerenade Really? Because to me it looked like the gelatin had set up.
BEST
SOTU
EVAH
fnacalgal thanks Kanye...
Our President is a bad a*s. And how about those Navy Seals! Wow. I am fired up and ready to go.!!!
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Where in the hell does this chump giving the republican rebuttal get off accusing the president of promoting policies that keep America in poverty? So let me get this straight... This is Bush's budget director...saying that Obamas ideas...will bankrupt America?
He's trying to tell us that 2 + 2 = 1... I'm offended at the brazen lack of truth and happy about him reducing the GOP's already failing credibility.
morons
Go Mr. Obama - go !!!! Of course the GOP will say that. Idiot Bush revised their percent from 20% to 15%. I ask do those wealthy people really need that while we pay considerably more?
And the Republican response... project much, Mitch? Just pisses my off for him to say O is divisive. Stupid effer.
I resent the Republicans argument that rich people should keep less taxes or as some are saying no taxes because they are the job creators as if the rest of us if we could keep more of our money couldn't, wouldn't or don't create jobs. The truth is small businesses create the biggest percentage of jobs in this country not the ultra rich. My husband and I both had our own business and hired people. But money makes money and our ridiculous tax policies small businesses are forced to make the decision to grow bigger or stay very small to be able to survive. It is a personal decision of how much of your family life you want to sacrifice to your job just to be able to pay bills. Plus because of health care tied to your job ties down not only the worker to a job he or she may or may not like, it makes it impossible for employers to afford it and grow their business, it is a headache. We need single payer, get the middle man insurance companies out for profit only out of our health care so we are free to be and do what we want with our lives. Medicare has about 4% overhead, insurance companies about 20%. Each of us is a potential job creator, rich people don't have a monopoly on ambition, creativity, ideas and desire for independence.
Well...let us focus on the tax return's that, Mittens released"..He paid 14% ..in fedral tax ..his loop-hole write off..contributions to the, Morman foundation" Which , MITT..Considered are Donations to Charity..Brought his net fedral tax rate to, 3-5%....Not Shabby at all for a guy earning 50.000 per day...and is, unemployed...Also" let us not forget..the 150.0000 Sitting in the, Camon Island's..
Both are pathetic!
Obama playing chess, while all others play checkers
I didn't see it, but Romney is pretty pathetic.
Take that Mr. CorporationsArePeopleTooMyFriend
The race.
Glad he focused on Mitt. I feel he is the best choice for race.
Mitt who?
It was awesome!
When Obama took office, the unemployment rate was 7.8%. He proceeded to go on a massive spending streak , the rate peaked at 10%. Remember that Obama said that the spending stimulus was supposed to prevent the rate from going over 8%! The rate then took 14 months to drop to 9.1%, which is when the Republicans took over the House. Since then, its dropped to 8%.
Obama and his Democratic Congress, in his first two years DID NOTHING to help the economy. He spent his time passing his social legislation and spending for his friends (can you say Solyndra?). Now all of a sudden jobs are his priority. Will one of you nitwits please tell me how taxing millionaires will get me a job?
Once you answer that, with the term psychosis in mind, go look up the economic history of Argentina in the 20th century. This is something that your liberal teachers will never teach you in school. Open you eyes and learn from history
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