That went nowhere fast.
President Obama laid out nearly two dozen proposals, promises, and calls for Congress to act Tuesday night in his fourth State of the Union address. But his speech was met by a brick wall of Republican opposition.
"An opportunity to bring the country together instead became another retread of lip service and liberalism,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said. “For a Democratic president entering his second term, it was simply unequal to the moment.”
Despite President Obama’s subtle reference to wanting to reform Medicare during the State of the Union address, McConnell accused Obama of catering to his base, and dismissed the speech as “pedestrian” and “liberal boilerplate.”
“Following four years of this president's unwillingness to challenge liberal dogma, we got more of the same,” McConnell said.
That echoed House Speaker John Boehner’s charge yesterday that the president didn’t have “the guts” to challenge his base and make spending cuts to fix the budget.
Asked if Democrats on the Hill would be willing to entertain cuts to Social Security and Medicare, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said on MSNBC Wednesday, “Absolutely not.”
McConnell rejected Obama’s call for increased infrastructure spending and his push on climate change, instead noting that Obama didn’t mention the Keystone Pipeline or coal, which he called “proven and reliable.”
"The president spoke about energy infrastructure but didn't mention the Keystone pipeline,” McConnell said. “He chose the nation's biggest stage to promote something that's inefficient and costly, like solar panels, instead of something that's proven and reliable - and domestically produced - like coal.”
McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) also dismissed Obama’s call to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour. It’s something Obama said was necessary given that someone working full time at $7.25 an hour, the current minimum wage, would only make $14,500 a year. The minimum wage has been flat since 2009.
"He spoke of workers' minimum wages, instead of their maximum potential,” McConnell said.
“When you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less of it,” Boehner told reporters Wednesday. “At a time when American people are asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ why would we want to make it harder for small employers to hire people.”
He added, “Our goal is to get people on that ladder and help them climb that ladder so they can live the American dream. And a lot of people who are being paid the minimum wage, are being paid that because they come to the workforce with no skills, and this makes it harder for them to acquire the skills they need in order to climb that ladder
successfully.”
Source
President Obama laid out nearly two dozen proposals, promises, and calls for Congress to act Tuesday night in his fourth State of the Union address. But his speech was met by a brick wall of Republican opposition.
"An opportunity to bring the country together instead became another retread of lip service and liberalism,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said. “For a Democratic president entering his second term, it was simply unequal to the moment.”
Despite President Obama’s subtle reference to wanting to reform Medicare during the State of the Union address, McConnell accused Obama of catering to his base, and dismissed the speech as “pedestrian” and “liberal boilerplate.”
“Following four years of this president's unwillingness to challenge liberal dogma, we got more of the same,” McConnell said.
That echoed House Speaker John Boehner’s charge yesterday that the president didn’t have “the guts” to challenge his base and make spending cuts to fix the budget.
Asked if Democrats on the Hill would be willing to entertain cuts to Social Security and Medicare, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said on MSNBC Wednesday, “Absolutely not.”
McConnell rejected Obama’s call for increased infrastructure spending and his push on climate change, instead noting that Obama didn’t mention the Keystone Pipeline or coal, which he called “proven and reliable.”
"The president spoke about energy infrastructure but didn't mention the Keystone pipeline,” McConnell said. “He chose the nation's biggest stage to promote something that's inefficient and costly, like solar panels, instead of something that's proven and reliable - and domestically produced - like coal.”
McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) also dismissed Obama’s call to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour. It’s something Obama said was necessary given that someone working full time at $7.25 an hour, the current minimum wage, would only make $14,500 a year. The minimum wage has been flat since 2009.
"He spoke of workers' minimum wages, instead of their maximum potential,” McConnell said.
“When you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less of it,” Boehner told reporters Wednesday. “At a time when American people are asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ why would we want to make it harder for small employers to hire people.”
He added, “Our goal is to get people on that ladder and help them climb that ladder so they can live the American dream. And a lot of people who are being paid the minimum wage, are being paid that because they come to the workforce with no skills, and this makes it harder for them to acquire the skills they need in order to climb that ladder
successfully.”
Source
Sure he won the election but if he won't do things like the guy who LOST, we'll hold our breaths until we turn blue!
Oh, Obama, why won't you do things the way
the guy who lostyour opposition wants you to?Edited at 2013-02-13 10:11 pm (UTC)
“Following four years of this president's unwillingness to challenge liberal dogma, we got more of the same,” McConnell said.
Let's change this quote, shall we? "Following four years of this president's unwillingness to challenge liberal dogma, the AMERICAN PEOPLE voted him in a second time."
So yeah, suck it up and deal with the fact that he is doing the same things that got him reelected.
And the sitting second-term President, being a Democrat and a Liberal, would want to "challenge" established doctrine of his party because ... ?
What the fuck does this even mean.
I can't even parse this because he's bawwing about Keystone, then the second half seems to be implying that Keystone carries american coal? HURRRRRR? I think its just awkwardly worded. or he really doesn't know that Keystone has Canadian oil.
But seriously, what did they expect? "Now that I've secured the last term I can serve, I'm going to ensure that I cater to a Republican demographic who I didn't need to vote me in last time and can't vote me in next time, simultaneously pissing off the majority of the country, who likely voted for me on the basis of my 'liberal' platforms." What.
Maybe this makes more sense to Americans. I'm lost.
THANKS OBAMA!
He was elected. Why the fuck would he go around challenging his base? Whine more, Republicans.
Also,
Edited at 2013-02-13 11:55 pm (UTC)
Are they... connected in any way to the general logic I use? Because those words they said made zero sense.
Also, and this is a general question rather than just about this one instance, do they just... not grasp the concept that if you want the economy to generate more jobs and money, you have to invest in it? Prime the pump a bit? Set up ways to allow people to work instead of just expecting they'll make up their own jobs and money out of thin air? In short, try for an economy that ISN'T just a bookkeeper's trick of skimping on overhead costs to make the numbers look good instead of actually investing in a quality growing business?
Because that's always so much fun.
http://www.bing.com/politics/stateofthe
successfully.”
how is this not the onion?
also: this post needs more image responses
Well, Mr. McConnell, LET ME THE FUCK KNOW when someone can live off their potential.
Because let me tell you, when you're unemployed, underemployed, underpaid, or otherwise making do on not enough money, you know how many shits you're likely to give about how much money you "can" make in some wealthy Republican's pie-in-the-sky projected fantasy?
About as many shits as you have dollars to spare on that horribly low paycheck. Minus two shits, one for each hand, for throwing at any jackass who steps up at his six-figure job to insist that the minimum wage is perfectly fine where it is.