B-Man Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Obama’s State of the Union in Five Words: #I’llGiveYouFreeStuff by Veronica de Rugy President Obama’s State of the Union address next Tuesday will be a little different this year from years past, because he isn’t expected to announce any new major proposals during the speech itself. But he will lay out big plans — we just know what they are already. From Politico: But as for the State of the Union tradition of unveiling big announcements for a year-ahead agenda, Obama’s done with that. The country’s been done with that for a while, aides say, and the White House has finally caught up. They believe they’ve now redefined the State of the Union model, not just for this year and next but for the next couple of presidents at least. Most of what’s in the speech they’ll have already announced as part of Obama’s two-week lead-up tour. White House aides say that may be it — they’re not interested in making big legislative asks for the GOP to reflexively shoot down, nothing on par with last month’s surprise restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba. It doesn’t matter much either way. Whether he announces proposals during the speech or in the two weeks preceding the speech, the bulk of what the president wants to do is give stuff away for “free”: Two “free” years of community college for Americans who are “willing to work for it.” This is obviously not free because taxpayers would be footing the bill. It’s also a bad idea since it wouldn’t even accomplish its intended goal.“Free” paid sick days and paid family leave. It won’t be free for the employers who would have to shoulder the cost, or the employees who would suffer from the unintended consequences of a policy that would make hiring more expensive, cuts workers’ wages, and make employment contracts more rigid. If Congress doesn’t pass the president’s paid sick days and paid family leave plan, he’ll encourage state and local governments to act. That too would be “free” . . . except for taxpayers who get stuck paying for a proposed $2.2 billion plan to help states study paid leave. Universal access to broadband and high-speed Internet. That will come “free” by having the FCC trample on state laws that restrict municipalities from building their own networks. The language he’s using to sell this plan (“clear away the red tape” and “help communities succeed in our digital economy”) makes it sound free, right? It won’t be. My colleague Brent Skorup notes that the government has “spent billions on broadband.” As Skorup explains in a piece that I highly recommend, federally funded public broadband networks aren’t just costly – they’re also unwise and unhelpful in terms of getting people access to fast Internet. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I'd have gone with: I, me, my, mine, and myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Is it time for the next guy yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I'd have gone with: I, me, my, mine, and myself. It' still George Bush's fault Executive Orders make Legislatures obsolete Lafayette we are not here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 #SOTU Preview goes full populist — will it work?by Amy Miller Next week, President Obama will stand before a joint session of Congress and deliver remarks on the state of the union—and he’s bringing some friends along for the ride. From the President’s weekly address cum SOTU preview: “ Every day, we get thousands of letters and emails at the White House from Americans across the country, and every night, I read ten of them. They tell me about their hopes and their worries, their hardships and successes. They’re the Americans I’m working for every day, and this year, several of these letter writers will join me at the Capitol when I deliver my annual State of the Union address on Tuesday night.” Their stories sound like anything a comms shop could dream up given 30 minutes and a pot of coffee, but they’re effective nonetheless. With the help of a small business loan, their business exploded, and everyone got a wage increase! Our policies made paying back their student loans easier, and they didn’t default! {snip} Democratic candidates already tried the blame-game end of the populist politics spectrum—that’s the mistake that served up the House and Senate for Republicans. If Democrats want to win in 2016, this “trot out the success stories” strategy is one of the few options they have left. This weekly address will be the first in a long line of defensive hits against a resurgent Republican party, and it won’t be the last time we see the President trying to appeal to the emotions of those who haven’t paid a great deal of attention to how their lives have changed for the worst during his tenure as President. Will anyone buy this "I read 10 of your letters every night" bull spit ? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandius Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Al la hu Ak bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Will anyone buy this "I read 10 of your letters every night" bull spit ? . They'll believe it and secretly hold out hope that their letter is one of the 10 he read. Besides the fact that every letter has crossed the eyes of multiple levels of staffers in order to cherry pick the very best letters for President Potemkin's bedtime stories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 #SOTU Preview goes full populist — will it work? Outside of nutsuckers like gatorman, no one cares what he has to say any more because after lying about ACA, he has no credibility with most Americans. Even giving away 'free' stuff won't work until he gives a free TV to everyone and makes them watch this speech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TH3 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Outside of nutsuckers like gatorman, no one cares what he has to say any more because after lying about ACA, he has no credibility with most Americans. Even giving away 'free' stuff won't work until he gives a free TV to everyone and makes them watch this speech. No one cares - except you - who has started a thread with your forum friends who seem to care quite a bit - by virtue of your time and energy putting the OP together - what he says. Tell me again what the GOP is proposing that is not simply a rebuttal to the DEMs..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Tell me again what the GOP is proposing that is not simply a rebuttal to the DEMs..... Why should we have to tell you again ? read some of the links and educate yourself. and quit projecting your own (automatic) opposition to anything a conservative proposes. Obama team tailors State of the Union for age ofTwitter and YouTube Los Angeles Times, by Kathleen Hennessey & Christi Parsons Original Article Washington -As President Obama worked on his State of the Union address last week, his staff sent out an email blast to ask the public what should be in it. The White House hyped nearly every recent major policy announcement — on LinkedIn and other websites. After Obama delivers his vision for the country Tuesday, he´ll underscore the message through interviews — with a teen style guru, a video blogging nerd and a green-lipstick-wearing comedian who says she´s ready because she´s watched "Veep." They are YouTube stars. I kid you not: One YouTube interview will be done by some girl who ate cinnamon then hurled it all over the camera. I still cannot wait for 2017 and getting some adults in charge. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 #MYFAVORITESELFIES #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS #FERGUSON/TRAVON #RUSSIARESET #TEETIMEISMYTIME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TH3 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Why should we have to tell you again ? read some of the links and educate yourself. and quit projecting your own (automatic) opposition to anything a conservative proposes. The links you provide rarely point to anything the GOP has to say that is not a rebuttal to Obama. Here is what the GOP has succeeded in in the last 14 years: The Bush tax cuts - which proved too much. Winning a lot of State houses in 2010 which lead to the great gerrymandering. Starting two wars which were unwarranted - and not paid for The prescription drug plan for seniors Repealing voting laws and introducing voting rules Getting the SC to repeal campaign finance laws which were almost unanimously passed by both houses. Fill me in on what I missed. Tell me how any of the above has improved your day to day life. Because of this complete lack of a pragmatic agenda to make the US federal government perform netter the GOP has got its ass kicked in the last two presidential elections and actually lost the popular vote in 2004. There is nothing that the GOP is showing that says it can win a POTUS election in 2016 against Hillary. So keep complaining and get ready for 8 years of Hillary. Going farther to the right is only going to further guarantee HC....the US people don't want 8 more years of DEM mush - but they appear to want it more than 8 years of the current GOP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meazza Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Why should we have to tell you again ? read some of the links and educate yourself. and quit projecting your own (automatic) opposition to anything a conservative proposes. The links you provide rarely point to anything the GOP has to say that is not a rebuttal to Obama. Here is what the GOP has succeeded in in the last 14 years: The Bush tax cuts - which proved too much. Winning a lot of State houses in 2010 which lead to the great gerrymandering. Starting two wars which were unwarranted - and not paid for The prescription drug plan for seniors Repealing voting laws and introducing voting rules Getting the SC to repeal campaign finance laws which were almost unanimously passed by both houses. Fill me in on what I missed. Tell me how any of the above has improved your day to day life. Because of this complete lack of a pragmatic agenda to make the US federal government perform netter the GOP has got its ass kicked in the last two presidential elections and actually lost the popular vote in 2004. There is nothing that the GOP is showing that says it can win a POTUS election in 2016 against Hillary. So keep complaining and get ready for 8 years of Hillary. Going farther to the right is only going to further guarantee HC....the US people don't want 8 more years of DEM mush - but they appear to want it more than 8 years of the current GOP. Two wars??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 No one cares - except you - who has started a thread with your forum friends who seem to care quite a bit - by virtue of your time and energy putting the OP together - what he says. Tell me again what the GOP is proposing that is not simply a rebuttal to the DEMs..... While I appreciate what you think you're trying to say, my comment was from a TV audience standpoint, not a forum standpoint. We're here because in one manner or another we enjoy discussing most things political. If the President came exclusively to this message board to give a speech, then probably everyone would care what he had to say. But I'm talking globally, not locally, when I say no one cares. Because anyone with even a passing thought about this president knows he is, essentially, the gatorman of presidents. He makes stupid comments to get people riled up, then disappears to his mom's basement...or in the case of the president, the golf course. He has the leadership skills of a mop, and cares so little for this country that it's actually amazing to me he hasn't been found sucking his thumb in the fetal position under his desk at this point. Look, I get it. If I were a progressive, I'd be disappointed, too. So much promise pissed away. But you're only fooling yourself if you think for one minute that the world hasn't collectively stopped caring what comes out of this president's piehole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 President Obama to propose $320 billion in new taxes in his SOTU address. I am so grateful for the innovative political thinking of our top intellectual elites today. White House officials have leaked a preview of President Obama’s State of the Union speech. ABC News described the centerpiece of the president’s wish list: “Obama to Propose Capital Gains Tax Hikes to to Benefit Middle Class.” Obama’s newfound concern for the middle class is touching, but a little late. He has been president for six years, and his administration has been a disaster for middle-income Americans. The numbers are grim: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary M Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 not going to watch it. that's five words Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 President Obama to propose $320 billion in new taxes in his SOTU address. I am so grateful for the innovative political thinking of our top intellectual elites today. White House officials have leaked a preview of President Obama’s State of the Union speech. ABC News described the centerpiece of the president’s wish list: “Obama to Propose Capital Gains Tax Hikes to to Benefit Middle Class.” Obama’s newfound concern for the middle class is touching, but a little late. He has been president for six years, and his administration has been a disaster for middle-income Americans. The numbers are grim: . They just did increase Capital Gains taxes on the wealthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 They just did increase Capital Gains taxes on the wealthy. No they didn't. They increased the cap gains tax on upper income earners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PastaJoe Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I hope he tells the Republicans, "Kiss my big black ass!". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marc-thiessen-obama-is-using-his-tax-proposal-to-taunt-the-gop/2015/01/19/9ba2ded6-9fea-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html?postshare=4641421682513422 Let’s imagine you were a Democratic president who just lost control of Congress to the Republicans, and you wanted to make it really, really clear that you are not serious about governing. What would you do? Simple: Use your State of the Union address to propose hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes that will never be enacted, in order to fund a slew of new government programs that have no chance of being approved. Welcome to President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union address. On Tuesday night, Obama will ask the new Republican Congress to approve $320 billion in tax increases. To see how absurd this is, imagine for a moment what the reaction would have been if, after losing control of Congress to the Democrats in 2006, President George W. Bush had used his next State of the Union address to propose $320 billion in growth-oriented tax cuts. Would anyone have taken him seriously? The media would have dismissed Bush as delusional. Democrats would have laughed. Everyone would have asked: What’s wrong with him? Didn’t he get the message of the 2006 midterms? What planet is he on? Obama is not delusional. He knows his plan has no chance of becoming law. White House officials, according to Politico, “aren’t holding their breath that Obama’s new proposals will pass Congress now that Republicans control both chambers.” (Which raises the question why, if Obama were serious, didn’t he propose them when Democrats controlled both chambers?) The goal is for “Obama to position himself as a defender of the middle class” and put Republicans in the “politically awkward” position of resisting tax increases on the rich to pay for programs that benefit the middle class. In other words, Obama’s move is completely and transparently political. More at the link: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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