For a Safe and Secure Society!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6zSmtxzwjM
Posted on 01/28/2014 6:45:02 PM PST by markomalley
President Obama on Tuesday unleashed a torrent of new executive actions, using his State of the Union address to underline his willingness to govern without Congress.
Obama promised a dozen actions in the next year —including the creation of new “starter” savings accounts and a hike in the minimum wage for federal contractors — intended to embolden Democrats ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
The prime time speech from the podium of the House immediately drew Republican condemnation as an effort to create an imperial presidency, but was staunchly defended by Democrats as a legitimate and necessary use of executive authority in the face of GOP obstruction.
Throughout the speech, Obama stressed that the government should work to provide “opportunity for all,” by addressing head-on the problems of income inequality and waning mobility.
“What I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class. Some require Congressional action, and I'm eager to work with all of you," Obama said. “But America does not stand still — and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do.”
The White House decided on that theme after speaking to a wide-swath of people on policy, including lawmakers up for reelection in 2014. The message is one White House officials believe Democrats can run on in November.
Obama talked up a strengthening economy at the beginning of his address, and also poked congressional Republicans over last fall’s government shutdown while calling on both parties to work together.
“When that debate prevents us from carrying out even the most basic functions of our democracy – when our differences shut down government or threaten the full faith and credit of the United States – then we are not doing right by the American people," Obama said.
Obama asked Congress to join him in making 2014 “a year of action,” an acknowledgement that many of his executive proposals are smaller initiatives, and that he needs Congress to go big.
“In the coming months, let’s see where else we can make progress together,” he said. “Let’s make this a year of action. That’s what most Americans want – for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations.”
Obama specifically called for congressional action on a slate of legislative priorities the White House argues are essential for a still-lagging economy.
Chief among them was immigration reform, which Obama argued should be fixed to strengthen the economy and create thousands of new jobs.
On that issue, Obama stopped short of mentioning recent efforts to push a bill in the House, in a move senior administration officials said was done intentionally to give Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republican lawmakers space to maneuver.
Obama also prodded Congress to expand the popular Earned Income Tax Credit, which provides benefits to low-wage workers, and renewed his calls to reform the corporate and investment tax codes and spend more on infrastructure.
The president and his senior aides decided on the populist theme in November. While
White House officials maintained the strategy born out of a sincere desire to advocate for the poor and middle class, they admitted they wanted to demonstrate their commitment to act to a public frustrated by stagnation in Washington.
Obama will take the message on the road with a campaign-style whistle-stop tour beginning on Wednesday, when he travels to a steel mill in Pittsburgh and visits a Costco in Maryland. At Costco, Obama will highlight the mega-store's practice of raising wages on their own, and urge business leaders to follow that example.
At the stop in Pennsylvania, the president will highlight his executive action creating a starter savings account to help Americans save for retirement. Senior administration officials said the accounts would be issued by the private sector and would be a good option for those who didn't have a 401K or a retirement account.
On Thursday, the president will travel to a gas engine factory in Wisconsin and a high school in Tennessee.
While there, Obama will tout some of the public-private education efforts unveiled in the speech, including a new apprenticeship program and a federal grant program designed to encourage schools to redesign their curriculums with a new emphasis on technical and trade skills.
The focus on executive action and the economy harkened back to Obama’s election-year State of the Union in 2012, though White House officials insisted there was a difference with the “We can’t wait” strategy launched that year and stressed that Obama did not intend the speech as overly partisan.
One senior administration official said the 2012 effort was done as a way to shame Congress into acting, but argued that this year’s approach is different because it highlights how Obama will be governing over the coming months.
Still, the speech included some red meat for the liberal base. Obama proposed new fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks, and directed his administration to cut carbon pollution through new regulations.
He also encouraged Americans to sign up for health insurance available under his signature law, while warning Republicans that repeal is not an option.
Can’t wait to watch Congresswoman Rodgers and Senator Mike Lee!!
Sh## begets sh##
ATTENTION SPEAKER BOEHNER:
Impeachment File for the 2014 Impeachment of B. Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro, a documented legal citizen of the Sovereign Nation of Indonesia.
For a Safe and Secure Society!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6zSmtxzwjM
And I extend the Middle Finger of my right hand to him.
No. It’s not meant to signal that he is “#1”, either.
Ping me when he mentions:
Benghazi
The Wisconsin Economic Model
Ask not what your country can do for you....
WE NEED YOUR HELP AGAINST THIS TYRANNY.
Can you post his head instead in an Ernst Stavro Blofeld suit (James Bond) holding a white cat?
Wish the GOP would wake up and flat out run this turd out of Washington and back into the sewers of Chicagostan.
Ah, so let me get this straight - HE is willing to govern without the consent of the governed? And he thinks that is his choice because? We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, ensure domestic tranquility ...
Are tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue yet?
Jeez....we are sooooo screwed.
OK, what the heck is a “starter” savings account?
Might some corrections be in order?
Chief among them was immigration reform [amnesty for illegal aliens], which Obama argued [well-informed citizens know] should be fixed to strengthen [ would actually weaken] the economy [by taking jobs from citizens] and create thousands [millions] of new jobs [Democrat voters]..
.
Sorry for some reason I couldn’t see that just a blank picture with a small x.
Its a Pic of Ubama with a White Cat and Blofield next to him.
I just searched it on Google.
Let me know.
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