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Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

More Perfect: A State of the Union Open Thread

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Well, President Obama is getting set to present the traditional State of the Union address. The GOP is set to respond out of both sides of their divided mouth.

There is an Executive Order on cybersecurity expected tomorrow. What will the President say about that?

The economy continues a fragile fifth year of recovery, sequestration looms ahead.

As Chris Dorner remains (?) in a burning cabin after killing a police officer today, wounding another, and killing others including a young couple guilty of having a father in the LAPD, the issue of guns is on the table.

What will our President have to say tonight, about the state of our Union?

Consider this a live thread and ongoingly Open Thread (here comes Michelle, and damn she looks sharp!).


Categories: Uncategorized.

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74 comments

  2. sarahnity

    Just showed a shot of the press box.  I guess the cameras are rarely on it, because some poor woman was just caught picking her teeth on national TV.

  3. Chris Blask

    Gabby Gifford and her fantastic husband are in the gallery.

    Hadiya Pendleton‘s parents will be sitting with Michelle tonight.

    Which Republicans sit where will speak to the state of that party, and give and indication where they will be heading.

  10. Chris Blask

    We are more than halfway to the goal to 4T in deficit reduction

    how do we finish the job?

    The Fiscal Cliff, sequestration: 2011 congress set it up [sic]

    – this would cost us 100,000s of jobs

    – some in congress have proposed preventing only defense cuts but bigger cuts to education, medicare, Soc Sec – “that idea is even worse”

    – “yes, the biggest driver of rising debt is healthcare for an again population” – “we cannot ask senior citizens to carry the whole burden while protecting the wealthiest and most powerful”

    – “we cannot just cut our way to prsperity”

    – AFCA is helping to slow the growth of healthcare costs

    – reduce taxpayer subsidies to Pharma

    – bring down cost to the way gov’t pays for Medicare – quality instead of quantity

    – Dept Ceiling Dig: “we must keep the promises we have already made”

    – get rid of tax loopholes instead of cutting education

    – “now is our best chance for bipartisan tax reform that creates jobs and brings down the deficit.’

  11. Chris Blask

    we produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years

    doubled the mileage of cars

    – more natural gas than ever]

    – emissions fell last year for the first time

    “For the sake of our children, we must do more to combat climate change”

    12 hottest years on record came in the last 15

    floods, droughts,

    – we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgement of science and act before it is too late

    – bipartishan solution to climate change like Lieberman and McCain did

    – I will direct my cabinet to come up with actions to reduce pollution, speed new energy

    – last year wind energy added more than half of new power

    – use some of our oil and gas to create energy trust to shift cars and trucks off oil and gas for good

    – new goal: cut in half energy wasted by homes and businesses in 20 years

    – aging infrastructure

  12. Chris Blask

     – self healing power grids (oooh, now you’re in my zone)

    – I know you want these jobs in your district, I’ve seen all those ribbon cuttings

    – proposing partnership to rebuild America that attracts private capital

    – modern ports, pipelines, schools

    – let’s prove there is no better place to do business

    Homes

    – prices up

    – construction expanding

    – mortgages too hard to get: holding our economy back;  

  13. Chris Blask

    The sooner a child starts learning the better they do

    – lack of access to preschool

    – propose working with states to make high=-quality preschool available to every child

    – every dollar we invest in early ed can save 7 later on by reducing pregnancy, crime

    – make sure none of our kids start the race behind.

    – make sure a highchool diploma is a path to a good job – Germany focuses on equivalent tech degree from one of our colleges

    – new challenge – redesign high schools to equip kids for high tech jobs (STEM)

    – Higher Ed: tax credits, grants and better loans, but tax payers cannot keep subsidizing: colleges must do their part to keep costs down. Change Higher Ed Act to include affordability to decide which colleges get gov’t aid: best bang for edu buck

  14. Chris Blask

    “the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform”

    (Bohner sits and claps)

    – stronger border security – illegal crossing at lowest level in 40 years

     -path to citizenship

    – fixing legal immigration, cut waiting periods, attract engineers and entrepreneurs  

  15. Chris Blask

     – today the senate passed Violence Against Women Act, I urge House to pass

    – declare that women should earn equal to efforts, pass paycheck fairness act this year (GOP sits on hands)

  16. Chris Blask

    – minimum wage $14,500 lives below poverty line – let’s declare that no-one working full time has to live in poverty, raise minimum wage to $9

    – CEO pay has never been higher, tie minimu wage to cost of living (‘which Romney agreed with on last year’)

  17. Chris Blask

     – incentives to companies who offer jobs to hardest hit towns

    – give new tax credits to businesses who invest

    – lower income coupes families

    – making families doesn’t mean being able to conceive a child, but to raise one (Marriage Equality)

    – stronger families, stronger communities, stronger America

  18. Chris Blask

    “achieved our objective of defeating the core of Al Qaeda”

    – tonight over the next year 34,000 troops come home, “by the end of next year our war in Afghanistan will be over”

    – beyond 2014 our commitment will endure, but two missions go forward: training and equiping, and pursuing terrorists

    – we don’t need to send 10s of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad, or occupy other nations, instead we wikll need to help countries like Yemen, Libya and Somalia

    – we will continue to take direct action to oppose those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans

    – work to increase transparency in anti-terror

    – work to prevent the spread of the most dangerous weapons – provocation like was saw last night (NK), Iran needs to meet their obligations – “we will do what is necessary to prevent them getting a nuclear weapon”

    – work with Russia to reduce arsenals, reduce fissile material

     

  19. Chris Blask

    We need to address our ability to prevent cyber attack

    – enemies are seeking the ability to attack power, finance, air traffic control

    “We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy. That is why, earlier today, I signed an new Executive Order that will strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing our information sharing and developing standards taht will protect our jobs and our economy.

    “Congress needs to pass legislation to give our government better ability to secure our networks and prevent attacks.”

  20. Chris Blask

     – new Asia and Europe agreements

    – progress in most impoverished parts of world enriches us all

    – US will join with our allies to eradicate poverty in two decades

    – AIDS free generation within our reach

    – America must remain a beacon to all who seek freedom in this age of change

  22. Chris Blask

    “when any American no matter where they live or what their party are denied that right because they cannot wait 4 or 5 or 6 hours to cast their vote we are betraying out ideals”

    – non partisan commission to improve voting experience

  23. Chris Blask

    two months since Newtown

    “this time it is different”

    “overwhelming majority of Americans have come together”

    – background checks

    – resale of guns

    – weapons of war and massive clips

    – each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress

    more than a thousand birthdays have been stolen since Newtown

    – Nadiya Pendelton – 15 years old, loved fig newtons, was a majorette, shot and killed a mile from my house, her parents and more than two dozen others whose lives were torn apart by gun violence are here tonight – they deserve a vote – Gabby Giffords deserves a vote, teh families of Newtown deserve a vote

    “They deserve a simple vote”

    We were never sent here to be perfect, we were sent here to make what difference we can.

  25. Chris Blask

     – a shot for anti-abortion

    – a comment on immigrant parents, building up from the economic bottom

    – a comment on free enterprise

    – Obama thinks free enterprise is the the problem

    – going for small government

    – more tax and spending by big gov is the problem

    – “more government” is the repetitive theme

    – “Obamacare” repetitive

    – admits there is some role for government (Rand Paul will ream him for that)

    – net: “I am a moderate Republican, the Tea Party is going to eat my brain”

  26. michelewln

    I was wiping away tears at the “They deserve a vote”. There was so much in the speech. I’m the daughter, niece and sister of veterans. The shout out to them was wonderful to hear. The shout out to the gay members of the Armed Forces was long over due.

    I’m proud to have voted for this man when he ran for Senator when I was living in Illinois and proud to have voted for him twice as President.

  28. princesspat

    I always check Andrew Sullivan’s Live Blog

    10.12 pm. Now we’re really into Reagan territory. The 102 year-old is pretty damn amazing. And, yes, it is a national scandal that she had to wait six hours to vote. Then a heroic cop. “That’s just the way we’re made.” I have to say that even to these jaundiced ears, that peroration moved me. The passion, the reason, the sincerity: this was an invigorated president, trying to shift the mood away from zero-sum partisanship to non-zero-sum citizenship. It’s what we always hoped from him, and I think it places the Republicans in a horrible bind. Are they going to prevent a vote on guns? Are they going to refuse Bowles-Simpson Medicare reform? Are they willing to force a sequester rather than cooperate with this popular president? Does the Speaker not appreciate a 102 year-old getting to vote? Why did he stay seated? I have a feeling that moment will strike people.

    Meep meep.

  29. Shaun Appleby

    The Chris Dorner story.  I’ve been following Twitter today and there is an unusually high number of tweets defending, indeed lionising, him.  It’s quite remarkable; there is apparently a significant resentment of law enforcement in general and the LAPD in particular.

    I can’t imagine the LAPD handling this whole incident any worse from the start; even today the muddled and contradictory reports of the cause of the fire in the cabin and whether they have found a body and it’s identity do not come across well on cable news.  Their ‘manhunt’ seems appropriately described; due process apparently so out of fashion among alpha law enforcement types these days.

    No doubt this story will blow over but one is surprised at the apparent depth of mistrust of authority evident in the public; I sense that scepticism of authority, institutions and the corporate sector generally has reached a new low.

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