Calling President Barack Obama?s State of the Union address ?terrific,? Story County Democratic Chair Jan Bauer said Tuesday?s speech was a call to action for both parties.
Bauer said the 59-minute address echoed themes Obama laid out in his inaugural address last month.
Highlights were Obama?s call to raise the minimum wage, provide preschool for all students and the fix-it-first infrastructure initiative. That idea created perhaps the lone moment of humor in the speech when the president said he knew Republicans liked infrastructure projects because ?I see the pictures of the ribbon cuttings.?
?Even the Speaker laughed on that one,? Bauer said of Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
Bauer was also pleasantly surprised that immigration reform drew applause from both Republicans and Democrats. The parties, though, remained far apart on gun legislation.
While Vice-President Joe Biden appeared to wipe away a tear when Obama referenced victims of gun violence ? MSNBC reported that 31 members of Congress invited someone affected by such violence to the Capitol ? Republicans largely remained seated during the speech?s closing minutes. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also reaffirmed his party?s commitment to not ?undermine the Second Amendment? during the Republican response.
Bauer said the final minutes, and the repeated line that victims of mass shootings ?deserve a vote?, was Obama at his most powerful.
?I hope it was a motivating speech for Congress to stop the partisan bickering and get to work,? Bauer said. ?He used this speech as an opportunity to reach out across the aisle, but he also challenged everyone to get to work.?
Story County Republican Chair Cory Adams had intended to watch Tuesday?s speech but was unable to. He attended special election of party leaders in Fort Dodge and told the Tribune he was unable to get back home in time for the address.
Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King issued a brief video statement on his website following Obama?s speech. He strongly disagreed with Obama?s call for immigration reform which he said would ?suspend the rule of law,? and ?expand the dependency class in America because it?s good for him and good for Democrats politically.?
King also chastised ?gun grabbers,? and said expanded background checks, limitations on ammunition clip size and a ban on assault weapons wouldn?t have stopped the killing of 26 people at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. two months ago.
?Their proposals do not solve that tragedy and they don?t prevent a future tragedy. But another tragedy would be if this government continues to over spend and we become like Spain and eventually like Greece where debt and deficit consume everything,? King said.
Iowa Senator Charles Grassley issued a statement shortly after Obama?s address. He lauded the president?s oratory ability but said leadership ?takes more than lofty words.? Grassley chided the president for a still-struggling economy and called upon more bipartisanship from the White House.
?Historically, major reforms have been made with broad-based bipartisan backing. That kind of support ought to be the goal for initiatives like immigration reform and other priorities, including gun violence and protecting the 2nd Amendment, transportation, and national and homeland security,? the statement read.
Grassley also said that ?policy changes should be made through elected representatives in Congress, who are the voice of the people in our system of government and can be held accountable more directly than the executive branch of our government.
?Transparency must be a reality not just rhetoric,? Grassley said. ?Abuse of executive authority jeopardizes the checks and balances fundamental to our democracy and government of, by, and for the people.?
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