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There was no unified opposition at the conclusion of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night. Instead, four different Republicans -- representing, in some ways, four different factions of the Republican party -- had something to say to the nation.

They shared some of the same talking points: Obamacare is a disaster and Obama's economic agenda is ruining America's future. The GOP is trying to offer some kind of alternative to the electorate. But the similarities largely stopped there, in yet another display of the fractured Republican Party that has a chronic inability to present a coherent and singular vision to the country.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) spoke for the party's establishment, with the added bonus of being a woman in leadership at a time when the party's standing with women seems shaky. Sen. Mike Lee (UT) was the self-appointed leader of the tea party, who rebutted the president while attempting to represent that nebulous constituency that has so influenced the party since 2010. Sen. Rand Paul (KY) more or less represented himself, the lone 2016 aspirant to speak Tuesday night, and also gave voice to the libertarian sect. And Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) addressed the Spanish-speaking audiences on behalf of the party's leadership, another attempt to reach a population with whom Republicans have been unpopular.

That just about covers everybody. Each constituency had a messenger, and ascendant members of the party had an opportunity to showcase themselves in the national spotlight.

The only problem is: It was hard to tell what exactly Republicans, as a whole, wanted Americans to take away from their multi-pronged rebuke of the president, other than their always-fervent opposition to Obama.

As the official voice of the party, McMorris Rogers continued the rebranding effort that has obsessed Republicans since the 2012 election. What exactly it was actually remained a bit opaque, but the tone was undeniably optimistic.

"Tonight I’d like to share a more hopeful, Republican vision -- one that empowers you, not the government. It’s one that champions free markets -- and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you," she said. "It helps working families rise above the limits of poverty and protects our most vulnerable. And it’s one where Washington plays by the same rules that you do. It’s a vision that is fair and offers the promise of a better future for every American.”

Lee, by contrast, started by warning of the president's economic agenda and attempted to turn Obama's message of inequality against him.

“Today, Americans know in their hearts that something is wrong. Much of what is wrong relates to the sense that the ‘American Dream’ is falling out of reach for far too many of us," Lee said. "We are facing an inequality crisis -- one to which the President has paid lip-service, but seems uninterested in truly confronting or correcting.”

“But where does this new inequality come from? From government -- every time it takes rights and opportunities away from the American people and gives them instead to politicians, bureaucrats and special interests.”

He then turned to a similar notion of positive reform that McMorris Rodgers, listing some of the work that conservatives have done in Congress -- but made a explicit effort to distance himself from the party establishment line.

He referred to the "new generation of leaders in Washington" -- people like Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) -- who would aim to "Make D.C. Listen" as they had tried to do during last fall's government shutdown. Those were the same people, you might remember, who drove House Republican leadership crazy during the shutdown debacle.

"This new generation of reformers still has a long way to go to win over our party in Washington, and even further to go to earn your trust," Lee said.

Paul used his time almost entirely to deride the president for advancing the same kind of policies that he said have failed in the past. The familiar boogeymen of the national debt and government overreach in the private sector in the name of job creation reared their heads. He blamed the Federal Reserve for causing the financial crisis and recalled Solyndra as evidence of Obama's missteps during his presidency.

"Government spending doesn't work. It doesn't create jobs," Paul said. He blamed Democrats and Republicans for offering "more government" as their solution to the economic recession. He briefly forwarded his own idea of "economic freedom zones" where business and income taxes would be cut to a flat rate of 5 percent and regulations removed to create jobs. He also advocated for school choice through an education tax credit -- specifics unavailable in the other responses from the GOP.

At the outset, Paul pledged to work with anybody toward his goals. "I will work with the President, Democrats, independents and anyone else who wants to get people back to work and alleviate poverty in our country."

It seems the first step might be working with his fellow Republicans to figure out what exactly what they want to do. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/gop-sotu-response

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Originally posted by Niki2:

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There was no unified opposition at the conclusion of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night. Instead, four different Republicans -- representing, in some ways, four different factions of the Republican party -- had something to say to the nation.

They shared some of the same talking points: Obamacare is a disaster and Obama's economic agenda is ruining America's future. The GOP is trying to offer some kind of alternative to the electorate. But the similarities largely stopped there, in yet another display of the fractured Republican Party that has a chronic inability to present a coherent and singular vision to the country.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) spoke for the party's establishment, with the added bonus of being a woman in leadership at a time when the party's standing with women seems shaky. Sen. Mike Lee (UT) was the self-appointed leader of the tea party, who rebutted the president while attempting to represent that nebulous constituency that has so influenced the party since 2010. Sen. Rand Paul (KY) more or less represented himself, the lone 2016 aspirant to speak Tuesday night, and also gave voice to the libertarian sect. And Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) addressed the Spanish-speaking audiences on behalf of the party's leadership, another attempt to reach a population with whom Republicans have been unpopular.

That just about covers everybody. Each constituency had a messenger, and ascendant members of the party had an opportunity to showcase themselves in the national spotlight.

The only problem is: It was hard to tell what exactly Republicans, as a whole, wanted Americans to take away from their multi-pronged rebuke of the president, other than their always-fervent opposition to Obama.

As the official voice of the party, McMorris Rogers continued the rebranding effort that has obsessed Republicans since the 2012 election. What exactly it was actually remained a bit opaque, but the tone was undeniably optimistic.

"Tonight I’d like to share a more hopeful, Republican vision -- one that empowers you, not the government. It’s one that champions free markets -- and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you," she said. "It helps working families rise above the limits of poverty and protects our most vulnerable. And it’s one where Washington plays by the same rules that you do. It’s a vision that is fair and offers the promise of a better future for every American.”

Lee, by contrast, started by warning of the president's economic agenda and attempted to turn Obama's message of inequality against him.

“Today, Americans know in their hearts that something is wrong. Much of what is wrong relates to the sense that the ‘American Dream’ is falling out of reach for far too many of us," Lee said. "We are facing an inequality crisis -- one to which the President has paid lip-service, but seems uninterested in truly confronting or correcting.”

“But where does this new inequality come from? From government -- every time it takes rights and opportunities away from the American people and gives them instead to politicians, bureaucrats and special interests.”

He then turned to a similar notion of positive reform that McMorris Rodgers, listing some of the work that conservatives have done in Congress -- but made a explicit effort to distance himself from the party establishment line.

He referred to the "new generation of leaders in Washington" -- people like Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) -- who would aim to "Make D.C. Listen" as they had tried to do during last fall's government shutdown. Those were the same people, you might remember, who drove House Republican leadership crazy during the shutdown debacle.

"This new generation of reformers still has a long way to go to win over our party in Washington, and even further to go to earn your trust," Lee said.

Paul used his time almost entirely to deride the president for advancing the same kind of policies that he said have failed in the past. The familiar boogeymen of the national debt and government overreach in the private sector in the name of job creation reared their heads. He blamed the Federal Reserve for causing the financial crisis and recalled Solyndra as evidence of Obama's missteps during his presidency.

"Government spending doesn't work. It doesn't create jobs," Paul said. He blamed Democrats and Republicans for offering "more government" as their solution to the economic recession. He briefly forwarded his own idea of "economic freedom zones" where business and income taxes would be cut to a flat rate of 5 percent and regulations removed to create jobs. He also advocated for school choice through an education tax credit -- specifics unavailable in the other responses from the GOP.

At the outset, Paul pledged to work with anybody toward his goals. "I will work with the President, Democrats, independents and anyone else who wants to get people back to work and alleviate poverty in our country."

It seems the first step might be working with his fellow Republicans to figure out what exactly what they want to do. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/gop-sotu-response

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IMHO: No, stay fractured; at least until you can figure out who you are.

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Originally posted by Niki2:
Yeah, Shiny, it's kinda funny...as time goes on, I wonder just how many "responses" to the SOTUs we'll get, as the right gets more and more fractured and incoherent. I got a giggle out of how well the political cartoons nailed it, tho', so it was good for a giggle anyway.

I also got a giggle out of their efforts to avoid the previous "water glass" silliness, as someone noticed:

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Video: Ghost of Marco Rubio’s Thirst Haunts Republican Response to SOTU

The most memorable thing about last year’s Republican response to the State of the Union address, and perhaps of any SOTU response ever, was Sen. Marco Rubio‘s (R-FL) comical battle for hydration. Rather than place a hilariously tiny bottle of water just offscreen for this year’s response by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), or, say, just putting a glass of water on a coffee table next to her, the GOP’s plan appears to have been not to have any water anywhere, at all. Here’s how that worked out:

(Video at http://www.mediaite.com/tv/video-ghost-of-marco-rubios-thirst-haunts-r
epublican-response-to-sotu/)

Now, before Republicans decide that next year’s solution should be to use less sensitive microphones, or to wrap the respondent’s throat in a sound-muffling ascot, could we all agree that a ready, visible source of hydration needn’t be a speech-ruining distraction? The President spoke for over an hour with a glass of water inches behind his head, and no disaster befell him. Granted, he gets to give his speech in a large, open chamber, while the response has been given, of late, from cramped hotbox TV sets, which is all the more reason to provide liquid relief. For the love of all that is American and good, let them drink! http://www.mediaite.com/tv/video-ghost-of-marco-rubios-thirst-haunts-r
epublican-response-to-sotu/

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(The video is cut to show every time she painfully swallowed, and it ended up making me feel terribly sorry for her.)

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

Had they all said same / similar things, you'd accuse them of grandstanding, and just mugging for t.v. time, while they all read from the same script.

Different people, different ideas.

Kinda DIVERSE, don't ya think ?

Far more appealing than the "OBEY ME! I KNOW BEST " message form Obama.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Could you repeat that, I was laughing too loud to read it.....wait, er I mean, hold on................I need a glass of water.......lol


SGG

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

Far more appealing than the "OBEY ME! I KNOW BEST " message form Obama.

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