Politics

SOTU Glimpse: Obama to Call for Spending Freeze…Again

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eager to show some budget toughness, President Barack Obama will use his State of the Union address to call for a five-year freeze on all discretionary government spending outside of national security, a White House official said Tuesday.

The move is almost identical to the freeze Obama called for in his address to the nation last year at this time – his current proposal would cover five years, not three years – and ultimately it may have little effect. Congress decides the budget on its own terms, and Obama has even less sway than he did in his first two years on the job now that Republicans have taken control of the House.

In a political sense, Obama is fighting Republicans for the upper hand in showing fiscal restraint in a time of staggering debt. Public angst over spending was a defining force in the 2010 midterm elections, and it is expected to remain so as Obama’s re-election drive begins.

Overall, Obama is trying to convince the American people and a divided Congress that he has a vision for speeding up job creation, promoting spending on the core of his agenda but promising to rein in debt. His speech will reflect reality: The economy trumps all.

The president is also putting his weight behind a five-year plan developed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to limit planned Pentagon budget increases by $78 billion over five years – a plan that’s run into opposition from key Republicans. Obama’s budget freeze would not touch money related to national security or the politically popular but costly entitlement programs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

To a nationwide television audience in prime time, Obama will home in on jobs, the issue of most importance to the public and to his hopes for a second term. A smiling president looked relaxed and upbeat at the White House in a brief photo opportunity Tuesday afternoon.

Specifically, he will focus on improving the education, innovation and infrastructure of the United States as the way to provide a sounder economic base. He will pair that with calls to reduce the government’s debt – now topping $14 trillion – and reform government. Those five areas will frame the speech, with sprinklings of fresh proposals.

He will wrap it all under the heading of helping the United States to compete more successfully in the world – a “win the future” rallying cry that Obama’s aides hopes will resonate with both workers and business executives and bind the political parties.

Yet no matter how ambitious Obama’s rhetorical reach, his speech at the halfway point of his term will be viewed in the context of his new political reality.

The midterm elections gave Republicans control of the House and a stronger minority vote in the Senate, meaning he hasn’t the option of pushing through changes over GOP objections. The contrast between the two parties’ visions remains stark, and where to slash spending, and by how much, will drive much of the debate for the rest of 2011.

Obama’s speech will come just hours after the House is to vote on setting spending for the rest of the year at 2008, pre-recession levels. That resolution, largely symbolic, would put Republican lawmakers on record in favor of cutting $100 billion from Obama’s budget for the current year, as promised in last year’s campaign.

The president is promising to spend and cut at the same time, a politically tricky mix.

Obama’s senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Tuesday morning the administration believes it can make targeted investments in such as education and infrastructure to create a business environment more conducive to job creation, while simultaneously backing budget cuts.

The president will give nods to American interests around the globe, with a traditional foreign policy section that will cover the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorism threats and diplomacy. But his primary goal is for those watching to emerge with more confidence about the economy of the country and more clarity about his vision for it.

The atmosphere is expected to be more sober and civil than in recent years.

The speech comes less than three weeks after an assassination attempt on Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz. She is recovering remarkably well after being shot in the head during a one-man rampage that left six dead. Arizona’s congressional delegation will leave an empty seat for Giffords on the House floor Tuesday night.

Among those who will sit with first lady Michelle Obama at the president’s speech will be the family of a 9-year-old girl who was killed, an aide to Giffords who rushed to help her at the shooting and trauma surgeons who have treated the wounded lawmaker.

In an attempt at unity following an attack on one of their own, some Democratic and Republican lawmakers will sit together at Obama’s speech. Others have dismissed that idea as superficial. The focus on tone comes a year after Obama’s rebuke of a Supreme Court decision in his State of the Union speech led Justice Samuel Alito to mouth back from the audience, “Not true.”

Six justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, will attend Tuesday’s address. Alito is in Hawaii this week, and will not attend; neither will Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.

The timing also means that Obama will be giving his main policy-driven speech of the year in the shadow of his own highly regarded eulogy for the Tucson victims, which served as a call for national unity and civility. That only makes delivering a successful speech now more difficult, said Russell Riley, a presidential scholar at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

“If you want an important speech out of Barack Obama right now, he already gave it,” Riley said, referring to the Arizona memorial on Jan. 12. “What’s going to happen now with the State of the Union is part of the ongoing story of Washington, and it is a significant event in the political calendar. Yet from a historical perspective, they just tend not to make a difference.”

Obama is trying to emphasize economic priorities that can draw both public appeal and enough Republican consideration for at least serious debate.

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested Tuesday that Obama has a long road ahead as he tries to court Republican support.

“Voters sent a clear message in November. When it comes to jobs and the economy, the administration’s policies have done far more damage than good,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Republicans have chosen Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to deliver the televised response to Obama’s address. He is planning to promote budget cuts as essential to responsible governing, and will speak from the hearing room of the House Budget Committee, which he now chairs.

The president’s aides say Obama will talk about cutting spending too, although the details are less clear. In the background are the politically explosive recommendations of his bipartisan commission on how to trim the debt, such as shrinking Social Security benefits and raising the age of eligibility.

The White House said Obama will not dive deeply into policy or offer a list of ideas.

In a new Associated Press-GfK poll, more than half of those surveyed disapproved of how Obama has handled the economy, and just 35 percent said it has improved on his watch. Still, the poll revealed a sense of perspective: Three-quarters of those questioned said it is unrealistic to expect noticeable improvements after two years.

Obama’s radio address over the weekend previewed what he is expected to say to the nation on Tuesday.

“We’re living in a new and challenging time in which technology has made competition easier and fiercer than ever before. Countries around the world are upping their game and giving their workers and companies every advantage possible,” the president said. “But that shouldn’t discourage us. Because I know we can win that competition.”

—

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Julie Pace and Jeannine Aversa contributed to this report.

Comments (122)

1 2 3
  • crcitizen
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:14pm

    Smoke,,,,, Bull, whatever

    Report Post »  
  • dadsrootbeer
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:14pm

    Never believe what he says. Watch what he does. He learned from the best Chicago had to offer.

    Report Post » dadsrootbeer  
  • the phathom
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:14pm

    obama is the most overrated person in America today,and has rendered the nobel peace prize A joke. Mother Teresa deserved A much greater award than this, and has received it in Heaven.

    Report Post » the phathom  
    • WhiteTeaParty
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:46pm

      Bachmann is representative of the “new” GOP….ignorant, hateful, condescending, and narrow minded.

      WhiteTeaParty  
  • dirtypolitics
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:07pm

    For two years Pres Obama has been telling the American people what they want to hear NOT what he intends to do.

    Report Post »  
  • Further Right
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:02pm

    I wish we could go back to the Bush years where we built a $ 4 Trillion dollar debt and no one cared or said anything about it.

    Report Post »  
    • dirtypolitics
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:08pm

      Obama is merely a continuation of Bush….don’t like both of them although Bush is less than a liar.

      Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard the artist {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:50pm

    Thank you. That hits it dead on the nose; we do need to stand togeather and make the stand to stop the night from covering our nation once and for all time.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • Protege
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:45pm

    Simple solutions:

    Retirement age on SS goes to 69.
    All other entitlement programs get an across the board 10 percent cut.
    Turn 50 percent of the remaining entitlement funding over to the state levels.
    No more business exemptions.
    Repeal Obamacare.
    Make the current tax structure permanent.
    Instant deportation and heavy fines for all illegal aliens. Charge the home countries for the money.
    Cut all foreign aid to any country not either a democracy or representative republic.
    Cut funding to the United Nations until it is matched based on population of member countries.
    Waive all drilling moratoriums, open all unused federal land for drilling.
    Sell unused federal lands and assets at public auctions.
    Defund Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac.
    Remove time-restrictive barriers and fast track the construction of new refineries and nuclear power plants.
    ALLOW STATES TO FAIL. This gives them the incentive to do it right the next time with a painful lesson. California and Illinois come to mind.

    So, other than actually hunting down and removing illegal aliens, it’s not even DOING anything. it’s simply making the government STOP doing the things that hurt us. Amazing that our biggest financial enemy is our own government.

    Report Post » Protege  
    • hauschild
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:56pm

      I’d argue for cutting entitlement spending by at least 50% on the first run, with the plan of eventually eliminating it completely.

      Whoever is currently getting a fat pension from state, local or federal governments, sees a 50% reduction also. I don’t care who it effects (save military, as their retirement is low – at least it was when I was in, not sure what it is now). Nobody should be getting 30-50k a year in retirement for doing work like being a postal work – that a monkey could be trained to do.

      Report Post »  
  • eyestoseeearstohear
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:42pm

    The Republicans are making me SICK…..BUYING INTO THIS “ SITTING TOGETHER CRAP”.

    They need to go in and SIT WHERE THEY USUALLY SIT.

    STOP THE THEATRICS REPUBLICANS…..

    The NEXT THING Obama will TELL THEM TO JUMP…AND ASK HOW HIGH.

    Oh Wait…..haven’t they ALREADY DONE THAT, TOO?

    Report Post »  
    • beckwill
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:06pm

      You said it! This sitting together stunt is just too much! Don’t they realize just what thin ice they are on? They better start caring less about what their dem friends think of them and start worrying a whole helluva lot more about what the people who put them there in Nov. think.

      Report Post »  
  • jjufon
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:42pm

    I think the MSM and other are really missing the bigger story; the gov is getting into the pharm business…

    First and foremost, the gov shouldn’t be in any business other than what it was intended for.
    Second, since when does the gov have to follow the rules of its subjects? this means they can “do it cheaper and faster” (not better or safer) then the private can because they wont have to follow all the BS regs.

    Mob tactics to drive the competition out of business, or at least overseas.
    could anything be more anti-American? i think not

    Report Post »  
  • Brontefan
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:39pm

    How can anyone believe anything this man says. Oh, sure! He’s a terrific and charismatic speaker. But there have been many such in history. He has stated he is going to work on JOBS since he took office–and then congratulated himself, Pelosi, and Reid on the spending and health care take-over, notwithstanding all the dirty deals and waivers he used to do it. I am sparing myself the agony of tonight’s speech. If he says anything noteworthy, it will be in a sound-bite in the Wednesday morning news. Frankly, I have had all the “hope and change” I can stand. As a Baby Boomer–I shudder to think what a horrible retirement I will be given once ObamaCare cuts Medicare for seniors.

    Report Post »  
  • eyestoseeearstohear
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:37pm

    I DON’ KNOW WHAT TO DO….

    I CAN’T stand to look at him…and his voice MAKES ME SICK!

    BUT…..I want to hear how he’s going to SWITCH THE ORDER OF HIS LIES, THIS TIME.

    ANY SUGGESTIONS?

    Report Post »  
    • hauschild
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:53pm

      Don’t watch it. In fact, nobody should watch it because it’s all a sham. Not that these events were overly ethical with other administrations, but at least other presidents – save Willy – had a modicum of class. This dude’s a complete abomination of anything traditionally American.

      I‘m waiting for Fox news to have the stones to completely pull the plug on Obama’s speeches. I mean, I understand that we all need to hear him and what he is warning us of with his nonsensical chatter, but there is that “25% out there” that are on the verge of being duped at any second. Actually, I think the number should be closer to 50%, but what’s 75 million among friends???

      Just like I refuse to rent or purchase DVD‘s or watch movies in theaters because they are nothing short of dreadful and I ain’t wasting a dime of my money on crap. If more people practiced self discipline and had stones, the products being offered to us would significantly improve. This is what I hope for in my leaders – a drastic improvement.

      Report Post »  
    • EU
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 6:38pm

      Boycot GE products as I do.Don’t go to any Hollywood movies,go to foreign movies.Don’t rent any DVDs or CDs made by Hollywood.Boycot GM cars.Don’t buy any products endorsed by Unions.
      …just a few suggestions…

      Report Post » EU  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:32pm

    Here is what to watch for tonight folks: If you see his lips moving…he’s lying.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
  • hauschild
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:28pm

    YAWN …

    Interested to see how many blue-hairs and kids still wet behind the ears buy this nonsense.

    It’s obviously going to take a few wake up calls and election cycles for the gauntlet to finally be dropped. And, when it does, there gonna be a whole ‘lotta cryin’ like babies.

    Report Post »  
  • ed0315
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:20pm

    Freeze everything and fix nothing.

    Report Post » ed0315  
  • capecodsully
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:14pm

    Well that ought to fool the dummies again, if they voted for this charlatan it doesn’t take much to impress.

    Report Post »  
  • wash1776
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:11pm

    The only freeze we are going to get out of this moron is his brain and our liberties.

    Report Post »  
  • Red Meat
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:08pm

    I will watch Bachmann’s response. Ryan can take a long walk off a short pier as far as I’m concerned.

    Report Post » Red Meat  
    • WhiteTeaParty
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:17pm

      Michelle B, where did this idiot come from? I think it’s a contest between Sarah and Michelle on the idiot of the year. I can’t wait for her interpetation or response on the State of the Union.

      Just saw her clip on CNN about slavery and the constitution. Wow, Minnesota should be so proud of their educational system.
      What happened to Michelle? Did she even take history? Did she pass history?
      It sounded like she didn’t like what the teachers were teaching her so she decided to change certain events of the past.

      How about Bauchman /Palin in 2012?

      Instead of a Tea Party candidate it will be a Bimbo Party candidate. I love it.

      Report Post » WhiteTeaParty  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:26pm

      You seem very threatened by Bachmann WTP. This article is about Obama’s state of the union address, but you can’t stop obsessing about Bachmann. If she were really that much of a lightweight, it seems to me she wouldn’t even raise your ire or interest. But here, and on other threads, you cannot let a moment go without demonizing her. Strange, that.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • CatB
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 5:57pm

      Me too … here is a link …

      http://www.teapartyexpress.org/

      Report Post »  
  • WellRed
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:07pm

    Don’t forget – Part of the speech has to focus on the fact that it is George Bush’s fault! Don’t forget – George Bush’s fault – all of it.

    Report Post »  
  • docgreen
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:07pm

    Just heard on AFR that the Unions are cosying up to TSA, and it looks like 40,000 TSA workers will soon be Unionized! So in another word, more spending, TSA workers get 20,000 a year raise! This is really what OB’s talking about, its a Lie and Don’t believe him!….

    Report Post »  
  • docgreen
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:02pm

    Just another Lie!….. I wouldn’t believe him even if he gave me a job in his admin!….

    Report Post »  
  • Sharkhaywood
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 1:59pm

    Obama calling for a cut in spending is like Otis the Town Drunk is saying he is going to cut down on his drinking while he is still sitting at the bar with a drink in his hand.

    Report Post » Sharkhaywood  
    • wash1776
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:09pm

      GOOD SHOT! Obama is a drunk spenda holic and is INCURABLE!

      Report Post »  
  • JohnQTaxpayer
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 1:57pm

    Oh Yea that makes sense lets freeze spending @ “we will go bankrupt”

    Has anyone been able to shake his head? Does his brain rattle? Can you see daylight through his ears?

    Report Post » JohnQTaxpayer  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:02pm

      Not “will go”, rather, “are, so let’s take the world down with us”.

      We have no money. We can afford 0.0% of what they’re spending in our name, against our will. Freezing it at “ain’t this fun!” levels means nothing. The number, as such, are strictly fictional at this point.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • wash1776
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:08pm

      Precisely why you CAN see daylight when you looke in one ear and out the other. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BRAIN TO TAKE UP THE EMPTY SPACE IN HIS HEAD!

      Report Post »  
  • silquin11
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 1:55pm

    Doesn’t Obama get TIRED of repeating the SAME OLD , REFRIED STUFF/IDEAS (?) over and over and over? WE, The People sure get tired of LISTENING TO THEM!

    There is NOTHING in MORE SPENDING that he has not already said, promised, pledged or spun that We have not already heard a thousand times I for one will NOT BE LISTENING IN. DID NOT EITHER LAST YEAR. Not worth the paper (teleprompter) it’s written on.

    Report Post »  
    • clockn63
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:12pm

      For some reason he must like the taste of what he is spewing

      Report Post » clockn63  
    • Snowleopard the artist {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:46pm

      The Great One who will Save the Universe across the board from Global Warming mythology to those pesky little insects that swarm the white house (the bees know…ominous music playing)?

      Note, sarcasm is purely intentional.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Untameable-kate
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:04pm

      I’ll be more interested in the number of people who actually sit through this latest bull session. It will have to have the lowest ratings in TV history. I can’t stand to look at him anymore and I think only the most rabid liberals believe anything that comes out of his lying mouth.

      Report Post » Untameable-kate  
    • CatB
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 5:58pm

      All he does is READ .. I don’t think he hears.

      Report Post »  
    • beebacksoon
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 6:18pm

      silquin11
      Try to remember BHO isn’t speaking to US (those of us that know the real behind the scene agenda); he is using the SOTU as his 2nd (actually 222!) campaign speech to the less informed population…those that pay no attention to our politicians except what they hear on the alphabet channels. They have no clue the direction BHO and his puppetmasters are taking America.

      Report Post »  
    • DisillusionedDaily
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 8:11pm

      One just needs to look at history to see what is happening now.

      If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.
      Adolf Hitler

      Report Post » DisillusionedDaily  
  • Ghandi was a Republican
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 1:52pm

    So– We are going to freeze spending at $6 Trillion DEFICIT per 4 year pelosi/Democrats super majority?
    NOT! – Rewind the budget to 2008 or earlier. Cut everything 5% across the board for 2012 — SAY NO! To a higher debt ceiling.

    Report Post » Ghandi was a Republican  
    • CatB
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 5:58pm

      I say 2006 …. let them make REAL CUTS before the dems took over Congress!

      Report Post »  
  • J.C. McGlynn
    Posted on January 25, 2011 at 1:51pm

    Play last year‘s speech and you’ll know what he’s going to say.

    Report Post » J.C. McGlynn  
    • Fletch
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 1:57pm

      Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown yet again

      Report Post » Fletch  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:00pm

      “Now that I’ve spent more money that can technically exist without creating a black hole due to the massive gravity that would occur from such a pile of cash, I want to freeze spending at this level”

      It‘s all political theatre that they play for each other in order to make themselves feel like they’re important and part of something great. End of the day, their actions are those of betrayers, thieves, scum and murderers. This speech is for them, not us.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • HillBillySam1
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:01pm

      It’s not so much what he says as opposed to what he actually does. He won’t budge from his hard-core Progressive ideaology. Pretty words and speeches are just make-up….what was the phrase he used about Sarah Palin during the ‘08 Presidential election? Something about “Lipstick on a pig”, wasn’t it? In a nutshell, this sums up his whole administration to date.
      Will Lang Lang play the opening number for our Dear Leader as he enters the chamber of Congress?? Perhaps he will just hum it under his breath as he smiles and shakes hands…..in a bi-partisan way, of course.

      Report Post »  
    • clockn63
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:02pm

      His speaches are the epitome of gereralities!!! He spews hot air and thats all!!! What a joke our political state of affairs have become!!!!

      Report Post » clockn63  
    • Rogue
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:03pm

      I could give a rat’s patootie what he has to say.. it will be all about marketing his image, not the actual truth. This will simply be the 2nd of his many 2012 campaign speeches (the first being Tucson). My only real question is, what will the slogan be on all the free T-shirts he is going to give out for this event? I’d be willing to bet they are going to try out a new slogan tonight to start building his “brand” back up.

      Report Post » Rogue  
    • oldguy49
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:06pm

      this is another example of CO2 being bad for you!!!{according to epa}

      Report Post »  
    • WhiteTeaParty
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:07pm

      I’m looking forward to Michelle ( i’m a ditz ) Bachmans speech.

      Michele Bachmann is the Democrats best friend. Every time she opens her mouth, more people realize how unhinged she is and, by extension, how flaky the highly contrived Tea Party “movement” is. By all means, Michele, speak long, loud, and often.

      WhiteTeaParty  
    • solaveritas
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:11pm

      “The ”source” of this info must remain anonymous because he/she was NOT AUTHORIZED to release this info prior to the speech?”

      Pleeeeeeease! When is that old LIE going to be called out?

      Hell, the source was ORDERED to release the info!!

      Same old dishonest D.C.! Nothing will change, if nothing changes!

      But, tune into the SOTU speech to find out what “global banking” has told Barack to say!!

      Report Post » solaveritas  
    • exdem
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:26pm

      He will say : I will invest = more stimulus
      I will strive toward civility = restrict conservative speech
      I will create jobs = we will over regulate business even more
      I will move toward greener energy = shove cap and trade down your throat
      I will cut spending = gut the military
      I will cut the deficit = raise the debt ceiling
      in other words LIE LIE LIE LIE so I can be reelected

      Report Post »  
    • grandmaof5
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:36pm

      He is going to have a spending freeze this year but will have to make some “investments” for our future economic growth. You know, dazzle us with BS because we are dumb sheeple and won’t know the difference; afterall, this is still the mess that the Bush administration left him, even though after two years we are far worse off than when Bush left office.

      Report Post »  
    • Snowleopard the artist {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:39pm

      Of course, just add the occasional “Blah, blah…I am so great…blah, blah…I am so great (repeat)”

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • NickDeringer
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 2:40pm

      O’Barry will be doing his Vegas act on TV tonight. Looks like it’ll be a rerun.

      Report Post » NickDeringer  
    • Polwatcher
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:25pm

      The public just keeps on buying the lies of these politicians. It has always been that way.

      Report Post »  
    • shorthanded12
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:30pm

      Spending freeze, now thats a complete utter joke. lets see here, lets put this into more context, After Barry, Nancy & Company passed the $860 billion stimulas bill (EVERY) US Govt Dept from Energy,Education, EPA, etc etc etc budget increased from 17% up 34%. So a spending freeze does nothing to decrease the dificit it keeps it at the level that Barry & Nancy JACKED it up to. If they did an actual decrease lets say in the HHS they wouldnt and couldnt impliment Obamacare just from the standpoint the lack of personel to run the darn thing. The HOUSE PASSED SPENDING CUTS BACK TO FY 2008 LEVELS and I think 18 democrats voted for it.

      Report Post »  
    • Cobra Blue
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:57pm

      Just words…..just speeches…

      Report Post »  
    • Michiganjohn
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 3:57pm

      And now that the GOP holds the house he’ll actually have spending cuts to claim credit for.

      Report Post »  
    • A Doctors Labor Is Not My Right
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 4:35pm

      The reason he’s going to push for a spending freeze, instead of spending cuts, is so that the programs which choke out the private sector still exist.

      Report Post »  
    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 4:40pm

      @J.C. McGlynn
      That’s true, because last year’s speech was all a lie, too. Obama is a pathological liar. He has trouble telling the truth. Of course, the Democrats, (I can’t say the left, because it will be date night) will stand and clap, wishing that it was THEIR nose in Obama’s ass.

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 4:58pm

      Soon the Birthers will be Demonized
      http://www.infowars.com/white-house-birthers-arent-rational/
      and tied to everyone who knows about the TRUTH.

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • CatB
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 5:56pm

      I will be watching a movie on DVD tonight .. will not watch the R’s sell out the American Voters again … but I will be busy between now and Nov 2012 .. getting rid of these “people”..

      Report Post »  
    • beebacksoon
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 6:12pm

      Fletch; Add to that the vision, while BHO is speaking, all We The People will hear is, “Wha, Wha, Whaaaa!
      Can we say in unison, “YOU LIE!”?

      Report Post »  
    • neverending
      Posted on January 25, 2011 at 7:30pm

      Yeah – just add several more lies to it and you got the entire pack of crap.

      Report Post »  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on January 26, 2011 at 12:08am

      The word is “CUT” not “FREEZE”

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
    • always watching
      Posted on January 26, 2011 at 12:20am

      “Words…. just words.”

      Report Post »  
    • KICKILLEGALSOUT
      Posted on January 26, 2011 at 3:06am

      More plastic words from our puppet president, bending and molding his elegant speeches to brainwash all those who are too naive to look at the facts of what he has done these past two years and continue to believe his empty words. Bama is like the man who beats his wife and then replies, but I love you I promise I won’t do it again. Just how many in America are abused wives at the hands of Bama and still choose to believe he loves you?

      Report Post » KICKILLEGALSOUT  
    • EP46
      Posted on January 26, 2011 at 7:03am

      You got it !
      Notice that all his “INVESTMENT” projects are UNION projects. He wants to throw more MONEY toward union jobs and receive nothing in return but VOTES. Enough .

      Report Post »  
    • Miguelito
      Posted on January 26, 2011 at 8:38am

      The speech was ya da ya da ya da. Just a re-election speech. Freeze..no! Cut..yes! You can’t believe any thing that comes out of this guys mouth. Actions speak louder than words!!!

      Report Post »  
    • TexasCommonSense
      Posted on January 26, 2011 at 12:40pm

      Mean while, back in the real world, CBO Predicts: 2011 Budget Deficit to Hit Record $1.5 Trillion. The campaigning for his 2012 re-election has begun.

      Report Post » TexasCommonSense  
    • Bluebonnet
      Posted on January 26, 2011 at 2:16pm

      Absolutely NO, NO, NO to spending freeze. YES to spending CUTS? Dam, can’t that man ever get anything right?

      Report Post »  
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