YRNF - More promises of "hope", but little "change"

President Obama's State of the Union Address

Lisa Stickan, Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation, has issued the following statement on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address: Tuesday night was business as usual as President Obama subverted his annual "State of the Union" speech into his campaign kick-off rally.  The President offered his typical rhetoric but few answers for the American people. Not surprisingly, the President offered lip service on American energy, just days after rejecting a pipeline that could make it easier to deliver oil from North Dakota to all Americans.  Young Americans continue to look for the "hope" President Obama promised them in 2008, but a President who denied authorization to build a pipeline that would create 20,000 jobs and lower prices for Americans doesn't offer hope for unemployed Americans or those struggling with higher gas prices.  We need more than "just words"; we need fewer regulations. A President who demands tax increases on job creators isn't offering hope to someone unemployed or looking for a first job.  Companies will simply continue to export jobs that should belong to the middle-class and college graduates to our competition overseas.  With an increase in the capital gains taxes, we will see investors pulling out of the American stock market and choosing not to invest in our companies.  We need more than pandering philosophy; we need pro-growth tax reform.  Thankfully Governor Daniels responded with a Republican vision that offers hope, optimism and a path to prosperity. The Young Republican National Federation is committed to work to ensure that the Republican vision prevails at all levels this November. Only when we have less regulation, lower taxes, and more confidence in the American people will we have the hope that we were promised.

Gov. Gary Johnson responds to President Obama’s State of the Union speech

Gary Johnson, Libertarian for President responds to President Obama’s State of Union speech

As posted on the Libertarian Republican by Eric Dondero:

January 25th, 2012

GOVERNOR GARY JOHNSON ON THE SOTU: ONLY IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE THAT IS WASHINGTON…

January 24, 2012, New York, NY –Former New Mexico Governor and current presidential candidate Gary Johnson released the following statement in reaction to the President’s State of the Union address:

“If the idea tonight was that the President would fulfill his constitutional duty to give us ‘information of the State of the Union’, we should be able to expect some truth. I didn’t hear much truth. Truth is that the real unemployment rate is probably still above 10%. Truth is that after all the hand-wringing and deals of the past couple of years, instead of cutting spending, the President and Congress are going back to the well for another $1.2 Trillion debt limit increase. And the truth is we are seeing nothing from either the President or the Republicans that will really change any of those unacceptable realities.

“Only in the twilight zone that is Washington could a President who has bailed out and stimulated our economy to death stand in the Capitol and declare there should be ‘no bailouts, no handouts, and no cop-outs’. Can anyone spell GM or TARP or Solyndra?

“The President said we deserve a government that plays by the same rules as millions of hard-working Americans. Perhaps that should begin with the government not borrowing and printing 43 cents of every dollar it spends – something hard-working Americans can’t and don’t do.

“Until we see a real plan – not a Washington smoke and mirrors plan – that puts a stop to deficit spending and really puts America back to work, all of this rhetoric is just wasted breath.”

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For more information, please visit www.garyjohnson2012.com.

Heritage: What IS the state of our union?

January 25, 2012

Yesterday marked 1,000 days since the Senate passed a budget. What a fitting day to host the State of the Union address. Heritage experts immediately reacted to the progressive agenda that Obama presented last night in a Foundry blog post.  Mike Brownfield made careful note of several glaring omissions in Obama's remarks in today's Morning Bell newsletter.

Unions May Wipe Out Twinkies Forever!

Human Events researched the bankruptcy of Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, and discovered that $1 billion on union benefits are overwhelming the struggling company and forcing it to re-negotiate the labor contract or go out of business for good. Quite simply, the competing snack food companies use non-union labor and are much more competitive because of it.  As the debt Sno Balls we can only hope union Ding Dongs don't reject the labor contract concessions. Read the article by John Hayward to learn more.

A NEW Flat Tax Encourages Growth & Job Creation

The New Flat Tax replaces today's convoluted tax system with a simple, natural, and transparent tax system that will allow America to achieve its full economic potential.  Current high tax rates and an overly complex tax code discourage productivity, slowing the rise in wages and economic growth and making it difficult for businesses to compete globally.  Click here to read this Heritage Factsheet to get the details of the timely new proposal.

Labor Boot Camp Exposes What Unions Are Up To

Unions have proven themselves to be among the left's strongest special interests by waging high profile battles in Wisconsin and Ohio. What exactly are union leaders planning, and why should Americans be very concerned?

Labor expert James Sherk wrote a primer on current federal labor law issues for the Heritage "labor boot camp" seminar. See his work by clicking on an article below:

 • Who Pays for “Official Time” and Why Americans Should Be Concerned
• Understanding Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
• The Workplace Democracy and Fairness Act
• Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees (RAISE) Act
• Why the Davis–Bacon Act Should Be Repealed
• Federal Compensation: Why Government Pay Is Inflated
• Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits

Read Sherk's responses to a series of questions posed by The Insider magazine by visiting this blog post.

NFIB, NRTW, CDW Strike Back Against Illegal Recess Appointments

US Senator Chuck Grassley joins a growing number of constitutional experts who believe that the president's recent "recess" appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are illegal and open to a court challenge. Now the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Right to Work Foundation, and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace have joined forces to file suit to overturn those appointments in federal court. According to law professor Russell Weaver, if the suit prevails in court "it would be undermine everything that's done in the meantime." Read the NRTW press release and more at BigGovernment.com.

Upcoming Events

Jan. 26-28 - Educational Policy Conference, St. Louis, MO

Feb. 8 - Paul Weyrich Awards Dinner, Washington, DC

Feb. 9-11 - CPAC, Washington, DC

April 26-27 - Heritage Resource Bank, Colorado Springs, CO

Gary Johnson Reaction to SOTU

GOVERNOR GARY JOHNSON ON THE SOTU: ONLY IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE THAT IS WASHINGTON...

January 24, 2012, New York, NY --Former New Mexico Governor and current presidential candidate Gary Johnson released the following statement in reaction to the President's State of the Union address:

“If the idea tonight was that the President would fulfill his constitutional duty to give us ‘information of the State of the Union’, we should be able to expect some truth. I didn’t hear much truth. Truth is that the real unemployment rate is probably still above 10%. Truth is that after all the hand-wringing and deals of the past couple of years, instead of cutting spending, the President and Congress are going back to the well for another $1.2 Trillion debt limit increase. And the truth is we are seeing nothing from either the President or the Republicans that will really change any of those unacceptable realities.

“Only in the twilight zone that is Washington could a President who has bailed out and stimulated our economy to death stand in the Capitol and declare there should be ‘no bailouts, no handouts, and no cop-outs’. Can anyone spell GM or TARP or Solyndra?

“The President said we deserve a government that plays by the same rules as millions of hard-working Americans. Perhaps that should begin with the government not borrowing and printing 43 cents of every dollar it spends – something hard-working Americans can’t and don’t do.

“Until we see a real plan – not a Washington smoke and mirrors plan – that puts a stop to deficit spending and really puts America back to work, all of this rhetoric is just wasted breath.”

For more information, please visit www.garyjohnson2012.com.

About Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson: Gary Johnson, two-term Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for limited, efficient government and personal liberty.

Governor Buddy Roemer - Obama is All Talk No Action

Baton Rouge, LA– Governor Charles E. “Buddy” Roemer released the following statement following President Obama’s State of the Union remarks:
 
Tonight’s State of the Union address is a time-honored tradition, and I show utmost respect for the Office of the President of the United States and appreciate the words he shared with the country tonight.  I do have the responsibility, though, as an American citizen, to ask some tough questions of the President.  I have to ask why, Mr. President, Congress has not been able to pass a budget in two years? Why have tax reform, immigration reform, fair trade reform with China, the banking reform  - all the policies you talked about tonight – why have none of those things been accomplished, when you’ve had three years in office to make progress on them?

Now you say that you want to introduce a new unit to investigate abusive mortgage lending practices that led to the housing crisis, and a ‘trade enforcement unit’ to tell us what we already know about China’s manipulation of currency and unfair trade practices.  There’s a big difference between President Obama and myself – I don’t believe that the solution to the government’s problems, and to the peoples’ problems, is MORE government.  The solution is better government, and smarter government – adequate legislation to regulate lending, like that which Glass-Steagall provided, and tough action against China’s practices rather than a bloated investigation.  Instead, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Obama administration started contracting with one of Newt’s many firms to serve as consultants for this new mortgage unit. 

I was surprised to hear the President use the words ‘money in politics.’  That’s my issue, and I’ve been talking about it since I declared my candidacy for the Republican nomination for president.  But unlike President Obama, I live the message, not taking a single penny from PACs or Super PACs, which distort and corrupt our politics.  Limiting stock ownership by elected officials, keeping bundlers from lobbying, banning insider trading by members of Congress – which is illegal for EVERYONE, by the way, not just members of Congress – those are great things, but as long as PACs and Super PACs are buying our elections, they won’t mean anything.  How can a president who is planning a billion dollar reelection campaign decry the influence of money in politics?

I have to say, I felt like the President and his speechwriters have been reading my website and brushing up on my speeches, because I’ve never had every idea I’ve been going around the country talking about stolen.  Go to my website, and read my speech in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington.  Read my speech from the National Press Club.  Read my speech from Iowa, where I talk about ending ethanol subsidies.  Energy, fair trade, deregulation, immigration reform – the President finally talked about all of them tonight, except for the most important one – corruption.  President Obama would have you believe that Washington is broken, but it is not.  It is corrupt.  And it will be corrupt as long as you are raising money from the same Wall Street one-percenters who got us into the very mortgage crisis you’re now concerned about.  After just two years in office, you have reverted to the job you do best – being a full-time campaigner.  The policies you proposed tonight, I agree with many of them.  But they will never happen until we take the money out of the equation.  The country is looking to you, Mr. President.  They are looking to you for leadership, and for reform.  Not for pretty speeches and gutless action.   End the corruption, lest we continue our drift into economic mediocrity.
 
  
Governor Buddy Roemer is a four-term Congressman and former Governor of Louisiana. He is known for refusing PAC and special interest money, implementing campaign finance reform, turning around Louisiana’s failing economy and cutting the state’s unemployment rate in half in just four years. Roemer is a candidate for President of the United States. His website is www.BuddyRoemer.com.