The State Of The Union Address

State of the Union 2023: McCarthy calls for spending cuts in pre-rebuttal to Biden address
by Juliegrace Brufke, Congressional Reporter
February 07, 2023 06:40 AM

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reiterated his call for spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling on Monday evening in a pre-rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

The California Republican did not lay out specifics on where Republicans would like to see a reduction in spending but argued the country could not stay on its current fiscal trajectory.

"Americans are getting hammered by higher prices. Today, nearly two-thirds of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet," he said. "Meanwhile, China is infiltrating our culture, our farmland, and our skies because they see us as weak. This is not sustainable. But of all the dangers we face, the greatest threat to our future is our national debt."

"You deserve the truth. So, let’s start with the facts. Our national debt is high — too high. And the problem is getting worse, not better," he added. "We are now $31 trillion in debt."

McCarthy blamed domestic spending for inflation, drawing a line between the administration's policies and the rising cost of consumer goods.

"When debt is too high, inflation is the result. That’s where we are today. Inflation has exploded. Mortgage rates have doubled. Working Americans, after inflation and taxes, have gotten a pay cut. And eggs, a staple of America’s breakfast, have gone from a cheap source of protein to a luxury good,” he said.

“Like many Americans, you may be wondering, 'How did we get here?'" he added. "Yes, our nation has taken on debt for most of its history. But the last few years have been different.”

Despite Democrats countering that the debt also significantly increased under the Trump administration, McCarthy placed blame squarely at the feet of Democrats.

"Washington fell for a financial fad, a fiscal fraud, that the national debt doesn’t matter, that money can always be created out of thin air to pay for it, and that the solution to higher prices is higher taxes," he said.

"For years, we’ve watched as Democrats in Congress spent your hard-earned tax dollars like those dollars were imaginary," he added. "They took our nation’s credit card, spent like crazy, and left us in deep debt. But not once did they seek or accept any responsibility. Instead, they doubled down."

McCarthy, who expressed optimism that he and Biden could strike a deal on spending levels and the debt following a meeting last week, called for talks to continue and pointed to Biden voting against raising the debt ceiling in 2004 while laying out his case for fiscal reforms.

“First, we will continue to sit down and negotiate — just as President Biden did in the past," he said. "Second, we must commit to finding common ground on a responsible debt limit increase. Finding compromise is exactly how governing in America is supposed to work and exactly what the American people voted for just three months ago."

Pushing back on Democrats' claims that Republicans are seeking to cut social safety net programs as part of a debt ceiling deal, McCarthy insisted that “cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table.”

He called for Washington to "move towards a balanced budget."

"Future generations deserve nothing less," he said. "A responsible debt limit increase that begins to eliminate wasteful Washington spending and puts us on a path towards a balanced budget is not only the right place to start. It’s the only place to start.”

Biden is slated to address the country at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday evening.

State of the Union 2023: Chinese balloon looms large over Biden's speech
Published 4 hours ago, REUTERS
By Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent

Joe Biden's State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday comes at a pivotal time in his presidency.

By most indications, he is poised to announce a bid for re-election next year, and the speech provides a high-profile platform from which he can make his case to the American people, the media and key figures within the Democratic Party.

Before the president gets to that, however, he will be under intense pressure to address the issue that has been hovering over his administration since Friday. The Chinese spy balloon, and the US reaction to it, has dominated headlines, captivated the attention of the American public and prompted sharp criticism of the Biden administration from Republicans.

With the Republican-controlled House of Representatives considering holding a vote of disapproval for how the president handled the balloon incursion - on the day of the speech no less - and aggressive hearings into the situation already being planned, Mr Biden will be expected to offer the reasoning behind his decision to shoot the vessel down only after it had traversed the US.

And all eyes will be on how Congress reacts.

While Mr Biden and his advisers may have a strategy devised for how they want to craft his re-election bid, a foreign crisis with China, which could have significant economic and military consequences, could derail even the best-laid plans.

What Biden really wants to talk about

His speech is likely to dwell extensively on accomplishments in the first two years of his presidency, when his party controlled both chambers of Congress and was able to pass a variety of substantive legislation.

Those achievements included a $1.9tn (£1.5tn) coronavirus relief package that featured a programme that halved the US child poverty rate and $1tn in climate and healthcare legislation. He is also sure to tout bipartisan legislative achievements on gun control, infrastructure spending and technology investment.

The president will make the case that the economy is improving under his watch, citing the latest job-growth figures and inflation and energy numbers that have been tapering off from high levels not seen since the early 1980s.

When he's done patting himself on the back, however, Mr Biden will have to cast his eyes forward and make the case for what he hopes to accomplish in the remainder of his first term and what he could offer if he does seek four more years in office after that.

Successful political campaigns, as the established wisdom goes, are about the future, not the past.

To that end, Mr Biden is planning on making the phrase "finish the job" a recurring theme during his speech. It's a call for Congress to do more, but it also gives the president the opportunity to declare some measure of victory if he successfully implements the programmes launched by the Democratic Congress over the past two years.

With the recent spate of mass shootings, Mr Biden may talk about new gun control legislation, including the kind of ban on assault weapons he helped enact as a senator in the 1990s. He may also call for federal law protecting abortion rights, an issue that helped turn out Democratic voters in last year's midterm elections.

Government-supported childcare and pre-kindergarten education are also long-desired but yet-to-be tackled components of the Democratic agenda. And, in the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police, he might endorse renewed efforts to enact federal policing reform.

Mr Biden could also address issues of perceived weakness during his presidency, including rising crime rates in US cities, the rise in undocumented migrants crossing the US-Mexico border and an attempt to forgive some student-loan debt that has faced multiple lawsuits.

While US-China relations are sure to dominate any foreign policy portion of Mr Biden's address, he is also certain to discuss the need for continued American military aid to Ukraine and the effect the tens of billions in aid already approved has had in turning back the Russian invasion.

The reality of a divided Washington

Whatever Biden proposes on any of these issues will crash headfirst into the reality of Republican control of the House of Representatives. Although the conservative margin in that chamber is narrow, it is enough to ensure that none of Mr Biden's ideas will pass, or even receive an up-or-down vote, without tacit Republican approval.

While there is always the possibility of bipartisan agreement - and Mr Biden will do his best to present himself as a voice of reason and co-operation - the coming year is more likely to centre on acrimonious fights over avoiding a US default on its national debt this summer and passing legislation that will fund the US government in the autumn.

Mr Biden may use his address on Tuesday night as a means to gain the upper hand in negotiations that are only just beginning.

The president's speech could provide a blueprint for how he will handle these fraught confrontations with Republicans and address the growing US-China rift. It will also shed light on the terrain upon which he may want to build his re-election campaign, including which issues to prioritise and which accomplishments to trumpet the loudest.

While the delivery of a State of the Union address is always scrutinised, the style of Mr Biden's speech will be almost as important as the substance.

The 80-year-old politician is already the oldest president in US history. If he wins re-election, his second term will expire after he turns 86. Questions about Mr Biden's competence will be unavoidable in the days ahead, and high-profile speeches like this are an opportunity to silence critics - or give them more ammunition.

Although public opinion surveys 21 months removed from an election are of limited value, the latest numbers show that if Mr Biden takes the plunge he is in for a closely contested campaign, with Republicans - including his former adversary Donald Trump - more than capable of wresting the White House from his grasp. His overall approval has improved but is still net-negative. Polling indicates that Democrats would be more resigned to a Biden re-election campaign than energised by it.

Following his address, the president will travel to Wisconsin and Florida - states that are traditional presidential-election battlegrounds and the latter being the home of two possible Republican presidential opponents. Although 21 months may seem like a long time, and the timing of an official campaign announcement has not even been hinted at, Tuesday night's speech is a prominent waypoint on Mr Biden's road to re-election.

Fact-checking Joe Biden's 2023 State of the Union address

https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/feb/08/fact-checking-joe-bidens-2023-state-union-address/

Amid continued political polarization, and with opinion polls showing an uneasy public, President Joe Biden aimed to deliver a sense of fiscal and social relief during his State of the Union address. He used the speech, his first to a divided Congress, to call for improving police training and accountability and leveling the tax burden by raising levies on the wealthy.

By working together, Biden repeatedly said, Congress could "finish the job" his administration started when it pushed through major legislation to create jobs and infrastructure and bolster technology.

But Biden’s calls for bipartisan cooperation, including on raising the debt ceiling, seemed to rankle some Republicans. His warnings about what some congressional GOP members want to do with Medicare and Social Security led U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to shout, "Liar!"

PolitiFact fact-checked Biden’s claim about desired GOP changes to the social programs and several others about the health of the economy, the infrastructure law and an assault weapons ban.

The full fact checking of Biden's speech at https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/feb/08/fact-checking-joe-bidens-2023-state-union-address/

Sanders had her finger on the pulse of the Trump admin .. She went out every day and battled with the anti Trump media and didn't have pre-scripted answers to the accusations posed as questions ... Jackasses like CNN's Acosta and the like
... At one point Trump just stopped the press briefings cuz they were nothing more than accusations and attacks on him ... He dealt with them himself almost daily on his way in and out of the white house ... That became their press briefings...

Biden's press secretary is there because she's a black lesbian woman... His identity politics are absurd and the hiring of his staff only panders to the far left woke agenda

...The press secretary comes to the briefings and reads from a notebook with scripted answers to all the predicted questions from the media.. She doesn't seem to even be privy to what's happening in the white house

Sanders' summation of Biden's SOTU speech was predictable with obvious conclusions but accurate nonetheless

A lotta them United Spot videos are hilarious .. I just wish the voices were closer to those of the characters .. Biden's is the same as Trump's that sounds like a black guy ... Pelosi's is really funny the way they mimic her talking through her false teeth

What Biden didn't say in his State of the Union
Yahoo News
ALEXANDER NAZARYAN
February 8, 2023, 7:26 AM

WASHINGTON — It is a truism of politics that what goes unsaid is often just as newsworthy as what officials deem worth mentioning. President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night was no exception.

Several notable omissions — as well as topics that seemed to receive only a passing mention — offer a hint at how the president may approach his expected run for reelection.

The omissions: https://www.aol.com/news/biden-didn-t-state-union-152659547.html

Here's one that shows Acosta arguing with Trump, pushing the girl's arm away and clinging to the microphone
... But actually...more importantly, it shows when CNN, the other media, and democrats denying that there were "caravans" of illegal migrants ~invading~ the border... Thousands of them climbing the fences and swarming the border ... They simply denied it, claiming they were miles and miles away in south America and Trump is a racist for claiming they were invading ... Waving the flags of their foreign countries .. There were videos of it online and the media and democrats cluelessly continued to deny it and attacked Trump for bringing attention to it ...And look what we have... Millions of them .. It truly is an invasion .. Trump was right again

I do a lotta reading around on the net but i just don't come across the stupid shit that Temple finds to paste on this board

Quote :

McCarthy admits Republicans ‘took bait’
and let Biden turn speech heckling into political gold.

So Biden's lying was "bait" so republicans would heckle him... Pretty slick

Quote :

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy admitted Wednesday that Republicans “took the baitby allowing President Joe Biden to turn GOP heckling at his State of the Union address into political gold.

Is there a reason the author would write the same thing twice? ...as if repeating it makes it more true i guess

Quote :

The powerful California Republican said Biden effectively used the outbursts by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene,
R-Ga., and others to win over Americans watching at home.

How did he effectively use it?...He didn't effectively do anything ... And how would McCarthy know anyone was "won over" at home?.. Did he take a really quick poll by phone or some shit?

Quote :

“The one thing we need to be is, we need to be smart,” McCarthy told Fox News the morning after the widely praised performance by Biden.

Holy shit!... Widely praised performance?..YGBSM ...And by the next morning huh ...This is just too fucking stupid

Grackle wrote:

http://coco.fun/short/NfexZ2

https://akusvideo02.akamaized.net/magavd/e9/7f/2230-a80c-11ed-ab79-00163e003d9a

Bwahaha