10:15am | After President Barack Obama delivered a State of the Union address that called for innovation and a return to American greatness in the wake of a recovering economy, Democrats and Republicans offered reactions so contrasting that not even an integrated seating chart could hope to bring the parties any closer.
Congressmembers representing Long Beach were no different.
Representative Laura Richardson (D) said she was pleased with the President’s call for investment in education and infrastructure, while Dana Rohrabacher (R) countered that the speech was heavy on rhetoric and low on details.
The contrast is indicative of political reaction across the spectrum today, and to be sure, President Obama left some scratching their heads by calling for heavy investment while simultaneously proposing a five-year government spending freeze.
“It’s all about priorities,” said Richardson in a phone conversation following the address. A member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, she was pleased by President Obama’s pledge to invest and said that it’s a welcome plan for creating new jobs. The President called for a “Sputnik moment,” referring to the 1950’s space race with the Soviet Union that led to the creation of technologies like microchips, GPS and the Internet.
“He talked about the crumbling bridges and highways, but he also talked about the newer technologies,” Richardson said. “He talked about biomedical, which is huge in California, so I thought he gave a very balanced approach to how we’re going to continue to make some headway with this economy.”
But Republicans viewed President Obama’s plan to “invest” as a plan to “spend.” Though the President proclaimed that the economy is roaring back, his political opponents certainly don’t think it’s time to pull out the checkbook just yet. Many also criticized his proposed spending freeze when it’s cuts that are truly needed, they said. To pay for future investment, the President said that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to cut billions from his budget and that Congress should eliminate tax cuts for oil companies – which will undoubtedly receive a cold response from newly-elected Republicans.
Rohrabacher, never one to mince words, said in a statement that President Obama’s speech was simply “verbal posturing” and that he and other Democrats have not shown willingness to meet Republicans halfway. Just weeks after extending tax cuts for the rich in a move viewed as an olive branch to a new Republican majority in the House, the President expressed his desire to eliminate those same cuts in the future. Republicans also took issue with President Obama’s request to move forward with healthcare reform.
“Tonight, the president attempted to blur the distinction between himself, his failed policies of the last two years and those who were just elected by the American people to take over the House,” Rohrabacher said. “The president spent an inordinate amount of time repeating clichés about free enterprise and individual opportunity coupled with political doublespeak, yet his actions to date are not consistent with his proclamations.”
While the reactions couldn’t be farther apart, Democrats and Republicans were physically closer than ever during last night’s address. In a symbolic effort to bridge gaps in the wake of the Tucson shooting that nearly killed Representative Gabrielle Giffords – and did kill six and wound twelve others – many members of Congress sat alongside their political opponents. Richardson herself sat between Jeff Miller (R-Florida) and Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), who became a posterchild for growing political tension when he yelled “You lie!” during the President’s 2010 address.
“I actually offered to Representative Wilson to sit with him and even to save him a seat,” Richardson said, “And I thought he gave a unique perspective. Hearing what they were saying, they heard some of the things that other folks were saying and I think we all listened. There was a great deal of civility and, I think, understanding.”
But the symbolic gesture quickly gave way to polarizing reactions. Rohrabacher – again, never once to mince words – remained unimpressed.
“Tonight’s kumbaya rhetoric isn’t going to pay the interest on the $2 trillion in debt Obama has created over the last two years, cut deficit spending, create jobs or secure our borders,” he said in a statement. “Unless the president and the democrats are willing to meet us halfway, all of this bipartisan rhetoric is nothing more than verbal posturing.”