Members of the Florida congressional delegation divided on party lines over President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address.
After Obama spoke on Tuesday night, Republicans from the Sunshine State lined up against it, hitting the White House on a number of fronts.
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., part of the congressional leadership as senior deputy majority whip, dismissed Obama’s speech as “empty words” and insisted many of his policies had “failed” during his two terms.
"For seven long years, President Obama has delivered thousands of empty words in his State of the Union addresses, and tonight was no different, unfortunately,” Ross said. “As usual, we were lectured on sidetracked issues in an attempt to distract us from what have been the failed policies of this administration, such as defeating ISIS, Obamacare, the Iran nuclear deal, his anti-gun executive overreach, and his refusal to enforce our immigration laws.
"The president outlined his plan for America during his last 11 months in office, but his plan only consists of red-tape regulations that strangle small businesses and put money back in Washington instead of in the pockets of entrepreneurs and those who worked hard to earn it in communities across the country,” Ross added. “The president's 'solutions' for hardworking Americans are not solving problems. Instead, our national debt and the federal government have grossly expanded, and our Constitution has been trampled upon. The president also refuses to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat ISIS and other terrorist groups that threaten our country.”
Ross focused on Obama’s plans to defeat terrorism and secure the border and insisted the White House wasn’t providing solutions.
"I was hoping tonight was the night our commander-in-chief finally provided Congress and the American people his plan to defeat ISIS and protect our nation,” Ross said. “I was hoping he would have explained his plan to secure our Southwest border along Mexico where countless illegal immigrants walk across our porous border every day. I was hoping he would have provided a clear vision for improving our economy that has stagnated for seven years under his watch. Instead, the president's speech tonight was much more of a political tome about the state of Hillary Clinton's presidential aspirations than it was about the State of the Union.”
Ross insisted voters “will not settle for business as usual in 2016” and said they would respond to Republicans’ “bold ideas that empower people and open America up to new futures with solutions that help grow our economy and protect everyday Americans.”
U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., dismissed Obama’s speech as “State of the Brag” with a
“lot of empty promises.”
“The people I talk to in Northeast Florida crave leadership on national security, health-care, the economy, responsible government, Second Amendment rights and so much more,” Crenshaw said. “But that message doesn’t appear to have broken through.
“President Obama’s ‘m.o.’ has always been top-down, and it doesn’t work,” Crenshaw insisted. “He is ignorant of what the American people need. He has strangled the economy and put the government between you and your doctor with Obamacare. With the stroke of a pen, he vetoed Congress’s common sense solutions to lift the burden of this disaster from the shoulders of American families. And, in the same move, he said no to defunding abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.
“With an executive order, he infringed upon our Second Amendment rights as law abiding citizens to own guns. On national security, we have ceded strong world leadership to foes such as Putin, China, and North Korea. We are more at risk than ever before,” Crenshaw continued. “Rebuilding this country comes from the ‘bottom up.’ We stand for a strong defense, low taxes, less red tape, will not let an executive order erode our constitutional rights, and will hold Washington accountable when it steps over the line. That’s my focus on the road ahead.”
U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., who offered the Tea Party Express’ response to the State of the Union last year, also came out swinging at Obama.
“We find ourselves in a different America than the one portrayed by the president,” Clawson said. “The American absence of leadership in the world has left a vacuum that has been seized by Islamic terrorists, left Israel vulnerable, and a diplomatic agenda that does deals with Iran and the Castro bothers.
“Our nation has recklessly printed trillions of dollars in new money and has a meager 2 percent economic growth to show for it over seven years, while hurting our retired population in Southwest Florida and elsewhere who rely on savings growth,” Clawson continued. “An economic turnaround from the low point of 2008 would have been stronger with the right policies. However, without the needed regulatory and tax reform we will continue in this sluggish economic abyss, also burdened by Obamacare, which has skyrocketed premiums over 35 percent, and left many unable to afford the coverage.
“The president’s circumventing the will of the American people, in bypassing Congress, and meeting opposition with contemptuous rhetoric, has also soured the mood of the nation and lawmakers,” Clawson added. “With under a year left in his term, the president has failed to offer any solutions to many of the problems facing Americans, now pinning their hopes on a ‘run-out-the-clock’ feeling toward his tenure in office.
“I still believe in an America where solutions come from the people, not bigger government,” Clawson said in closing. “A strong and vibrant economy will help businesses create millions of good-paying American jobs – while freeing millions from government dependency. Addressing the tough issues in trade deals, like currency manipulation, will solidify economic growth over the long term and increase labor participation in our country. Using our market leverage to achieve diplomatic outcomes will enhance our standing in the world, not diminish it. These are the policies we will fight for in Congress and in partnership with the people we serve to achieve the sustained growth and security we are lacking.”
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats from the Sunshine State cheered Obama after he finished the State of the Union.
“President Obama delivered a strong, inspirational address to the nation this evening,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). “I was thrilled to hear the President reiterate his longstanding calls for comprehensive immigration reform, paid family leave, a higher national minimum wage, and protected and strengthened Medicare and Social Security programs.
“As a cancer survivor, I was personally moved to hear the President talk about a new mission to combat this pernicious disease, led by Vice President Joe Biden who, after tragically losing his son Beau last year to cancer, admirably called for a moonshot effort to ensure fewer families experience the heartbreak the Biden family has endured,” Wasserman Schultz continued.“Importantly, President Obama also spoke about the America he envisions and aspires toward beyond his presidency, such as fewer deaths from gun violence, more opportunity for more people to get and stay ahead in a strengthened economy, more affordable educational opportunities and solutions to combat climate change. The president eloquently highlighted the unique attributes of our people and our nation – hard work, optimism, innovation and diversity – and illustrated how they will serve us and future generations well into the future.
“And the future of our country is bright because of President Obama’s leadership,” Wasserman Schultz claimed. “Listening to the president tonight, I reflected again on his unwavering resolve to bring our nation back from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Seventy straight months of private sector job growth that has led to more than 13 million jobs created. Saving the auto industry. Quality, affordable health care for 17 million more Americans. Enacting important Wall Street and consumer protection reforms. Deficits cut by nearly three-fourths. These are just some of the accomplishments the American people have come to count on from their president, despite congressional Republicans’ best efforts to prevent him from achieving nearly all of his agenda these past seven years.
“Lastly, it was incredibly important when the president called out politicians who insult Muslims,” Wasserman Schultz continued. “At one point, the president also said, ‘democracy […] require[s] basic bonds of trust between its citizens.’ Of course, demonizing and lying about Muslims and Muslim-Americans is one flagrant attempt to rip those bonds of trust apart, but the president and congressional Democrats won’t stand for it. And neither do the vast majority of the American people. Nearly two dozen of my and Congressman Keith Ellison’s Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate took up our invitation to invite a Muslim constituent to tonight’s address. Hateful rhetoric and ideas driven by fear have no place in our nation and in fact diminish our standing abroad, a message I believe President Obama conveyed forcefully this evening.
“The American people should be proud of President Obama’s accomplishments on their behalf, and know that because of his leadership, our best days indeed lie ahead,” she said in conclusion.
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., also had kind words for Obama‘s speech.
“Tonight, President Obama argued that a bright future awaits our nation should we as a people come together to work for it,” Deutch said. “Our nation has made great strides in recent years, with a deficit reduced by a trillion dollars, an unemployment rate cut in half, and a health-care system that covers 18 million more Americans. Yet as the sponsor of the ‘Democracy for All Amendment,’ I wholeheartedly agree with President Obama that so long as we have elections that value dollars over voters, our ability to build a future of equal opportunity and economic security will remain compromised. From solving our student debt crisis to strengthening Social Security, I truly believe that the answers to our greatest challenges lie in elevating, not drowning out, the voices of the American people.”
From his perch as the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, Deutch has broken with Obama on some key issues, including over the White House’s nuclear deal with Iran, but on Tuesday night the Florida congressman praised what Obama had to say on the Middle East.
“As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I was pleased to hear the president make a tough case not only for hitting the terrorists in ISIS hard but working even harder to bring an end to the deadly conflict in Syria,” Deutch said. “At a time when so many of the challenges confronting our nation are global in scale, from the spread of violent extremism to the threat of climate change, principled and steady leadership from the United States of America has never been more welcomed or more needed worldwide.”
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., also cheered Obama.
“Countering the noise of negative political rhetoric, the president delivered an optimistic message affirming the greatness of our country,” Frankel said. “He offered a vision of a future that advances people instead of holding them back, keeps our nation secure, and leaves our planet healthy for generations to come.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
