Barack ‘Robin Hood’ Obama to Give SOTU Address Tonight
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Those crazy Republicans are going “crazy” at the idea of President Obama’s State of the Union address, because he’s going to mention doing something that is anathema to the GOP, and that is raising taxes on the rich so as to feed the poor and the middle class, a most Robin Hood like endeavor indeed.
(Newser) The centerpiece of President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight will be what some are calling a“Robin Hood” tax plan to benefit the middle class at the expense of Wall Street and the wealthiest 1%—and while the proposals have little chance of making it intact through a GOP-controlled Congress, analysts see the president’s penultimate SOTU address as his best chance to stay relevant through 2016.
- The White House feels it has momentum on its side after the executive actions that followed the midterms and in a bid to frame the 2016 election, Obama will try to cast GOP Republicans as “Sheriffs of Nottingham” defending the rich, writes Justin Sink at the Hill. The GOP has already declared the president’s proposals dead on arrival, he notes, but the White House plans to keep rolling out new plans after the speech in an effort to force Republicans to engage.
- With so much of the agenda revealed in advance—including free community college and paid sick leave—why bother watching the speech? The president’s tone will be an important clue as to how he plans to deal with the GOP majority, where there is plenty of room for cooperation on issues like international trade deals and the fight against ISIS, writes Russell Berman at the Atlantic.
- Obama will use the speech to “effectively declare victory over the economic hard times that dominated his first six years in office” and move on to issues like economic inequality, writes Peter Baker at the New York Times, who notes that the address at this stage of a presidency often marks a “final chance to move past difficulties” like Ronald Reagan’s Iran-Contra scandal, Bill Clinton’s impeachment, and George W. Bush’s terrible year in Iraq and midterm thumping.
- Politico surveyed political strategists about what surprises could lie ahead tonight and they split largely along party lines, with GOP media consultant Rick Wilson predicting “trillions in new spending on soft, focus-group-friendly giveaways and boondoggles,” while former White House aide Stephanie Cutter expects Obama to “speak more forcefully than he has during any other State of the Union about the enormous economic growth and high job numbers the country is experiencing.”
- This SOTU aims to be the most tech-savvy such address, reports Vox. The White House will live-stream the speech here, but it’ll also post info boxes to a grid explaining Obama’s proposals. “You’ll be able to answer questions and respond to prompts, share feedback, discover related material, and see and share social media content,” says a White House official. The House GOP, meanwhile, plans to do some real-time fact-checking here.
The SOTU begins at 9PM Eastern and is broadcast on all networks. Here’s who to look for in Michelle Obama’s box.
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James Smith… No results from Obama is a very good thing… Congress went Republican because the people rejected Obama… Any Honest person … [not you] would admit that he has failed times ten…No legacy….He turned out to be nothing but talk.
Geez. Who taught you to write? Have you heard of proper punctuation? You Right Wingers really should have paid attention in school, at least those of you who went to school.
Oh yeah they totally went republican and rejected Obama, with less than 30% of the vote in some places. Makes you pine for the good old days when women, blacks and the rest of us minorities knew our place doesn’t it?
I am impressed…. I got a comment posted…. Where are the thought police ? To further this discussion… Obama is a thief….Robin hood stole from the rich to give to the poor because the people were being unfairly taxed and oppressed by their government… Now I agree that blacks today are definitely oppressed but it happens to be by other black people and the democratic party… Obama runs the joint and still they suffer… he is a fake …just like you !Because any serious human being cannot be as stupid and as blind as you people that run and typically comment here..
Your ass would be out of here if this were my place. There are nice people who respond here, and you aren’t one of them. Now go away, pray to your Jesus, and fondle your gun. We don’t need you type here.
I’m just going to use a couple of words for you and they’ll be small so you can understand both of them. fuck off.
Ooohrah!!
Robin Hood…. ha ha… John Scott’s profile says he can say everything he wants and often does…. What’s plain is that John only publishes other peoples opinions when they mirror his exactly…. No wonder there is rarely more than one comment per article… Journalists…. Not ! Fair minded people…. Not ! Extremely light thinkers here…..
Light thinkers here? LOL! Dude. Have you ever heard of punctuation beyond a series of dots? LOL. Listen Troll I’ll let you stay for a while, but at some point the thought police will remove you because you have nothing intelligent to add.
One comment per article? Not only can’t you write you clearly can’t count.
Awwwwwww, look at you. All grown up thinking you can sit at the big table. Back to the kid table with you till you learn how to act in public.
No matter what he says, he still has to deal with the GOP and the moneyed interests that actually control the country. I expect lots of rhetoric but no results.
Probably, but at least he’ll put the GOP on notice, for whatever good that does.