Obama to use speech to offer election-year agenda for Democrats

[onehandle]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama may not say it in his State of the Union speech this week, but part of his underlying message will be: Please vote for Democrats in the November elections.

Obama's big speech on Tuesday will be his sixth foray into the House of Representatives chamber to lay out his policy priorities for the year.

This year's address is critical to forming a narrative on which Democrats can campaign this year. And Obama wants to bolster his standing after a rocky end-of-the-year controversy over the botched rollout of his signature healthcare law, and the tumult surrounding a government shutdown.

Obama has seized on income inequality in America as the main theme of his State of the Union speech, which went through its usual draft process over the weekend.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/26/us-usa-obama-speech-idUSBREA0P03620140126

---

He needs to call out these knuckledragging obstructionists.

One by one. Name by name.

Make them walk out of the SoTU.

[TeamPooka]

1. Obama says something popular the people want done, Democrats applaud, cut to GOP sitting in silence

That should be one ad spot every Democratic candidate can use this cycle.

[Populist_Prole]

2. I hope the SOTU speech is not going to be used as a forum to push the TPP

But I have a feeling it's going to be.

[Distant Quasar]

4. Why not?

He's fresh off a tour de force performance in which he compared the NSA to Paul Revere. He's more than capable of casting the TPP as a surefire way to fight inequality and win Congress back for Democrats.

[JDPriestly]

6. That would be extremely dishonest.

What do you make of this chart?

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/central.html

Note that NAFTA passed in 1995.

[Distant Quasar]

7. Exactly my point

And yes, TPP will be ten times the disaster that NAFTA has been (if it passes - though that is looking less and less likely).

[blkmusclmachine]

10. TPP, Change You Can Believe In, bay-bee!!!

[Demo_Chris]

3. I predict he will again indirectly call for Chained CPI and the TPP

He will also ask congress for some paltry hike to the minimum wage, perhaps scaled over a half a decade or so. Call it $8 an hour by 2020.

Final prediction: No matter what Obama says, no matter how anti-progressive or even downright conservative, the crowd of usual suspects will be standing by with their talking points ready to defend him.

[JoePhilly]

16. Says the guy complaining before he says a word.

Like clockwork.

[Maedhros]

5. I will judge the Democrats on their follow-through.

Pretty speeches that tell us what we want to hear are a dime a dozen. Actually implementing the policies from those pretty speeches has proven to be a much, much rarer occurrence. "Impeachment is off the table", "Keep our powder dry," and "Look forward, not backward" still stick in my craw.

[blkmusclmachine]

11. Musical accompaniment, Fleetwood Mac, Little Lies (Tell Me Lies):

[Maedhros]

15. We see the paid off local bottom feeders passing themselves off as leaders.

Kiss the ladies, shake hands with the fella's, then it's open for business like a cheap bordello.

And they call it "Democracy."

[jwirr]

8. What day/time is this speech?

[onehandle]

12. This Tuesday, the 28th. nt

[jwirr]

14. Thank you.

[blkmusclmachine]

9. So, who's gonna tell the White House want the DEM Platform REALLY is?

And not the neoliberal, piss-warm wanna-be GOP Third Way bull crap that we always get when there's NOT an election around the corner!

[Doctor_J]

13. If the president is the one setting the party's agenda, we're probably in trouble

That's kind of how we got into this mess from our superb momentum and mandate in 2008. If he and the party had enacted the agenda he campaigned on in 2008, the Repukes would be on life support by now. Asking people to vote for Dems so we can get chained CPI and TPP and KeystoneXL and charter schools and insurance mandates is a losing strategy.

Here's hoping I am wrong.

[RandiFan1290]

17. Give the rich more tax cuts, Mr. President!

It worked so well for you and the "party" in 2010!

[Kingofalldems]

18. Kick and Rec.