Is President Obama trying to poison the waters of compromise with his push to the far left on business and economic matters? That was the topic of my interview on Fox Business this week and the short answer is, yes.
From authorizing green cards for millions of people here illegally to lifting sanctions against Cuba, Obama has spent much of his time over the past two months pretending the elections in November didn’t happen and snubbing both the American people and their elected representatives.
The laundry list of policies he announced in the State of the Union were in no way intended to get support from Republicans, or even moderate Democrats. His remarks were crafted to promote the class warfare storyline and the policies making it up…policies that after six years on his watch, according to Obama, have made the rich richer while the poor and middle class continue to struggle. And yet, he doubled down with more of the same – increase taxes and increase handouts.
Despite his statements otherwise, the only thing growing under Obama is the country’s debt – over 7 trillion since he took office. That’s $61,000 dollars for each household in America. When you consider the median household income is about $51,000 dollars, that means the debt per household grew by more than the typical American family earns in a year.
Nothing Obama said in his speech indicates he intends to respond to the message voters delivered last fall. Instead, he appears set on placating the liberal base and setting the stage for 2016.
Message to the GOP: You will get nowhere by following Obama’s lead – get out in front of the policy debates, don’t fall in to the habit of just reacting to them. Tax reform is absolutely needed but if Obama “defines” what tax reform looks like, the GOP will lose the public relations battle even if they are able to stop many of his policies from becoming law.
Just about every policy Obama pushed in his State of the Union remarks involves the government picking winners and losers. Republicans and conservatives should get out in front of the “policies that will make your life better” parade by promoting an agenda, including tax reform measures, that encourages opportunity for all, favoritism to none.