After President Obama’s Jan. 25 State of the Union address, the Republican Party had plenty to say.
Republican speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), chairman of the House Budget committee, focused primarily on the nation’s economy. He claimed the nation is under “a crushing burden of debt,” and additionally criticized the president for not doing enough to fix it. Targeting Obama’s health care bill, Ryan equated the serious economic hardship to an effect of federal control.
Referencing the constitution, Ryan called for limited government and free enterprise, equating these values with those of our forefathers, including Abraham Lincoln. Ryan called for lower taxes, promised future action by him and fellow Republican Congress members, and vowed to increase the country’s free enterprise and limited government, which “[make] America the greatest nation on earth.”
Taking it a step further, Tea Party speaker and congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) began her speech with heaping criticism toward the Obama administration. Targeting the unemployment rate and the stimulus bill, Bachmann called for tax reductions and regulatory policies to “undo the damage that has been done the last few years.”
With references to the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima as a symbol of America coming together against a totalitarian aggressor, Bachmann concluded her speech with a call for Americans to come together to “proclaim liberty throughout the land.”
