The words President Obama used in his State of the Union address Tuesday night were nice: "family, values, faith and prosperity," according to Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
But the way he used them is a problem, he said.
"While pointing to a decline in the number of abortions, he failed to mention that the taxpayer funding of abortion within Obamacare, which violates the conscience of millions of Americans, threatens to reverse this decline," Perkins said in a statement.
"The state of our union is only as strong as the state of our family. Sadly, the president's address tonight and his policies fail to recognize this truth. His policies continue to penalize marriage and families, which are vital to economic fairness and success. It is unfair to penalize marriage in the tax code, and it doesn't make economic sense."
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He proposed instead of credits for child care, a child tax credit so that parents have the flexibility "to decide what's best for their own family."
"The president talked about symptoms but didn't address the root problems facing our country. On every measure from criminal activity, to educational achievement, to fidelity and happiness in marriage, to personal productivity and longevity – religious practice and intact family structure predict and produce the best results," said Perkins.
"The president hailed the freedoms we hold as Americans, even as the religious liberty that we have long enjoyed is being chipped away with each rap of the gavel of an activist judge. A government able to bankrupt people for standing by their beliefs, on marriage, life, or any other matter of conscience, is a government of unbridled power and a threat to everyone's freedom," he said.
More 'redistribution'
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, lamented that Obama "missed a real opportunity to put forward a bold economic vision that meets the demands of the American people and puts an aggressive jobs agenda center stage."
"From overreaching regulations to higher taxes that fuel more government spending to premature veto threats and a refusal to enforce laws he doesn't agree with, President Obama's unilateralism and refusal to set politics aside further demonstrates his unwillingness to work together and reach lasting solutions for the American people," Hatch said. "Our country deserves something other and better than the president's politics of division. It's time for all of us – Republicans and Democrats alike – to come together and unite behind an agenda that will move America forward."
He also noted Obama has kept a firm grip on his "redistribution" plans with his idea for a $320 billion tax hike.
Hatch also criticized Obama's immigration policy.
"The president's refusal to enforce existing immigration laws runs contrary to longstanding constitutional norms, as he himself previously acknowledged. Unlike the president, I remain committed to the tough work of formulating long-term legislative solutions for our broken immigration system. I hope that the president will embrace my bipartisan, high-skilled immigration bill, which is exactly the sort of common-sense, measure we need to help rebuild trust and cooperation on this vitally important issue."
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called it, "A liberal speech by a liberal president."
'Class warfare'
The Project 21 black leadership network said it saw in Obama's speech "plenty of continued class warfare and big government rhetoric."
"President Obama really did not offer anything new in his address to Congress. All he did was present the American people with the same old clunker policies sprayed with a new car scent," said Project 21 member Kevin Martin, a small-business owner and Navy veteran. "President Obama wants more new taxes and more new spending, but he seems unwilling to do anything substantial to reduce our national debt, curtail unfunded liabilities, shrink the bureaucracy or really fight fraud and waste in our government.
"Conservatives, on the other hand, have preached that it's the spirit of the individual – and not government – that has made America successful, and it's that spirit that can once again return us to greatness. Massive, unrestricted government spending will not breed success," he said.
Project 21 member Derryck Green, who writes a monthly report on the federal jobless numbers and the state of the economy for Project 21, added: "Mr. President, your economic plans for middle class aren't working. If they were, more than 92 million Americans wouldn't be out of the workforce – more than 8 million who left since you became president. The labor force participation is at a 37-year low. Job creation and wages are stagnant. In the last six years, more businesses died than were created. As a result, the middle class is shrinking. If your policies worked, you wouldn’t be relying on divisive political rhetoric about income inequality – inequality that has increased during your presidency – to perpetuate class warfare."
'America is adrift'
"I wish I had better news," said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in a video response to the speech. "All is not well in America. America is adrift. … What America desperately leads is new leadership."
He went on to suggest term limits to "infuse our Congress with new ideas."
Paul noted Washington now dictates what light bulbs can be purchased and what health insurance is required.
"We don't want to be perpetually talked down to, forgotten and left in perpetual poverty," he said.
See his comments:
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Fla., was disappointed.
"The president had an opportunity to be gracious," he said. "He could have said, 'I hear and we will work together. We should have been focusing on jobs, economic growth, opportunity.'
"He didn't listen to the voters who are hurting right now. He doubled done on the same failed policies of the last six years."
'You propose to make Big Government even bigger'
Arvin Vohra, a spokesman for the Libertarian National Commission, addressed Obama directly.
"Mr. President, in your State of the Union address, you propose to make Big Government even bigger. You propose pouring more taxpayer dollars into another federal education program, this time for community colleges. But federal intervention has driven up the price of higher education.
"What if we could make college affordable right now by simply getting government out of higher ed? Without subsidies and costly mandates, competition will force colleges to decrease their tuition or go out of business. Massive student debt would be a thing of the past.
"Mr. President, we can have world-class education. The first step is defunding and eliminating the federal Department of Education, abolishing Common Core, and allowing parents to take full control over their children's education. Free-market competition will raise educational standards, lower costs, and prepare students to compete in a global economy."
He also blasted Obama's plans to interfere in the minimum wage, raise taxes, expand surveillance and more
'Wait until it's free'
Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., said he agrees education is important but said Obama's not going the right direction with plans for free community college.
"Unfortunately, the president’s plan for education directly hurts the middle class, taking away the benefits of 529 college savings plans to pay for 'free community college.' To adapt a quote from P. J. O'Rourke, if you think college is expensive now, just wait until it’s free. We don’t need more federal education programs. Instead we need to empower students, families, teachers, and our state and local officials."
And he said while the president is right that middle class taxes are too much, "I disagree that the solution is more tax hikes to fuel a federal government that is already too big, too inefficient, and too unaccountable. We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem."
According to the AP, House Speaker John Boehner said: "Finding common ground is what the American people sent us here to do, but you wouldn't know it from the president's speech tonight. While veto threats and unserious proposals may make for good political theater, they will not distract this new American Congress from our focus on the people's priorities."