http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/11/boehner-invites-obama-for-state-of-the-union-on-february-12/

Quote :

"Boehner invites Obama for State of the Union on February 12 (CNN) - House Speaker John Boehner sent a letter Friday to President Barack Obama formally inviting him to deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term on February 12."

Quote :

"Topics for this year's address could include ongoing battles with Congress over the federal debt, tighter gun control laws, and a revamp of the nation's immigration laws, which Obama has vowed to tackle during his second term in the White House. Boehner's proposed date, February 12, also happens to be Lincoln's birthday."

1/11/2013 12:01:46 PM

What are the rules this year? I'll need to get drunk quickly to make it through the whole thing.

1/11/2013 3:08:19 PM

i will be drunk!

1/11/2013 4:56:26 PM

"everything sucks. everything looks like it'll get worse. hope. change."

/state of the union address

1/11/2013 5:46:19 PM

Is Boehner serious? He really wants Obama to cede his political right to the bully pulpit right before the debt ceiling debate begins? Does he understand how politics work or that his party lost the election?

1/11/2013 5:51:32 PM

It's happening tonight.

I know the GOP and Tea Party are having different SOTU responses.

2/12/2013 10:10:36 AM

Reminder that the problem is demand, not taxes, nor regulation, nor inflation, nor any other conservative scapegoats:

http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2013/el2013-04.html?utm_source=frbsf-home-highlight-title&utm_medium=frbsf&utm_campaign=economic-letter-2013-02-11

Quote :

"Figure 3 shows there was almost no correlation between job growth in a state from 2008 to 2011 and the increase in the percentage of businesses citing regulation and taxes as their primary concern. In fact, if anything, the correlation is positive."

Quote :

"There is no evidence of a positive relationship between 2012 state unemployment rates and the increase in businesses citing regulation and taxes as their primary concern. If anything, the relation is negative."

2/12/2013 10:50:16 AM

BO is also supposed to announce the scaling back of US troops in the middle east over the next year.

2/12/2013 10:56:40 AM

I read it was 34k troops from Afghanistan, which is not the Middle East but the Far East.

2/12/2013 11:15:50 AM

Looks like they're doing a live chat with White House officials/policy people using social media right after the speech.

2/12/2013 4:54:14 PM

"It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country – the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love."
- President Obama at tonight's State of the Union

2/12/2013 6:47:36 PM

But not too far ahead, because you didn't build that. Other people did.

2/12/2013 7:02:55 PM

what a fresh, topical retort that in no way has been taken out of context

gg, sir

2/12/2013 7:15:33 PM

^^^give him a few more years on the gay marriage thing. i anticipate he'll change his mind on the subject for the third or fourth time once he's out of office.

2/12/2013 8:45:52 PM

Boehner has no boner

2/12/2013 9:29:51 PM

So now that Obama has officially come out in support of comprehensive tax reform to simplify and streamline the tax code, I'm guessing that the rest of you fags finally admit that it's a good cause and long overdue.

2/12/2013 10:04:17 PM

Quote :

"We will ensure equal treatment for all service members, and equal benefits for their families – gay and straight."

2/12/2013 10:09:06 PM

$9 minimum wage

2/12/2013 10:10:08 PM

The fact that the Tea Party and the GOP have separate responses is pretty pathetic.

2/12/2013 10:14:07 PM

Quote :

"We should follow the example of a North Miami woman named Desiline Victor. When she arrived at her polling place, she was told the wait to vote might be six hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her would get to have their say. Hour after hour, a throng of people stayed in line in support of her. Because Desiline is 102 years old. And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a sticker that read “I Voted.”"

Quote :

"That includes our most fundamental right as citizens: the right to vote. When any Americans – no matter where they live or what their party – are denied that right simply because they can’t wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. That’s why, tonight, I’m announcing a non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. And I’m asking two long-time experts in the field, who’ve recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign, to lead it. We can fix this, and we will. The American people demand it. And so does our democracy."

2/12/2013 10:22:43 PM

Quote :

"$9 minimum wage"

In before higher unemployment, which will then warrant "unprecedented measures" by the government.

When the government refuses to ever acknowledge that the shape of the economy has anything to do with government policy, there will never be a "fix". When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

2/12/2013 10:27:00 PM

$9 minimum wage is a political grenade. Light it throw it to the republicans and then start the cameras rolling so America can watch.

2/12/2013 10:32:52 PM

Marco Rubio's response is basically let's not do anything, government bad.

2/12/2013 10:35:12 PM

dude's referencing things that weren't said in the SOTU

not like it'll matter

but quite funny

2/12/2013 10:36:35 PM

This guy is boring me

2/12/2013 10:40:27 PM

I can't help but feel like the Republican response is an epic failure.

It's more or less just talking points hardly even related to one another in rapid succession.

[Edited on February 12, 2013 at 10:42 PM. Reason : Hand gestures are a plus, though.]

2/12/2013 10:42:12 PM

The comedy shows are going have fun with Rubio's water break.

2/12/2013 10:42:17 PM

Hahahaah he has to say all this stuff over again in Spanish.

2/12/2013 10:42:23 PM

"The government can't grow the economy!"

"We must grow the economy!"

2/12/2013 10:43:49 PM

TALKING POINTS AND WATER BREAKS

2/12/2013 10:43:57 PM

Marco Rubio on education: "Consider attending the University of Phoenix"

2/12/2013 10:47:28 PM

Quote :

"In before higher unemployment, which will then warrant "unprecedented measures" by the government."

It would be an interesting discussion, regarding which costs taxpayers more:

the increased unemployment insurance claims caused by increasing the minimum wage
or that of supplementing underpaid workers' incomes that results from not increasing the minimum wage.

[Edited on February 12, 2013 at 11:14 PM. Reason : ]

2/12/2013 11:06:25 PM

I think the Newtown/Gabby Giffords part of the speech will probably be the most replayed/discussed part in the meida.

[Edited on February 12, 2013 at 11:21 PM. Reason : .]

2/12/2013 11:07:45 PM

Quote :

"I can't help but feel like the Republican response is an epic failure. It's more or less just talking points hardly even related to one another in rapid succession."

This is how it was last time. It's what their target audience needs to hear though.

2/12/2013 11:46:09 PM

Quote :

"from Afghanistan, which is not the Middle East but the Far East."

I typically see Afghanistan referred to as "Central Asia".


^^ I took the gun control part to be pretty tepid. Few or no really specific proposals--just "measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals", which isn't really disputed by anyone. To me, I read that as the final concession in a debate that careful--yet objective--watchers would agree has been effectively over for weeks. Move forward with some minor tweaks that everyone except the craziest fringe loonies can agree on, and then call it a day.

2/13/2013 12:41:32 AM

Got to love the GOP women being pissed about fair pay for women.

2/13/2013 8:58:10 AM

$9 minimum wage...why? It's not even close to being related to an inflation adjustment?

I mean, paying people more is all well and good, but you've got to give me some kind of reason to increase minimum wage above inflationary adjustment.

2/13/2013 9:05:10 AM

Rubio bringing up Solyndra was as as Graham and McCain constantly harping on Benghazi.

The real reason Solyndra failed is because the Chinese government was willing to invest more in renewable energy than the US would. Well, that and the plummeting silicon prices.

2/13/2013 9:06:58 AM

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/G9uI_kIP3Ys" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

- http://youtu.be/G9uI_kIP3Ys

[Edited on February 13, 2013 at 10:06 AM. Reason : Marco Rubio response]

2/13/2013 10:05:48 AM

Hey, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is on CNBC just making shit up right now.

She might be my current most hated politician.

2/13/2013 10:06:19 AM

Raising the minimum wage is stupid since the vast majority of those who make the minimum are kids who live with their parents, waiters who get tipped, or spouses of those who make more.

If helping the poor is the objective, it would be better served by expanding tax credits.

2/13/2013 10:40:24 AM

Quote :

"the vast majority of those who make the minimum are kids who live with their parents, waiters who get tipped, or spouses of those who make more"

proof?

2/13/2013 10:47:01 AM

Quote :

"I can't help but feel like the Republican response is an epic failure. It's more or less just talking points hardly even related to one another in rapid succession."

He basically gave the same speech that lost them the presidency and the Senate.

But this time a Cuban guy said it, so I'm sure they're patting themselves on the back for that one.

2/13/2013 10:49:10 AM

People making Min. wage already don't pay much in taxes so I'm not sure how much a tax credit would help them. Cut payroll taxes? - maybe.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2009tbls.htm#1

According to the BLS about half of all min. wage earners are 25+ years old.

2/13/2013 10:56:10 AM

On the plus side, a higher minimum wage would be a positive thing for engineers involved in automation. For just about any minimum wage job, there is a price point where it becomes cheaper to design and build a machine to take over the job.

2/13/2013 11:00:32 AM

Refundable tax credits can increase your refund even if you don't pay much in taxes. Basically the government cuts you a check regardless. This would be more of a help to the rare single mother working the minimum wage.

Paying the asshole teenager at Taco Bell $9 an hour for fucking up my order does nothing.

^^ And of that half that make "below minimum", the reason they get below minimum is because they work in the service industry where their job is supplemented by tips. Or they are illegal. Neither of which will be helped by an increase.

[Edited on February 13, 2013 at 11:08 AM. Reason : .]

2/13/2013 11:05:23 AM

proof?

2/13/2013 11:15:38 AM

What is this, a thesis?

Why else would someone make below minimum?

[Edited on February 13, 2013 at 11:22 AM. Reason : v Gotcha, me too. There are misconceptions about who makes min wage.]

2/13/2013 11:17:02 AM

^I'm not against the idea of a tax refund, and I think you're probably right that a huge amount of min. wage earners get tip supplements.

[Edited on February 13, 2013 at 11:19 AM. Reason : just starting discussion, because its def one we should be having]

2/13/2013 11:18:29 AM

Quote :

"This would be more of a help to the rare single mother working the minimum wage."

Yeah, I'd rather address the fact that single mother households have become so much more commonplace in the last few decades. It's not "rare" at all, and there is no single better predictor of a child's future income, criminal activity, early pregnancy, and several other factors than the number of parents in the household.

When we talk about the welfare state, we're really talking about supporting single moms. Yes, there are clear exceptions, but the lion's share of problem children are coming from these single parent homes, and this move away from the two parent family has been absolutely disastrous for society. Yes, I know, it's not PC to point out this obvious fact, and it's impossible to do so without being shouted down and being labeled someone that "doesn't understand the plight of the single mom".

We have to talk about these catastrophic demographic changes.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/03/opinion/la-oe-hymowitz-unmarried-mothers-20120603

2/13/2013 11:37:14 AM