Mr President Obama Say This on Tuesday Night
The suggestions come from all quarters — the Mr. Obama’s liberal supporters who are already suspicious of his commitment to their causes, the conservative activists who oppose his policies and independent groups who are urging compromise and conciliation.Gun control groups want the president to call for restrictions on the size of high capacity ammunition clips. Gay rights organizations say he should talk about bullying aimed at homosexuals. Think tanks believe he should focus on the nation’s debt. Tea Party groups hope he will endorse a repeal of his health care overhaul.
Aides to Mr. Obama remained largely silent on which of those, if any, are likely to make it into the president’s address, which he will give Tuesday night in front of a joint session of Congress.
“The State of the Union is an annual occasion to get a mountain of advice both public and private on what to include in the speech,” said Dan Pfeiffer, the president’s communications director. “A lot ends up on the cutting room floor, but getting all the ideas and sifting through them is a very constructive process.”
The Caucus asked more than 20 interest groups in Washington what advice they are giving the president, either in public or in private. Here’s a sampling of their responses:
Mark McKinnon, No Labels: “President Obama, you have an opportunity in your State of the Union Address to bookend the great speech you delivered in Tucson. We are at a potential inflection point in our politics where we have an opportunity to tone down heated hyper-partisan rhetoric and recognize that our opponents are not “enemies” but people of pure motive who just have a different approach and ideas. Your speech next week can help heal the partisan breach by compelling us all to work together to achieve consensus on the pressing issues facing the country.”
Damon Silvers, policy director for the AFL-CIO: “We need to have an economic recovery that creates jobs and rebuilds the middle class because if we are reduced to competing to cut spending instead of deciding how to compete in the world economy then we are having the wrong conversation. … We also hope that the president will protect and defend Social Security and Medicare, which are crucial lifelines for working families, seniors and the disabled.”
Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women: “I am writing to you with a heartfelt plea to take a stand against Social Security benefit cuts or any other weakening of the program that may be attempted in the new Congress. Will you speak out against any undermining of Social Security in your State of the Union message?”
Edward F. Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans: “Retirees will be watching the State of the Union address on Tuesday, and they will support President Obama’s call to lower federal spending. But they know that Social Security did not create these deficits and that we cannot balance the budget on the backs of current and future retirees.”
Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinators of Tea Party Patriots: “Based on his newfound understanding and respect for the views of the majority of Americans, Tea Party Patriots hopes that he will encourage repeal of Obamacare in the Senate, and then sign the bill and begin to engage in true bipartisan negotiations to solve the nation’s health care problems.”
Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring: “If he fails to address the need to rein in the excessive and economically ineffective deficit spending of his administration’s first two years, anything that he says about raising the debt ceiling should be disregarded.”
Paul Helmke, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: “We’re hoping he’s going to say something about gun violence. Here’s a chance for some leadership and some eloquence. He should call for a presidential commission on guns and support for the legislation limiting the size of ammo clips.”
Fred Sainz, spokesman for Human Rights Campaign: “This past year Americans were confronted with the epidemic of bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people that goes on in our schools. The State of the Union address would be an appropriate time for the president to assert leadership on this moral issue and call on all schools to address the problem head on.”
Jim Kessler, vice president for Third Way: “The president ought to make long term economic growth the theme of his State of the Union. He should declare that with the passage of health care reform, America’s 85-year quest to weave a strong safety net is now complete. From there he would describe a clear, tangible, and compelling destination for the nation – that of American excellence. It is a destination where America has the strongest, most vibrant, and most advanced economy on earth.”
Ralph Benko, senior adviser on Economics for American Principles Project: “President Obama must make the case that public funds for essential government services not be used up in paying exorbitant retirement benefits, a trillion dollar problem that news reports show is threatening more than 100 American municipalities with bankruptcy and up to 20 states with insolvency.”
Former Senator Pete Domenici, a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center: “First, he must carefully explain the severe nature of the nation’s debt and deficit problem, showing why it is unlike any other fiscal problem we have ever faced. Next, he should discuss the consequences that may occur if we simply continue to delay facing the problem with concrete proposals. Finally, I hope that he will outline a comprehensive plan of what must be contained in a real debt stabilization initiative.”
Adam Green, co-founder, Progressive Change Campaign Committee: “He should use the State of the Union to draw a firm line in the sand against any reduction of the Social Security benefits that American workers earned, paid for, and do not want to see cut. Then he should offer a progressive vision for creating jobs and fighting for middle class families over big corporations.”
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform: “You should say you recognize that spending $800 billion on stimulus didn’t create jobs. You should say you will bring corporate tax rates down, extend the expensing of business investment, and allow repatriation of overseas assets. These are tax cuts that you and Democrats have endorsed that would have bipartisan support.”
Richard Socarides, president of Equality Matters: “In order to be the kind of transformational leader he can be, he should show the country the way forth on dismantling the so-called Defense of Marriage Act so that the law no longer robs the states of their right to decide the question of marriage, nor deprives lawfully married gay Americans of their federal benefits. That’s the advice I’m giving to all the people I know who might actually influence the speech. If you want to be a leader, this is the speech in which to do it.”
News From: thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com
