Live Blog: 2013 State of the Union Address

2013 STATE OF THE UNION!

The President's State of the Union went well and as predicted. He did express his strong support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Wow. Did Marco Rubio make a fool of himself! He yelled and blasted the President, spit all over himself, then had to stop and reach off camera for a bottle of water and drank it, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS SPEECH! Geesh!  Regarding Immigration Reform, just as I predicted, he is going PIECEMEAL – starting with STRICT BORDER Enforcement/Racial Profiling and fast-tracking the Immigration process for those with advanced degrees (primarily Northern European).

 I found Rand Paul's SOTU response on Politico (see link). He obviously did not want to make a fool of himself and get parodied on Saturday Night Live like Marco Rubio. Paul's response was typical. He attacked the President, called him a King. He had nothing about Comprehensive Immigration Reform other than to say Legal Immigrants who come here have to work. He wants to cut taxes, establish a flat tax, eliminate aid to certain countries and cut entitlements and almost everything else. Just a nutty, bizarre speech. Republicans and Teapartiers continue to hurt themselves!

	PRESIDENT	MARCO RUBIO – GOP RESPONSE	RAND PAUL – TEA PARTY
Military.	Afghanistan: 34,000 coming home this year By end of next year war, will be over. Finish mission in Afghanistan work with Local Govt. Defeat core of al Qaeda. Counter terrorism efforts. Target, detention, prosecution. Transparent to American People & World. Prevent spread of dangerous weapons. North Korea, Russia.  Iran :prevent from  nuclear weapons. Stop Cyber Attacks. Secure Networks. Maintain best military world has ever known. Women in combat. Healthcare for wounded warriors.	Nothing about Troops or Afghanistan.	Nothing about Troops or Afghanistan.
Economy Jobs	6M New Jobs. More Cars. Less for Oil. Stock Market rebounding. Stronger Protections. State of Union Strong. More work to do. American Jobs Act. Magnet for new jobs in manufacturing IN America. 3 New Manufacturing Hubs. Need 15 Hubs. Investments for more science, innovation and development. Fix it First Program: Fix Bridges across country. Partnership to rebuild America. Modern ports, pipelines, schools, housing. Education: (states) Pre-School for all; high school & higher education programs. Minimum Wage to $9 per hour. Incentive to companies to keep jobs here in towns with few/no jobs. Stronger families, communities, America. Restore American Dream   The way we are Made: We are Citizens.	My parents immigrated here and were poor. I still live in my same neighborhood. I used student loans and just paid them back. (YET HE WANTS TO LIMIT GOVT FOR EVERYONE ELSE) The president wants to tax, borrow and spend more. More government regulations won’t get us ahead. Obamacare loses healthcare and loses jobs. We can fix our economy by starting a small business, hire people. Create jobs. That’s free enterprise. School vouchers. School of choice. Federal financial aid reform, include online courses.   Medicare reform. Voucher program start later.	Prez believes in more government, more taxes, more debt. Limit Government. Don’t interfere with individuals. We are threatened by takers. . Fix schools. Allow choice.   Need to CUT entitlements.
Budget Tax Cuts Sequester Military Cuts	Reduce deficit by 2.5T. cuts and tax increase on wealthy. More than halfway to goal. Now need to finish. How: Sequester bad idea. Modest reform of Medicare. Reduce subsidies to wealthy. More quality care, fewer unneeded tests. Balanced Approach: Spending cuts & revenue. Wealthy: more revenue. Eliminate tax loop holes. Bipartisan comprehensive tax reform bring down the deficit. Keep jobs here, not overseas. End Debt Ceiling debate. Pay bills.	Solve debt problem. Don’t Raise Taxes on the rich or cut loopholes. The president needs to abandon this obsession. Limit Government  Go Start a Small Business. Open up Federal Lands. Reform Energy regulations. Lower corporate tax rates.   The Prez attacks us when we try to introduce our programs. Dirty water, dirty air, Military cuts were his idea, Obamacare hurts seniors.	Pass the Balanced Budget Amendment. Includes strict tax and spending limits. End foreign aid to some countries End for Egypt. Sequester: YES CUT CUT CUT Propose Balanced Budget Plan NO MORE TAX HIKES. CUT CORPORATE INCOME TAX IN HALF. FLAT TAX 17^
Immigration Reform Path to Citizenship: Border Protection	Time to Pass CIR. Path to Earned Citizenship. Border Protection. Fix Legal Immigration – fast track for advanced degrees. Bipartisanship plan. Send me bill and I will sign it. Let’s get it done.	PIECEMEAL APPROACH: Legal immigration. Fast track advanced.degrees. 1st secure borders and enforce laws. Then, once secured, work on some sort of legalization for 11M.	Legal Immigration only for those who will work.   No path to citizenship. No Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
Gun Control Background Checks: Mental Health:	Protect Children. 2 months since New Town. Reduce Gun Violence. Background Checks. Get weapons of wars and massive ammunitions off streets.  Deserve VOTE in Congress. More than a thousand died since New Town.	DO NOT TOUCH THE 2ND AMENDMENT! No Gun Control.	DO NOT TOUCH THE 2ND AMENDMENT! No Gun Control.
Voting Rights	Right to Vote. Stop Voter Suppression, Long waits. Improve voting experience in America.
Gay Rights	Invest in new capabilities. Equal treatment for all service members and families, gay and straight.	US morally deteriorating. Fix Families
Women’s Rights	Senate passed Violence against Women Act. Pass Paycheck fairness act this year.	VOTED NO on Violence Against Women Act.
Environment	Combat Climate Change. If congress won’t act, will take executive action to reduce pollution, transition to more sustainable energy. New oil and gas permits. Clean energy.Cut energy waste in half. (states)
Partisanship	Partners for Progress.
Strong Alliances	Stop AIDS. Stand with Universal Rights and transition to Democracy. Support Israel – security and lasting peace.
Change Government			Term Limits. No special interest riders on bills. Must pass budget Trial by Jury. No excessive government power. No executive orders. Prez is not king.