Mediaboss Marketing

Story highlights President Barack Obama didn't mention or comparatively downplayed a number of key issues in his State of the Union He mostly avoided ObamaCare and immigration reform, despite acting on those issues during his time in office He also ignored gun control and campaign finance reform, two of progressives' pet priorities

In the 70-minute-long address, the President gave only lip service to immigration reform. He made no remarks on protecting Social Security and Medicare just as Republicans have hinted at a coming battle over welfare reform and only passing reference to the crowning achievement of his first term, Obamacare, just as it's beginning to bear fruit for many Americans. And he didn't mention the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline by name, which Republicans favor as a job-creation opportunity but the White House has said Obama would veto.

READ: Obama: 'Tonight, we turn the page'

The speech was overall a rallying cry to progressives, a promise that he'll put up a fight for their priorities now that he's freed from the bounds of another reelection fight. It drew widespread praise from congressional Democrats, and near-uniform dismissal from Republicans.

But the omissions were a reminder that, though the President's popularity is on an upswing, his legacy remains unclear and his final two years in office will still be full of challenges.

The immigration reform snub was perhaps his most glaring hole. Obama only warned against "refighting past battles on immigration when we've got a system to fix," and called for empathy towards immigrants.

"Yes, passions still fly on immigration, but surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student, and agree that no one benefits when a hardworking mom is taken from her child, and that it's possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants," he said during Tuesday night's speech.

That's in contrast to his 2013 State of the Union speech, when he called for Congress to pass a comprehensive reform bill and declared: "Let's get this done."

Even last year he demanded, "let's get immigration reform done this year."

On this issue, however, Obama may be feeling less urgency because he's already done some of the work on his own, with his executive action delaying deportations for millions of immigrant families last year. But the omission underscores what a prickly subject it remains politically, one that's already the center of another spending fight on Capitol Hill that will come to a head next month.

Read more here:
What Obama didn't say

Al Jazeera America - Obama #39;s Speech on Immigration Reform
What #39;s at stake for immigrants after President Obama #39;s speech on immigration. Interview aired on November 20, 2014. Copyrights Reserved, Al Jazeera America, ...

By: Robert Valencia

View original post here:
Al Jazeera America - Obama's Speech on Immigration Reform - Video

Obama #39;s 2014 SOTU proposals: What he did and didn #39;t get done
Carbon emissions, immigration reform and a minimum wage hike: Which of President Obama #39;s 2014 State of the Union proposals actually got done? The Post #39;s Fact Checker, Glenn Kessler, on what...

By: Washington Post

View post:
Obama's 2014 SOTU proposals: What he did and didn't get done - Video

Story highlights Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo gave divergent SOTU responses for the GOP Curbelo mentioned immigration reform as a priority, while Ernst didn't mention it at all The disconnect reflects a broader struggle within the GOP to appease its base while reaching out to minority voters

One, given in Spanish by Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo, asked the President to "cooperate" with congressional Republicans to make immigration reform happen.

"We should also work through the appropriate channels to create permanent solutions for our immigration system, to secure our borders, modernize legal immigration, and strengthen our economy," Curbelo said in Spanish. "In the past, the President has expressed support for ideas like these. Now we ask him to cooperate with us to get it done."

The other, delivered in English by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, made no mention of reform. She gave a folksy pitch for Republican proposals to improve the economy, overhaul the tax code and open up new trade markets abroad.

While Curbelo and Ernst were the two officially-sanctioned GOP responses, a cacophony of Republicans spanning the ideological spectrum gave their own rebuttals throughout the night.

House Republicans had said Curbelo would be delivering a Spanish translation of Ernst's speech in a press release that went out last week, but by Wednesday morning, that note had been deleted from the release.

Curbelo told Politico he requested a copy of Ernst's prepared remarks and revised them to reflect his own priorities, and that GOP Leadership had okayed his version of the speech.

"I did not get any pushback whatsoever," he said.

The freshman House Republican said it was "a shame that Democrats would try to criticize us for each of us having our own priorities and ideas and making them known."

"I think leadership should be commended for encouraging those it selects to talk about their lives, their priorities and their vision," he said.

View post:
GOP rebuttals: 2 speeches, only 1 with immigration

Spanish- and English-speaking audiences received different messages Tuesday night during the official Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address.

Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who delivered the Spanish-language response, advocated working on immigration reform. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst left that issue out of her remarks in English entirely.

During Ernst's response, she discussed topics including improving the economy and simplifying the tax code. The Spanish-speaking audience heard Curbelo touch on immigration as well as education and Cuba -- topics Ernst also didn't address.

"We should also work through the appropriate channels to create permanent solutions for our immigration system, to secure our borders, modernize legal immigration and strengthen our economy," Curbelo said in Spanish. "In the past the president has expressed support for ideas like these. Now we ask him to cooperate with us to realize them."

Curbelo and Ernst gave the officially sanctioned GOP responses and a statement from the House Republican Conference said the two "delivered the same Republican message."

However, the statement also noted that they each "shared their unique stories and experiences to shape that narrative."

"The Republican Spanish-language response was a unique opportunity for me to address the concerns facing our nation as a whole while also sharing my own story and experiences that help shape my personal priorities in Congress," Curbelo said Wednesday. "The Republican leadership should be applauded for encouraging us to speak on these diverse issues."

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus discussed the differences on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program Wednesday. "I don't think it's that strange to have multiple people giving multiple responses to the State of the Union," he said.

But Mother Jones reported that House Republicans initially said in a press release that Curbelo would be "delivering the Spanish-language translated address." The word "translated" no longer appears in that press release.

The only time an actual literal translation of a response was done was in 2013, when Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) gave his speech in both Spanish and English, said Wadi Gaitan, press secretary for the House Republican Conference.

Go here to see the original:
GOP response to Obama speech includes immigration, but only in Spanish