Last night, President Obama delivered one of his last State of the Unions. The President on Tuesday pitched a package of controversial policy proposals aimed at benefiting the middle-class. And while many think these ideas are good, there are many others who think his policies are out-of-touch with the needs of the country. Over the last week, the White House announced a package of policy proposals that are aimed at helping working Americans. Obama is pushing for the tripling of the child tax credit, increasing the capital gains taxes, and most notably make community college tuition free. These new policies have little chance of actually passing now that Republicans control both the Senate and Congress. But, Obama needs to position himself for the building fight taking place in less than a month: the passing of our country's budget.
Since The President's reelection in 2012, Obama's approval ratings have dropped leaving him with little political capital…. until recently. With a rebounding economy, President Obama is playing offense instead of defense. The President's aim in recent weeks is to paint the Democratic party as the one representing the middle-class. He even is planning to barnstorm the country in the next week to promote those policies, and the Democratic Party as a whole. The reality is that the President wants to increase his political capital for next month's budget fight.
President Obama wants the GOP to be the party that doesn't seem to care about 47% of Americans so he can have the upper hand in budget negotiations. Its no surprise his message Tuesday night took a every person, populist tone: Let's make our country fair once again and help the middle-class work their way up to the top.
Recognizing the threat, Republicans are also staking out a more populist tone to combat the caricature the President is trying to draw. Joni Ernst, one of the GOP's rising stars and former lieutenant, took the Republican Response to a similar place: "We see our neighbors agonize over stagnant wages and lost jobs. We see the hurt caused by canceled healthcare plans and higher monthly insurance bills…America has been hurting." Senator Ernst offers a new face, and a more down-to-Earth tone that could help
Republicans seem more concerned with the working-class.
Regardless of who is right, the budget fights this year will be intense. President Obama has already threatened to veto five different bills and Republicans are reeling over his use of executive action. While its unknown what this budget might actually contain, both Republicans and Democrats will try to out-position the other as the party caring more about struggling Americans. So I ask you, who will you believe?
Author Bio: Austin Kruger is a Junior at Boston University and Consulting Legal Analytics Associate at Argopoint .
Since The President's reelection in 2012, Obama's approval ratings have dropped leaving him with little political capital…. until recently. With a rebounding economy, President Obama is playing offense instead of defense. The President's aim in recent weeks is to paint the Democratic party as the one representing the middle-class. He even is planning to barnstorm the country in the next week to promote those policies, and the Democratic Party as a whole. The reality is that the President wants to increase his political capital for next month's budget fight.
President Obama wants the GOP to be the party that doesn't seem to care about 47% of Americans so he can have the upper hand in budget negotiations. Its no surprise his message Tuesday night took a every person, populist tone: Let's make our country fair once again and help the middle-class work their way up to the top.
Recognizing the threat, Republicans are also staking out a more populist tone to combat the caricature the President is trying to draw. Joni Ernst, one of the GOP's rising stars and former lieutenant, took the Republican Response to a similar place: "We see our neighbors agonize over stagnant wages and lost jobs. We see the hurt caused by canceled healthcare plans and higher monthly insurance bills…America has been hurting." Senator Ernst offers a new face, and a more down-to-Earth tone that could help
Republicans seem more concerned with the working-class.
Regardless of who is right, the budget fights this year will be intense. President Obama has already threatened to veto five different bills and Republicans are reeling over his use of executive action. While its unknown what this budget might actually contain, both Republicans and Democrats will try to out-position the other as the party caring more about struggling Americans. So I ask you, who will you believe?
Author Bio: Austin Kruger is a Junior at Boston University and Consulting Legal Analytics Associate at Argopoint .
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