Transcripts For ALJAZAM State Of The Union Expanded Coverage 20140129

Speech. Sure, its a thankless task. You end up trying to do something for your political party, and at the same time youll never be able to compete with the symbolism and stature and grandeur that goes into the state of union, and what you say usually gets lost because much of it is written before the president s transcript comes out and in addition you end up with a more memorable moment. Senator rubio, it was his water bottle. It has begun to snow outside in washington b. C. Oh, my. Yes, its coming down hard. You were keeping a time on the speech. How long was it . An hour and six minutes. It was a long one. We are figuring it was less that an hour. It took over an hour. We are about to hear the republican response from Cathy Mcmorris rogers. Lets listen. What an honour it is for me to be with you after the president s state of union. Foont tonight we honour america, a nation that has seen the gratest opportunities we have seen. A nation where we are not defined by our limits, but our participation. And a nation where a girl who worked at the mcdonaldss drive through to pay for college can be with you from the United States capital. But the most important moments right now are not happening here. They are not in the oval office or the house chamber. They are in your homes, kissing your kids goodnight. Figuring out how to pay the bills. Getting ready for tomorrows doctors visit. Waiting to hear from those you love serving in afghanistan, or searching for the big job interview. After all, we, the people, have been the foundation of america since her earliest days. People from all walks of life and all corners of the world. People who come to america because here no challenge is too grate and no dream too big. That is the genius of america. Tonight the president made more promises that sound good, but will not solve the problems facing americans. We want you to have a better life. The president wants that too. But we part ways when it comes to how to make that happen. Tonight id like to share a more hopeful republican village, one that empowers you, not the government. Empowering people to make their own decisions, not the government to do it for you. It helps people rise above the limits of posterity and protect the most vulnerable, and one where washington plays by the same rules as you do. Its a vision that is fair and offers the same future for every american. If you would have told me as a little girl that i would one day put my hand on the bible and be sworn in as the 20th woman in the house of representatives, i wouldnt think it would be possible. I grew up and picked apples before school. Dad drove a school bus and mum was a parttimebook keeper. They thought me to work hard, help others and always dream for more. When i showed my animals at the county fair, my personalities said, cathy, you need to save this money so you can go to college one day. So i did. I saved, worked hard and became the first in my family to graduate from college. The chance to go from my washington to this one was unexpected. I came to congress to help empower people, not politicians, to grow the working middle class, not the government. And to ensure that everyone in this country can find a job. Because a job is so much more than a pay check. It gives us purpose, dignity, and the foundation to build a future. I was single when i was elected. It wasnt long before i met brian, a retired Navy Commander and now we have three beautiful children, one born just eight weeks ago. Like all parents, we have high hopes and dreams for our children. But we also know what its like to face challenges. Three days after our son was born, cole, we got news no parent expects. Cole was diagnosed with downs syndrome. The doctors told us he could have endless complications, heard defects and even early alzheimers. They told us all the problems. But when we looked at our son, we saw only possibilities. We saw a gift from god. And today we see a sixyearold boy who dances to bruce springstein, who reads above grade level and is the best big brother in the world. We see all the things he can do, not those that cant. And cole and his sisters, grace and bryn made me determined to see the potential in every human life, that whether we are brorn with an extra chromosome or dollar to our name, we are not defined by our limits, but our potential. Our mission, not only as republicans, but americans, is to ensure that we are not bound by where we come from, but empowered which what we can become. That is the gap republicans are working to close. Its the gap we face between where you are and where you want to be. The president talks a lot about income and equality, but the real gap we face today is one of opportunity and equality. With this administrations policies, that gap has become far too wide. We see this gap growing every single day. We see it in our neighbours, struggling to find jobs. A husband who is working parttime. A child who drops out of college because she cant afford tuition, or parents outliving their life savings. Last month more americans stopped looking for a job than found one. Too many people are falling further and further behind because right now the president s policies are making peoples lives harder. Republicans have plans to close the gap, plans that will focus on jobs first, without spending, government bailouts and red tape. Every day we work to expand our recovery. One manufacturing job, nursing during at a time. We have plans to improve training systems, so you have a choice to determine where your kids go to school, so clem is affordable and skills training is modernized. Yes, its time to honour history of legal immunizition. We are working on a step by step solution to Immigration Reform by securing borders and making sure america will attract the best, brightest and hardest working from around the world. With too Many Americans living pay check to pay check we have solutions to help you take home more of your pay through lower taxes, Cheaper Energy cost and affordable halds care. Not long ago i had a letter from betty, who hoped the president s heath care law would save her money, instead they went up by 700 a month. We talked to too many people who received cancellation notices, or who can no longer see the doctors they always have. No, we shouldnt go back to the way things were. But this law is not working. Republicans believe Health Care Choices should be yours, not the gaffes, and that whether you are a boy with down syndrome or a woman with breast cancer, you can find coverage and a doctor who will treat you. We hope the president will join us in a year of real access, by empowering people, not by making their lives harder with unprecedented spending, higher taxes and fewer jobs. As republicans we advance these actions every day, because we believe in a government that trust people and does not limit where you finished because of where you started. That is what we stand for. Its for an america that is every bit of compassionate as it is successful. If we are successful years from now our children will say that we rebuilt the american dream. We built a working middle class that cap take in anyone, and a workforce that can take on the world. Whether you are a girl in kettle falls or a boy from brooklyn, our children should be able to say that we closed the gap. Our plan is one that dreams big for everyone, and turns its back on no one. The president said many things tonight. But now i ask him to listen to you. For the true state of union lies in your heart, and in your home. Tomorrow ill watch my son cole get on the school bus. Others will wait in the Doctors Office or interview for that first job. Some of us will celebrate new beginnings, others will face great challenges. All of us will wake up and do what is uniquely american. Well look forward to the balanced potential that lies ahead and give thanks to the brave men and women who answer add americas call to freedom like a sergeant who gave his life to protect all of ours. Tonight i offer a prayer a prayer for sergeant hesss family, your family and for our larger American Family that with the guidance of god, we may prove ourselves worthy of his blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For when we embrace these gifts we are doing our part to form a perfect union. May god guide you and our president and continue to bless the United States of america. Representative Cathy Mcmorris rogers speaking from capitol. We are monitoring alternative spornses. The official Tea Party Response and being given by mike lee, the republican senator from utah, and republican senator rand paul we are waiting to hear from, from kentucky. Well bring you some of that later. President ial historian laura brown. What did you think of that response . I think it was too much of a personal Campaign Stunt speech, and there really wasnt enough about what are the republican proposals or policies that they see that are different from the president s. Much of what she said was either personal or it was against the president. Doesnt she have to introduce herself. This is an attempt to introduce herself. She is in the leadership, but its tough for anybody in the opposing party to respond to a president in the state of the union, the majesty of the congress, its tough. At the same time i was struck and a little disappointed by her talking about, for instance, immigration, and only focussing on Border Security and not the issue of legalization of the 12 million here. She didnt say we want to work with the president on immigration or any issues. It was not a terrible oil partisan the veiled speech but at the same time i think what they are trying to do is boost their standing with women, boost their standing with minorities, possibly, because i think the women voter in this country is really turned off by a strong republican agenda, and its still the case. Well hear from two more responses to the president and see what they have to say as well. Does it strike you that to divide the republican voice in various ways, to have ms rogers give her statement, to have one from senator paul and senator lee. Its a divided party. Its underscores that. On who is the main spokesperson. As a democrat you like that a lot. Well, yes. It she is for the president ial elections, therell be primaries against the republican moderates or establishment, like i suspect mcmorris might be. Its a divided party. It will hurt them in 2016 in a president ial election if they cant get together. Well go to Mike Viqueira, the White House Correspondent. Hes made the trek there. What are you hearing there . First of all on Congress Woman Mcmorris Rogers speech. It was soft edge. I think governor richardson hit it on the head. Mitt romney lost the womens votes 5544 two novembers ago. This is a play to appeal to women voters. We heard her weave in a narrative. Bringing in the eldest of three children. Casting inequality in a republican like, a gap in quality and opportunity. As far as hard news was concerned you have to dig. I thought i heard something on immigration, she wasnt exactly concealia tory, but not entirely negative. A year ago they would have slammed a path to citizenship. Whether a green card or full fellowship. In the senate bim, she did not say that, she didnt reject any of that. She said she wanted to go piece i piece by piece. It was a nuance that the Congress Woman talked about. One other thing, she criticised the Affordable Care act, and talked about a government plan. A lot of people say what republican plan. Its a gaming weakness. From what i could hear of it, i cant see, i heard her. I thought she hit her stride. Well get back to you in a second. Tony harris is at the headquarters in new york, where he followed both speeches. Appreciate it. I want to engage David Shuster on a couple of points. Let me put water on it, cold or whatever it is. Seems we saw two speeches, the president s state of union and the republican response that were about as safe as you get for big speeches. You would have to point to me the moment in the speech that moved the media in either direction for either side in the two speeches. I listened to governor richards talk about disappointment over not getting more out of the Foreign Policy debate. There is not a clean narrative on any of the conflict zones in the middle east, in syria. Its really a palestine peace talks. There is no clean narrative that the president can talk to and say we are getting real traction, we have an opportunity for a win here. To pick up on laura browns point, it was what it needed to be for the president , and that is a domestic speech about domestic policies. We are dealing with the news and the polls suggesting that americans are job number one for the president is to get america back to work. And what i heard was a speech where the president kind of revealed how hamstrung he is, the extent to which his hands are tied. He needs republican help to get the next piece of legislation passed. Theres not much that he can do, hes essentially contained. There was something of a fig leaf an Immigration Reform saying, okay, maybe we can work and get ag done, thatd be a major accomplishment, so the president almost stayed off of it. Youll look at the politics of the speech. Minimum wage. These are political issues, it seems like the speech is not about the legislation done as it was setting up the country saying, okay, we can but the republicans in a boxes it was chess. Look at the situation we are talking about. We are talking about a situation where the government shutdown. I think most observers would say the republicans took the brunt of that. Then you get on the heels of that a botched rollout of the Affordable Care act. And now you get to january, and the state of the union, and it fell to me that it was a safe speech, the response was safe, and little that is controversial, and even the jabs, to me, felt subtle. That may be smart too. For president ial historyians, there may be longings for lings passed. Once upon a time there was a response from an Opposition Party theyd anticipate. We knew that the president was going to talk about minimum wage and Health Reforms and health care. No alternative plan or addressing minimum wage in the republican response. No addressing immigration, so again it felt like safe speeches talking period of time one another k thinking how can they cobble together a winning speech. A number of of them from worried about the standing with women, but it felt like a political speech, not a legislative lets get it down. Back to our colleagues in washington dv. Thank you. Back to Washington State where Allen Schauffler is standing by. The people in Washington State follow this carefully. She talked a lot about her roots. All right. Obviously we are having technical problems with the live shot. I wanted to go back to the president ial historian. You know the most one of the most interesting things i heard tonight is when i asked you whether or not this is one for the history books, you said no. And i have been thinking about that since then. Im not talking about Cathy Mcmorris rogers, but the president of the United States, as this sinks in, we heard today that it might not be a laundry list. It sure was the laundry list, it was the longest i have heard in a long time. When i looked at this thing in its entirety, what i saw was yes, there was the laundry list aspect. As i mentioned before, there was a lot of credit claiming, trying to bring up past legislative successors, whether it was race to the top or any of huhs other sort of his other sort of opportunities that he had put forward, and that credit claiming is common in an Election Year. As they said, its something you want to do to give your party a platform to run on. More than anything, it was safe. That is a great description of the peach. They were small proposals, the responses were small. Let me say one quick thing about the opposition response. Yes, the republicans have a deluded message. This is not the first time. In 198412 democrats responded to ronald reagan, there were times, and when you look back to when the original opposition response began in 1956 it was because l. B. J. Had done a phenomenal job in 1965, passed much of his legislation in the legislative session, and by 66 the republicans thought we better come back and respond to this. They dont call it the republican or democratic profile personality speech. If its going to be a response and you have a congress that is opposed to almost everything that this president has done in years, why not take the opportunity to really respond to him . Son some of the more contentious issues the president mentioned they voted more than 40 times to take down the Affordable Care act. And while she critiqued it, there was no attempt to embody some of that opposition real principled in many cases, political in some case, but real opposition to almost everything in the president s domestic program. First to show how old i am, i think i was one of the 12. Were you . I remember jim wright asking me to do it, i think i was. A memorable feat. I didnt even remember. But i do think that there was a little bit of defiance in the president. When you go up and say, im going to do executive orders if you dont do what i want, we havent talked about energy or climate change, but he basically said, im going to do something on that, and congress, you need to join me. He bragged about marijuanay. The Energy Component was the longest i have seen, talking about shale gas and renewables. We are better off energy wise, and hes taking credit for that. I do see in his speech he as upbeat, he was strong. Other speeches he was a little more nuanced. This one was the most important year. You go into the last two years and get into the lame duck status. This is the year he either gets Immigration Reform, something on climate change, tax reform, on a budget. This is the year. My hope is that he focuses on Immigration Reform. If he has health care and immigration, it will be a good second term. I want to talk about health care, but before well go to libby casey, who is on capitol hill. She has been following the speeches and reaction. What are you hearing . I talked to the democrat of texas, the senator, and he deminted the president did not give specifics as he has done in the past. Congress say thats for the bes. Republican will meet and huddle up and talk about their approach and whether they want to get anything rolling. The president went a little vague on that, so republicans have a bit of breathing room in the hopes of getting something accomplished. As we talked to other democrats, they are giving favourable reviews to what the president said, especially on the domestic pront. We talked to a republican who is upset about the use of the pen and the phone, and what that means, cutting out members of congress. Pretty predictable. Thank you, well get back to you. In the meantime well say goodbye to joie chen, who has been my faithful compadry as we continue this process. Shes on her way to get ready for her own program at midnight. Thank you very much. Well continue our discussion as it continues to snow outside of washington dc on this fifth state of union speech of the president of the United States and republican response, after this. Lets make this a year of action. Thats what most americans want for all of us, in this chamber, to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations. And what i believe unites the people of this nation regardless of race, age, young or old, is the profound belief in opportunity for us all. The notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead in america. I would like to share a more hopeful republican vision, one that empowers you, not the government. One that empowers free markets, allowing you to make your own decision, not the government for you. Helping families rise above poverty and protect the most vulnerable, and one where washington plays by the same rules you do. Its a vision that is fair and offers the promise of a better future, every american. The present state of the union and the republican response we are watching all of this tonight. Mike viqueira is on capitol hill with more. Mike . I think its the definition of small ball what you heard from the president tonight. Bill clinton made it famous, small issues. President obama didnt mention school uniforms, but what he is proposing is, by definition, going to be of a smaller scale. He cant to go around congress and do things by executive order. He can provide tax incentives. Hell go through the ways and means, the finance committee. He proposed a starter savings account for individuals who do not j employer based accounts. Something about that. Hes hitting the road over the course of the next few days and will talk about that, particularly in pittsburg. Tomorrow morning, its in maryland, just outside washington , talking about the minimum wage. He proposed a rise of 2. 10. A relatively small universe and are talking about doing it at the beginning of next year and only for new contracts. At the same time the president is pushing the initiatives, blowing the dog whistle to democrats and key support groups to say, look, im fighting hard for what i can do in the face of gridlock, theres little he can do. The big ticket items over the court of the program. The white house sees an opening. We heard in the republicans response, Cathy Mcmorris rogers gave almost a tacet approval to the response, a path to citizenship or the green card. Some of the folks and the outside conservative groups are picking up on that and criticising her for handling it that way. Thank you very much. The president made it clear, hes not going to wait around for congress to act. Its not going over well with some parts of capitol hill. Lets go back to libby casey, who has been engaging reaction. Run cans republicans are not pleased on the president s approach to move forward on items without their approval. They say that the republicans had their shot, and we are excited that the president is offering to move forward on his own. A big applause moment was when the democrat talked about health care reform, and democrats were grinning from ear to ear, pushing back, fighting against the republicans and their tries of repealing the health care law. As mike mentioned, what can the president do on his own . Beside talking about raising the minimum wage, he addressed other issues like getting broadband in more schools in america and working on hightech manufacturing hubs. He has given two hubs a start. He called on congress to fund more hubs, over a dozen. Congress hasnt done that. He is using existing money to get a handful started. A lot of these are what is called soft items, that the president can do by getting together corporations, fillan throughic groups, or other nonprofit charitable agencies. Items that the president wants to see, like empowering more men of colour. To do that hell work with the corporations in america. Also getting them on board to help 3 k. You have the private dollars and the brain trust at work, where do they go. Once you come up with ideas and private backing, what does the government do. Libby casey on capitol hill. Thank you. Lets get more of the republican reaction to the president s speech tonight from the Republican National committee headquarters, and Communications Director sean spicer. Hi. Hey. What give me your reaction to what the president had to say tonight, over all. I think libby and mike summed it up. There was a lot of small ball, a lot of things heard before. A good speech, well delivered. Hes let off, we are talking about a year of action and you have to wonder about the last six years, the last six state of the unions, where we had a lot of talk but not action, and you saw him get a lot of things down because he realised they made a lot of promises last year and hadnt done much in the way of fulfilling those things. Its a great speech, but probably into account more than that. After six years of being president , its probably not a good record reaching across getting things done. Thats why you see a lot of figuring out how to go around congress, because its been tough working with dcongress. When you talk about the minimum wage and theres an executive order raised at aiming the minimum wage, at least with the contracts, how does that go over when the president is trying to get the republicans to cooperate with him. We have to look at what it does to the economy in terms of job creation. This is a president saying lets Work Together and figure out what is best for the economy. He goes around congress, and its a little gimmicky, dealing with federal contracts at some time in the future, and only new one, instead of figuring out what is best for the economy, its gimmicky stuff, a dog whistle on the base. If he was concerned about job creation, which is what most americans are looking for. Hell take up some. 150 bills that the house republic cans have dealt with. Or deal with the creation of thousands of jobs. Into what was the Republican Party trying to do with republican Cathy Mcmorris rogers speech when it came to trying to deliver a message. What was the message you were trying to get over there . What she did is humanize a lot of the policies. We as republicans and as conservatives believe we have a better way that is not centered in washington dc, centring around families, Small Business and individuals doing great things, not getting the government in the way and prospering. She offered a voice in allowing us to talk about how we would do things differently if we were in charge or had the white house. David shuster in new york, i believe, has a question for you. Thank you for joining us. We want you to clarify, but what exactly is the republican position on the minimum wage. Do you support it or not . I dont think theres an official republican position on it. It goes from member to member. Theres a lot of concern. The speakers express a lot of concern. Its not as simple as saying lets raise it or not. Theres a huge economic impact. Theres a concern with when and how you do it in terms of job creation. Its easy to say lets raise the minimum wage, but you look at the teenagers and youth that are unemployed and uses the minimum wage as a temporary job and what a wage would do. Its a fair point. Its a bigger discussion. I agree. Solid and intellectual grounds you are on in making the argument. The question is a political one. There was a poll in january saying 71 of americans support the minimum wage and 52 of the government of the the white house say they are supporting it not just because of policy, but politics. Are you concerned that not having a clear position might put you behind the eight ball. . I understand the politics, as republicans we have talked about job creation and policies we are pushing that are putting people back to work. If you tell the millions of people that the unemployed have given up looking for work and we have seen that at a 36 year lou, telling them therell be an increase in a minimum wage for a job they dont have. We focus on how do we create more jobs and get the economy moving and get the message out that the focus should be job creation, putting more people back to earth. Until they get that, they are not concerned about the wages. Shaun spicer, thank you for being on the program. Back to tony harris. David stockman joins us from new york, a director of the office of management and budget underpresident raying jan. Thank you for your time. Give me your reaction, first, to the state of the reunion then ill ask you about the response. It was ritualized rhetoric, content free. Some are calling it small ball. I think it was marbles or tiddly winks. There was nothing to it. What was proposed, raising the minimum wage 40 would be the wrong thing to do. In our economy wage are too high and capital cheap thanks to the fed. If you raise the minimum wage youll drive automation and capital substitution. Youll have ipads in restaurants, not waiters. Hes on the wrong track. The democratic agenda is bankrupt intellectually. He had to fill the time with a lot of rhetoric and uplift and welldelivered oration. It was pointless and a waste of time. Whats the april to the the answer to unemployment history in this country, to job creation, what needs to happen to unlock the jobs in this country. Something we havent tried call Free Enterprise and letting the market worked. Theres virtually nothing washington can do about the job problem. Washington needs to mind its own business and get its fiscal house in ord, but directly there is almost nothing that washington can do or ever could do, and unfortunately we are caught up in a whole idea that they can solve huge problems that are behind its capacity, especially today when the government is intentionally bankrupt. There was little spending proposal in the speech, almost no tax relief proposals. The reason is we have a 700 billion deficit. Five years after recovering begins. I got to get in. Ali velshi. Can i hold you back . Not only are you a great smart any, you were an elected representative for a good amount of time, so you understand the politics. I love what you talk about. I think the state of union was a speech on a remarkable diet. It lacked policy. What was up with the republican response . I think it was worse. I think it was a 4th of july parade speech. I dont know what it had to do with the state of union, and democrats that the republicans are just as clueless as the white house. Main street economy, main street america is suffering. Its not helped by the fed putting Interest Rates at zero, allowing wall street to gamble to prosperity that is possibility changing. The fed is in the middle of a last meeting with ben bernanke. Interest rates probably will go up. Tell me now, because there are ways to look at this. Either washington can help the economy grow, do nothing to hurt the economy or they can be harmful to the economy, which is what i think the state of affairs has been for the last few years in congress. Where should washington be and how should they get there. Take the oath do no harm, look at the barriers that are created to the normal expansion and attempt to reduce or eliminate those barriers. Dont tell the public that by raising the minimum wage by 40 that well help anything. Well destroy jobs. That may be good or bad, but it is not the rite thing for the government to be doing. You just wrote a big Remarkable Book which i enjoyed reading. Let me ask you this . . Whether its the right or wrong thing to do, i want to go back to a point that David Shuster just made, its probably the political thing to do to raise the minimum wage. The Republican Party found themselves on the wrong side of the political argument with low wage earners, with women with gay, the if they are to win an election they need something. Those things have nothing to do with the role of government the the republicans should not put themselves in harm way. They should present sound, workable ideas to the deposit. The minimum wage is not one of them. The republicans ought to have guts and courage. And stand up and tell the government that it sounds good but it will destroy jobs and hurt the people you are going to help. If you want to help people on the minimum wage, we should enhance the income tax credit. If someone is willing to work a full year, lets add 10,000 to it through tax you know, finance, earned income tax credit. That way it will help raise the standard of living, but it will not destroy their job in the process. Thats what we ought to be doing. It would be remarkable in thats the debate we had. I prayed for that. Who is it, unless you rup again. Who presents these arguments in the Republican Party. Who can we find that will not go down an ideological, partisan or socially conservative road who will put forward mainstream positions that you put forward . Im not sure that theres anyone right now. The guy that comes close, as i think we could expect, is rand paul. I think hes right on antiwar, hes right on the spy state, hes right on the fed being destructive rather than helpful. I think hes right that we are going fiscally bankrupt and i think he has had the courage of his convictions when it comes to explaining the fundamentals of what i call free market economics. That is terrific. Before we let us go, David Shuster has a question. You mentioned minimum wage destroys jobs. What evidence is there in these states that jobs are being destroyed. Its been true over decades that if you raise the cost of labour, youll encourage management to substitute technology, equipment or machinery, or find ways to make the process more efficient. Some people will get higher wages, others will be displaced on the margin. There is clear economic logic and history. Thats the case regardless of what the wage has been. The government, when it comes in artificially changing the marketplace equation is doing more harm than good. Terrific conversation, thank you mr stockman. Back to washington with John Seigenthaler. In washington on capitol hill, White House Correspondent Mike Viqueira standing by with reaction. Mike . They say that freshman conservative republicans in the house of representatives are driving this train. A lot of agenda, such as the concrete proposals he had, waging the minimum wage, extending unemployment and doing something about Immigration Reforms, its in their hand. We have a congressman from philadelphia. The minimum page, should it be raised . In it should be, it shouldnt be at the federal level. The federal government does a bad job. How can you say that washington d. C. And new york should have the same miniature wage as spring grove. Its been the same. In north dakota they cant hire Convenience Store working for 15 to start. Having a minimum wage makes it lower for some. Part of your leadership, congresswoman left the door open for a greencard tore citizenship, what do you say . Most of us agree that immigration is broken and needs to be addressed. If it includes amnesty how do you describe that. Legalizing people here illegally. You are a no even if theres something that allows for people going back to their home country. Im not sure of the recipe. But those that stay and broke our laws can stay and become citizens and become part of the system. It doesnt honour what the country stands for or honours the people that came here legally, my grandfather. My grandmother as well. John boehner went through ta lot in the house trying to get people on board, outside groups, conservative groups and said, enough is enough, and passed the budget without a problem and the spending bill without a problem. What is the state of the Republican Party in the house of representatives in terms of huh you feel about leadership and the initiatives that have been passed . Wep know with the situation, wed like to be doing better but with a Minority Party we have to manage expectations. The speak are has a job to do. I wouldnt want it. I dont agree with everything. Me and my wife dont agree on egg everything, but we have to move forward. Theres not like therell be a revolt on the party. The president will be the president for the next three years. We accept that. We have to work within the confines of that framework. Now the president says its a year of action. Well do a lot of stuff through executive order. This is a decree, hes governing by decree. Its in the constitution to do what the per cent talks about. The white house things others, what do you say. Its rules by which we run the country. Worked for hundreds of years. We knew wed be divided and have differences of opinion. The system was set up for a reason. We are appreciated that the president anls that. On the other hand, hes saying he want to work with congress, as long as we do it his way. Thank you very much congressman. Conservatives in the house of representatives, it will be an interesting year. Remember, its been nds many times, this is an Election Year that will consume evers as we head to the spring and summer. Three years they have to work with him. Interesting comments. Our coverage. The state of union continues. Next middle east reaction to president obamas address. We dig deeper into the relationship between the u. S. And afghanistan. A year of action, thats president obamas message in his state of Union Address. We are back with the special coverage of the state of the union. The president talked about the economy and vowed to use executive authority to raise the minimum wage. Lets find how the speech was received from around the world. We have reaction from afghanistan, london, china and cuba. We start from geneva where Nick Schifrin joys us joins us with more from the syrian peace talks. Obama mentioned syria three times, relatively briefly, and the first time in the context of terrorism, the narrative that Bashar Alassad and his representatives have. They talk about terrorism being the cause of the war and say that fighting terrorism president obama ignored the largest humanitarian crisis in the world since world war ii, and you get a sense of disappointment from the Coalition Representatives and the opposition, tweeting throughout the speech, substantiating by saying obama you must call for Bashar Alassad to be tried in an International Criminal court, we cannot let him get away with crimes of human ta. You get a sense of disappointment. Freedom and democracy do not come easily, help syria achieve theirs. Theres a sense that president obama failed to deliver what the opposition and coalition wanted to do. On iran, theres a sense that diplomacy is the only option, saying nothing an derail diplomacy, anyone that wants sanctions hell veto them. The sanctions would derail the diplomatic process. The only thing that could berail the process is diplomacy. Theres no guarantee that diplomacy will work the the goal is to get a longterm deal with rain to dis mantle its program in six months. Nick schifrin in geneva. While president obama addressed several Foreign Policy issues Vice President biden called pon ukraine Vice President biden offered u. S. Support for u. S. Negotiations to end the stand off in kiev eff. Jennifer glasse is in kiev with more on that. Vice President Biden called president Viktor Yanukovych twice once in the past few days, offering his support, to help to shepherd this democracy along to encourage Viktor Yanukovych to support democracy. He hopes hell repeal the laws, and put ukraine back to the path of democracy. Vice President Biden told the president heed like a Representative Government with the interests of the people at heart, and the United States has been instrumental here, very much tried to nudge along the government to move the country back to democracy. Thats what demonstrators believe they are fighting for. Theyve been out on Independence Square day and night since the end of november to pressure the government. Thats what they think its about, a fundamental fight for democracy. Theyll stay on the streets, theyll stay in the government buildings that they occupied to keep pressure on the government. Jennifer glasse in kiev. The president made a mention of the asia pacific region, that played an Important Role in american politics. Lees get reaction from craig liaison who is in beijing. Well interestingly china, americas biggest trade competitor was mentioned once, early in the speech, when the president said that the u. S. Would need to open up new markets and concentrate on exports because china and europe werent standing on the side lines. The asia pacific was mentioned. And would do it by extending a hand to countries devastated by disaster, mentioning the philippines and the typhoon and assistance offered. Thatll come as interest to key allies, particularly south korea and japan who are concerned by the rising influence of china and the increasing military expenditure that it is pursuing in this region. They would have hoped, i imagine, for a stronger message of support for the asia pacific region. Craig leeson reporting. Latin american leaders paid close attention particularly about immigration. We are joined from havana by adam. Although its mainly a domestic issue for American Voters immigration is being watched in latin america and mexico, central america. Millions of the countrys citizens are in the United States, many illegally, and its the big domestic issue that obama wants to get through been he leaves office. He mentioned the word immigration three times in the beach. This conference in heaviana havana, what we are seeing is regional groupings of countries trying to make their own decisions without including what is considered a heavy influenced washington. This is a Competitive Organization from 33 countries werent paying attention. The president of mexico is looking to see how any change in immigration affects many of his citizens. Adam, thank you. The president spent time talking about afghanistan. Its a country that will play a role in american Foreign Policy. Jane ferguson is live in kabul. Yes, barack obama mentioned, of course, explicitly that over 60,000 u. S. Troops have been brought home from afghanistan. There are 38,000 still here in the country. This is a curp year for any u. S. Presence in afghanistan. He mentioned in his speech barack obama said that if the Afghan Government signs a security pack with washington d. C. , theyll be allowed to keep some u. S. Troops here as part of that security agreement. That is because the u. S. Militarys mandate to be here runned out at the end of 2014. If they dont sign the security pact every u. S. Soldier will have to leave the country. Its likely to see 10,00012,000 stay to mentor and aid troops and do their own counterterrorism raids. That pact, the bilateral security agreement, is controversial in kabul and caused a breakdown of relations between washington d. C. And the president ial palace. Hamid karzai spoke to the press in the latest debacle in the tense relationship, saying that he will not sign the security pact until the u. S. Brings peace to afghanistan. He is holding out on the obama administration, but is due to be replaced in april when president ial elections happen. Obama has a choice. He can negotiate with hamid karzai, hoping he signs the agreement or he can wait for the replacement. Relations between washington and the palace have never been so bad. Thank you. I want to turn to heather, a former clinton speech writer and may have been involved in state of the unions. How did the president do in Foreign Policy when it came to state of the union speech . I was spraffed. A good quarter of the speech as National Security and Foreign Policy. It was talked at the back. I would ha i would have lost a lot of bets if you asked if he would mentbu it was a classic second term, not so much with the announcemen announcements, but where is he following through and number two, talking about supporting democracy and get rid of chemical weapons, sketch out what is the way the president rants to preach the world. What are the larger legacy items. If there was a laundry list, some said it would not happen. What did pt president accomplish when it came to getting his message across. I think you saw this in the response that theres a fight over who politically it is that is talking to americans about their anxieties. If you are not listening to a whole speech, who is saying the words and mentioning the things on americans minds. That list was designed to tick off all the things that folks are worrying about. Are you educating your kids, jobs. Its a very polltested laundry list. It is, but what do people come away with. I thought it was an emotional moment at the end. Other than that moment, what do people come away with if they say, did you watch the president s speech . He talked about jobs. Did you watch the president s speech . , the bit about the soldier was proud. Im glad about that. Did you watch the president s speech, does he want to get along with congress. A great deal was made about the president not turning on congress, but he came in with an executive order in the face of congress, and came in in which he said if Congress Wants to help, that was the line, they can do this, that doesnt sound like a president that thinks hell get much cooperation. What struck me is if im not watching this with my beltway lens on, how out of the way the chamber was going. There was a lot of applause and comedy. Everyone looked like they were playing nicely. In terms of now the president explained the jabs. They were there. But there was a sense on both sides lets walk back from some of the extreme hostility which we know the American People dont like and fight over which one of us are trying harder to be nice. Do we have the sound byte on health care . I am not sure that we do. Lets look at what the president had to say about health care. Thats a controversial issue. If we have it. Now, i do not expect to convince my republican friends on the merits of this law. [ laughs ] but i know that the American People are not interested in refighting old battles. So again if you have specific plans to cut costs, cover more people, increase choice, tell america what you would do differently, lets see if the numbers add up, but lets not have another 40 something votes to repeal a law that is helping millions of americans like amanda. So did it work . Did he disarm some of his toughest critics on this issue . I dont know that he did. His toughest critics came into this not to be disarmed. He projected to normal people, look how reasonable i am. We know we disagree. Lets move on. Its a deliberate strategy to deal with the wing of the Republican Party that doesnt want to move. All right. Well continue our coverage with the state of the union right after this. Last year was okay. This year i hope it will be better. A lot of things going on in the economy that i have no control over. Im dealing with it as it comes. I feel like the economy is getting better. Real estate is going up. I feel like things are going in a good direction not just for me, but other people. We are standing in doesnt los angeles, they are better off than a year ago. It is reflecting a lot of the growth that is great for the city and the country. Welcome back everyone from washington dc. Im John Seigenthaler and we gauge reaction to the president s state of the union speech. Libby casey is on capitol hill. We are talking to members of congress. Democrats are giving it favourable reviews, saying they thought it was a pinnacle speech for the president. He is talking about moving forward. They dont feel left behind or that congress is getting the short end of anything. One thing the president talked about was getting corporations, nonprofits to take initiatives and work with the government on planning, for things like pre k. Helping young men of colour find some opportunities, and they said, hey, we are in support of that. Right. Now we see senator ted cruz gaving a tea partytype of response. He has been walking through the capital and is followed by supporters, which is significant. People eager to hear what the pushback is for president barack obama tonight. Libby casey on capitol hill. Thank you very much. We go to Mike Viqueira, our White House Correspondent on capitol hill, gauging reaction as well. I think youll hear two reactions. We spoke with congressman perry, unmoved by some of the initiatives, angered props by the president s desire to go around congress and do what he can do through executive order. That will be a Sticking Point over the course of the year. I would say the president is not that confrontational. He said what he needed to say, within the base of his party, the core of his party, many standing up and applauding when he talked about going over the heads of congress, or around or through however you want to phrase it. I think the white house is setting up for two big fights, one for Immigration Reform and one an extension of Unemployment Benefits and a hike in the minimum wage. In the first case theres sign for hope. If you are in favour of reform it will not please everyone. Its the nature of compromise, and something that is missing. The house of representatives stands in the way on the second. Unemployment insurance and a hike in the minimum wage not in the cards at this point. Thank you, mike. Lets bring in amy cremer, the chair woman of the tea party express. Good to see you, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. What was your reaction to the president s speech . Well, i thought it was another Campaign Speech with a bunch of buzz words. I was waiting at any time for people to stand up with obama for president signs. Its ridiculous. We had six years of this. People should ask are you better off than where you were six years ago or four years ago or two years ago. The majority are not. What about go ahead, im sorry no, you go ahead. It wasnt president obamas speech that gave me hope, it was senator mike lees response, the Tea Party Response, where he put forward ideas and talked about a lot of things that his colleagues are working on. We dont need more than promises pandering to the base for political reasons. Let me talk about a couple of issues, one that is front and center, income and equality. What did you think about what the president had to say about that . Well, if hes so concerned about that, why didnt he focus on that six years ago. Its all about the economy, and there are no jobs out there. People are not creating jobs. Businesses are not creating jobs because theres no confidence in washington. You go and you move the minimum wage. People will lose their jobs, youll push jobs overseas. We cant afford that. His policies are not working. Its not washingtons place to create jobs, its washingtons place to create a progrowth environment. So that the businesses will create jobs for American People. Another people that we are talking about is Immigration Reform. Talk about what you heard when the president talked about Immigration Reform. Again, we had immigration laws on the books, but this administration is not enforcing it. Why is he talking about more immigration laws when he could be enforcing the laws that he had. How about lets secure the border because you cant do anything on immigration when you secure the boarder. I did a panel this past summer in new york with people across the aisle on the issue and the number one thing we agreed on was securing the border. I dont know why they have a problem with that. The president will be headed on the road to talk about these issues. Good to see you and have you on the program. Thanks very much. Good to see you. Thanks for having me. We continue our coverage with tony harris, back in new york. Appreciate it. What well do is bring in joe watkins, a former aide to george h. W. Bush. Great to see you. I thought you had left. No, im still here. Its great that you are still with us. Lets get your reaction to the president s speech and your response, your rehabilitation it the republican response, and ali velshi and David Shuster will join the conversation. I thought the president gave an expected welldelivered speech. Hes a talented speech maker, and i think americans have dom expect that of him. Maybe a little overexposed because we have seen him good speeches many times. For the most part the president tried to lower expectations on the part of the americans that he was going to get anything down this year going forward, unlike in the last six years. Hes basically telling you that he Knows Congress is not cooperating, so i may have to go it alone and use executive order to get things done. That is what it is. Dont expect a lot to happen this year, maybe one or two of the big things will be discussed, debated, at the end of all this folks, politics are local and democrats and republicans want to get reelected. In december they are 30 seats up. 21 are democrat held and republicans will look to see how many they can capture. Because a number went from mitt romney. I thought the guys will join in on this conversation i thought it was safe, but i thought the republican response from Congress Woman rogers was safe as well. I think it was i looking at this with outside the beltway eyes, inside the beltway types, all of us analysing the seasons you have to realise who the audience is. In the 2012 cycle we lost women by 11 points. To regain what we lost, we have to speak to the average voter. On that very point, the reason we heard the Congress Woman give the response to reach out to women, there was a moment where i thought the run cans might have harmed themselves when the president talked about equal pay. Here is what the president said and watch the response from half the chamber. Watch. Today women make up about half our workforce, but they still make 0. 77 for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong. In 2014 its an embarrassment. Women deserve equal pay for equal work. If you let that play, youd see someone sat on their hands. He sat up. Maybe we saw it wrong. I swear. As Republican Party has a problem with women voters that they didnt solve because women overwhelmingly support the minimum wage and some of the things the president talked about regarding equal pay. Republicans have a way to travel to be a Winning Party in 2016 to win the white house back. One way to do that is having a party that relates to folks that havent voted for republicans in the past. The l. G. B. T. Community, women we have to do better to win the white house in 2016, but the speech by Cathy Mcmorris rogers it was on point. For the average person that wanted to see someone like them. Thats what they saw, but someone that worked at mcdonalds, the first in her family to get a college degree. She was effective. Somebody what is a regular person. She was effective not on the policy, she didnt give us anything about the minimum wage or policies. We cant expect someone to respond to the state of the union why not. To go into detail. The audience the average americans watching in the 2012 cycle didnt vote for republicans, because they didnt see women that looked like themselves in leadership positions. Whatever point you want to make, there were a number of issues in the president s speech and response as well. Theres a vacuum of discussion about what role the government should have in creating prosperity for america. Theres a vacuum, no one has a message that resonates. America wants to know who does less harm to them. Theres an opportunity. We didnt see it in. Response or the speech. What arguments can be put forward. Republicans have to do a better job of framing the issue. David stockman did a good job explaining if you raise the wage it has an adverse effect. It hurts people at the lowest end because they may lose their job because employers are looking to save money, and owners of companies owe it to shared to provide value. Republicans have to find the right wording to get the message across. We have to do a better job to relating to poor americans and workingclass americans. Good to see you, thanks for your time. Thank you to ali velshi and David Shuster. Thank you for being in. That wraps it up for us here in new york city. Well send it back to the team in washington d. C. More more special coverage of the state unfortunate Union Address after this break. From the introduction to the parting words president obamas state of the union may not have been his most memorable, but there were moments that stood up. Lets bring you the highlights. Take a look. The president of the United States. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you. Tonight this chamber speaks with one voice to the people we represent. It is you, our citizens, who make the state of our union strong. But america does not stand still, and neither will i. So wherever and whenever i can take steps wowed legislation to expand opportunity for more american families, thats what ill do. Get those bills to my desk. Put more americans back to works. The Congress Needs to ensure the Unemployment Benefits you let expire. Women deserve equal pay for equal work because i believe when women succeed america succeeds. Give america a wage. If this congrs sends me a new sanction bill now that threatens to derail these talks, i will veto it. Cory is here tonight, and like the army he loves, like the america he servings, Sergeant First Class cory remburg never gives up and he does not quit. Cory. [ applause ] god bless you, and god bless the United States of america. [ applause ] and every might we like to end with an image that caught our eye. Todays freeze frame photo is actually video from here in washington dc. Here it is. The snow falling outside the capital where the president delivered his state of the Union Address tonight. From washington d. C. , well see you back here tomorrow night. Headlines are coming up next. Start with one issue education. Gun control. The gap between rich and poor. Job creation. Climate change. Tax policy. The economy. Iran. Healthcare. Ad guests on all sides of the debate. This is a right we should all have. Its just the way it is. Theres something seriously wrong. Theres been acrimony. The conservative ideal. Its an urgent need. And a host willing to ask the tough questions how do you explain it to yourself . And youll get. The inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on Al Jazeera America america tonights team of reporters breaks it down. So lets get Immigration Reform done this year. Michael oku on immigration. Adam play on jobs and the economy. Thats what Health Reform is all about. The peace of mind that if misfortune strikes you dont have to lose