In the news biz, we receive emails all the time with comments about this or that. With last night's State of the Union Address, it was certainly no different. Here are the reactions from some "locals" who emailed us overnight.
I was very happy to see the president talk a fair amount about American energy as well as how it can grow American manufacturing. The question is if he’ll be serious about that and follow up with action. Here's my simple 3-point test:
First, increase Gulf and other offshore production dramatically so we don’t see more rigs leave the Gulf, as 11 have already done since 2010. Get permitting in the Gulf UP 40 percent from before the BP spill rather than DOWN 40 percent, as it is now. Redo the 5-year offshore lease plan so that it's double the last, not half as much as it is now.
Second, stop the EPA's unfounded, tabloid science attack on fracking. This is a process at the heart of the biggest U.S. natural gas and manufacturing opportunities of our lifetime.
And third, build the Keystone XL pipeline NOW. This project is huge, especially for U.S. jobs and energy since it has needed on-ramps to get oil from the Dakotas and Oklahoma to Gulf Coast refineries.
— Senator David Vitter
It is abundantly clear that this president has given up on governing and used the State of the Union address more as a campaign prop than actual forum to put ideas forth that will get America back on track. We’ve heard this all before. Despite unfulfilled promises and failed economic policies from his previous State of the Union Addresses, Barack Obama tried to use tonight as a platform to boost his campaign, but Americans deserve better. This speech reeked of desperation and it is clear that Barack Obama’s team in Chicago is worried about the continual rejection of his broken promises and failed economic policies
“President Obama has absolutely no record to run on, which is why we listened to another speech with metaphors, promises, and a doubling down on failed economic policies. It didn’t work previously, and it won’t work again. Fortunately for America, day after day, voters are beginning to realize that Barack Obama is wrong for our nation and they are ready to make him a one term president.
— Roger Villere, Jr., Chairman, Louisiana Republican Party
Tonight we heard more about the state of the president’s re-election campaign than about the State of the Union. Had he actually addressed the state of our country, the president would have acknowledged that there are million-and-a-half more unemployed Americans than when he took office, and that we’re in the longest period of sustained high unemployment since the Great Depression.
A real State of the Union would have had to acknowledge that our national debt is $4.6 trillion higher than when the president took office, and the Senate - which is led by his party - has not even passed a budget for 1,000 days. If President Obama really wanted to report on the State of the Union, then he would haveexplained how all of his deficit spending has created a situation in which our military is facing a trillion dollars in cuts. That’s not just unwise, it’s dangerous.
Tonight, if the president was actually describing the State of the Union, he should have told Americans that the price of a gallon of gas has skyrocketed by 83 percent during his presidency. He did talk about energy, but his words pale in comparison to his actions. Just last week the president rejected the Keystone Pipeline project that would’ve created thousands of immediate jobs, and given a source of stable oil from a friendly neighbor.
President Obama did not give the American people a State of the Union address. He simply raised the curtain on his re-election campaign. He had a lot to say about fairness. But there’s nothing fair about policies that destroy jobs, expand the number of poor in our country, and grow government at an explosive and destructive rate.
Tonight, the president gave us more of the same, along with the promise that he’ll continue pushing his failed policies, and continue blaming other people for the state of a union that’s now had three years of his leadership. Sorry, Mr. President, the American people know all too well what’s happening in our country. They know that bailouts, handouts and copouts have been themes of your administration, and they’ve had enough.
— Congressman John Fleming
We can all agree that creating jobs and strengthening our economy is priority number one. While our economy has improved significantly over the last year - gaining more than 100,000 jobs in each of the last six months - we are still not nearly where we should be. To improve our economy, both in Louisiana and nationally, we must restore our coastal ecosystem, focus on producing more domestic energy and give our small businesses the support they need to grow and create jobs.
I was glad to see the president focus on domestic energy production – it is something we have been focused on in Louisiana for decades and it is one of the reasons that our state unemployment rate is significantly below the national average. However, the pace of drilling permits for the OCS continues to be far too slow, maintaining uncertainly in an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of Louisianians and contributes billions of dollars a year to the U.S. economy. This is not good for our country and it is certainly not good for Louisiana. I have been pushing the administration to improve the speed, efficiency and transparency of drilling permits. I hope that the president is serious about improving this process so we can put America’s energy coast back to work, full steam ahead.
Another major part of making the Gulf Coast stronger is the bipartisan RESTORE Act, which will dedicate at least 80 percent of BP’s Clean Water Act penalties to Gulf states for urgently needed ecological restoration and economic recovery. While I had hoped the president would address the RESTORE Act this evening, he has said previously that a significant portion of the BP fines should go directly to the coast - I hope he will focus on this moving forward. Restoring and rebuilding our coastal wetlands is not just a local issue; it is crucial to protecting commerce that flows through the Mississippi River, benefitting our entire nation. I will continue to work with the administration and the many bipartisan supporters of the RESTORE Act to see this legislation signed into law.
I was happy to hear the president address ways to help spur innovation and entrepreneurship and assist small firms as they continue to grow and create jobs. We know that America is very good at creating new businesses, but we must work to be even better. As chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, I am constantly working to make the ecosystem for entrepreneurship even stronger in America and to support our small, start-up, fast growing businesses. I look forward to working with the president’s Startup America initiative to help spur growth and job creation in our country.
I am confident that we can achieve all of these goals, keep our fiscal house in order and address the growing wealth gap in our nation. I believe strongly that we must reduce wasteful government spending, but I also support asking those who make over $1 million a year to contribute a little more in taxes. This is only fair and it is the right thing to do. Asking a bit more from those who make over $1 million a year will help release the squeeze on the middle class, strengthen our economy, reduce our deficit, and allow our country to make the investments we need for a successful future.
— Senator Mary Landrieu
President Obama and his administration
continue to talk of job-creating energy policies, even mentioning in
his opening lines of how ‘we should be in control of our own
energy’. However, red tape, regulations and moratoriums will
continue for our industry unless the president’s so-called energy
policies and his rhetoric actually begin to operate on a parallel
track. Briggs continued by saying, “When we see the EPA scale back
their attacks on hydraulic fracking, when the first shovel hits the
ground for the Keystone project, and drilling in the Gulf is back to
full speed -these will be strong indicators that the administration
is truly doing everything they can to promote independence from
foreign oil and provide clean energy for our nation’s future.
— Don Briggs, President, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association
Everyone has an opinion. Now you know a few of them.
May the Blog Be With You.
