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Video Special: Fischer ‘disappointed’ with State of the Union Address

By   /   February 13, 2013  /   57 Comments

Joe Jordan | Nebraska Watchdog

Attending her first State of the Union Address, as a newly minted member of the Senate, Nebraska’s Deb Fischer was less than impressed…ditto for her fellow Nebraska Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Deb Fischer

Fischer said she was “disappointed” President Obama failed to deliver any realistic ideas to cut government spending.

“The President focused his speech on plans to increase spending under the pretext of job creation,” Fischer announced in a YouTube video (see excerpt below) following Monday night’s one hour address.

The state’s senior senator, Mike Johanns, complained about four years of “stirring sound bites” that amount to little more than “calls for higher taxes and increased spending.”

While the President’s speech also addressed immigration reform, winding down the war in Afghanistan and greater gun control Fischer and Johanns along with Congressmen Adrian Smith and Lee Terry aimed their post game comments at pocket book issues.

In a statement to Nebraska Watchdog, Terry briefly applauded the President’s “focus” on the economy. But the Omaha Congressman quickly added, “We need to do more. We have too many people out of work.”

Smith said he was glad to hear the President talk up tax reform but warned that changes in the tax system should not be a “money grab” by the government.

Congressman Jeff Fortenberry noted the President’s “reasonable and responsible plan” in Afghanistan—34,000 troops home by this time next year and an end to the war by the end of 2014.

But similar to his Nebraska colleagues Fortenberry accused the President of lax policies here at home.

“It is very hard to understand why the President will not lay out a specific course for controlling spending.”

Contact Joe Jordan at joe@nebraskawatchdog.org

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Joe Jordan

  • NebraskaTPP

    both Senators have the same appraisal of the SOTU as most of us did. It was a fluff piece requiring more spending, and leaning towards a one world government. Cries to have African nation’s receive equal pay? What is that, but one world order talk. And the green ribbons symbolizing that they care more for children than other people. What a crock. Fischer is appearing as the only true conservative out of the new freshmen Senators. Proud of her

  • Kevin

    Obama did not even have the dignity to recognize those who died because of his administrations incompetence in Libya.

    “As long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will do whatever we must to protect those who serve their country abroad, and we will maintain the best military the world has ever known.” -President Barack Obama

    So…. What happened with Bengahzi ? Those people were not protected serving our country abroad.

  • LukeinNE

    The whole chamber was just kinda meh last night. I think everyone knows its over. Aside from a couple small gun control things and more deficit battles, Obama’s a lame duck. All that stuff about climate change and so on is pure fantasy at this point.

  • smb1973

    we’re you equally upset when we were brought into the iraq war based on an intricate fabrication of lies? obviously the cost in both dollars and lives cast an immense shadow over anything that took place in libya and we punished that administration with 4 more years. the politics of international relations is an extremely messy one but if we are going to hold ideals so dear, i believe they should cross party lines. perhaps you do also. what i remember from the state of the unions from 2000-08 was a series of tough guys, bully threats that reinforced bad decision after bad decision and drug us deeper and deeper into a foreign affairs debacle while our nation at home slowly came apart financially.

  • smb1973

    “Fluff” is a bit dismissive word to use when describing a plan laid out by a man that just swept into a second term as leader of our nation with a landslide victory over the most decimated field of candidates ever put forth by the GOP, a fragmented and alienating party acting as if it were still the 1980′s. i would have the exact opposite opinion but i would also describe Fischer as one of the most embarrassing black eyes to Nebraska every to take a national spot light. That’s politics, i guess. Regarding the green ribbon, it was a bit more reassuring to me than the blind rabid fervor for which the right wingers demanded all “true patriots” don a flag pin during the 8 year decimation the Bush administration put on planet Earth. I understand the concept of “worker’s rights” drives the right mad. What I don’t understand is how the right, comprised of so many “workers”, fell into such a mass case of Stockholm Syndrome.

  • http://www.facebook.com/brian.personett.9 Brian Personett

    The criticizers are Republicans, the President is Democrat. Obama could have laid out a plan to raise defense spending, cut entitlement programs and give the 1% a tax break and Republicans STILL would have called it disappointing. Why? Because party politics is the only thing ANY of them are good for. Yes..it is that simple….BTW – My party affiliation is Republican….

  • smb1973

    i think the “lame duck” concept will come more clear after mid-term elections. right now, with an antiquated, fragmented, out-of-touch, alienating GOP, blind to women, immigrants, gays, anyone not rich and white or delusional with paranoia and rabid “patriotism”, it looks pretty good for his chances at having an non-obstructive congress. climate change being “pure fantasy” harkens to the “moral majority” governing through their monopoly on God and the bible. i, like many others, see a new day in this country. one in which we weathered the storm brought on by 8 years of “loot and pillage” politics by Bush and his klan.

  • LukeinNE

    Oh come on dude, your guy clearly won the election, but “landslide” is ridiculous. What’s more, the fact that he won doesn’t make it a good or effective speech (it wasn’t), nor does a 4 point election loss make the GOP fringe. Here’s a run down of popular vote margins of victory since 1960:

    23.2
    22.6
    18.2
    9.8
    8.5
    7.7
    7.2
    5.5
    3.9 <—- 2012
    2.4
    2.1
    0.7
    0.5
    0.1

    In short, Obama's "landslide" victory was below both the median and WAY below the mean as far as victory margins for the last 50 years go. Both the Democrats and Republicans have suffered 20+ (!) point margins of defeat and come back to win the presidency within a decade.

  • LukeinNE

    No, he won’t have a Democratic Congress, I flatly guarantee it. Midterm elections are older and whiter (good for the GOP). The president’s party has not retaken Congress in the 2nd term midterm elections in the modern US political era.

    It’ll be a small miracle if the Democrats take seats, it’s far more likely that they’ll lose seats, much less win back the House.

  • Jazzee

    excuse me but even hillary thehero of the left agreed to the Iraq war and weapons of mass destruction..so move on

  • Jazzee

    amen
    but I didn’t watch it but loved your comments
    obama is an empty lying suit

  • Jazzee

    landslide??? 3 million votes seriously?????????????????

  • Jazzee

    especially when the lefties keep saying ‘we don’t want to take your guns’ yeah sure nice try liars all of them

  • smb1973

    really, just move on? it’s that easy? i don’t think we’ll move on for many, many years but if it’s that convenient for you, go for it. i guess it might be healthier for you to just “move on” from libya in that case.

  • smb1973

    oh, i thought the president was elected by the electoral college.

  • smb1973

    broad sweeping generalizations like “liars all of them” is the type of narrow mindedness that is currently decimating the right. i’m all for it because i find their policies repulsive and counter productive to a healthy society. it is, however, the type of approach that has forced the entire GOP to reevaluate its platform. the snake is eating its own tail. i’d view those midterms with a little softer ego. we all saw how capable the tea party was at taking down its own people.

  • LukeinNE

    Just stop, you’re not going to win this. If we’re talking EV margin in the last 50 years, the median is 197, the mean is 231. Obama’s EV margin was 126. Way below average in modern American history.

    This is like a football team trying to claim a “blowout” over a 10 point win when the league average margin of victory is 17.

  • LukeinNE

    Did you just accuse someone of “broad sweeping generalizations?” How are any of your posts about the GOP *not* broad sweeping generalizations?

    And the Democrats won’t win the midterm elections, because the President’s party always loses midterm elections in his second term, end of story. This isn’t about policy disagreements, it’s just how American politics work. And if you go off about how this time is “different” may I remind you that the Republicans said the same thing about the polling around 4 months ago. The side that’s about to lose in politics *always* claims that well established rules are about to change, because “this time is different.”

  • smb1973

    there is nothing to win. it’s been won. we all watched the same election. you only need to look at the field put forth by the GOP, the campaigns run (across the board) and the end results to see how the tide has shifted. it is what it is. the good thing, we all lived through the Bush garbage. we’ll all live through this. in fact, the GOP may actually pull itself into the 21st century because of it. i would be happy with that. we need a functioning government. when 1/2 of it is so dysfunctional, no one wins. and really, for how long can you denigrate women and non-whites in the modern world and expect to remain legitimate. let’s all pray, and i know how much the right loves to pray, people like Rubio and Christie can rejuvenate that crusty old machine. might need to clean house a little of the freaks holding it hostage first.

  • smb1973

    care to show me the parallels of any of my statements to “lairs all of them”? do you think its a broad sweeping generalization to say the GOP is fragmented from within? being held hopstage by a fringe element? denigrating in its policy towards non-whites and women, or led us under false pretense into an extremely costly war?

  • LukeinNE

    1. Both parties are fragmented from within. Unions don’t like environmentalists who shut down work projects and don’t like immigrants who take their jobs. It’s the nature of the big tent party system.

    2. Saying that the GOP is held hostage by a fringe movement isn’t a generalization, it’s just stupid. If that was the case, Hagel wouldn’t be getting confirmed. Neither would Kerry. And we definitely would’ve gone over the fiscal cliff.

    3. How is its policy toward non-whites and women denigrating? Thinking that affirmative action is not only a bad idea but an expression of the bigotry of low expectations? Being pro-life is denigrating to women? Even if you claim they are, a substantial number of Republicans are pro-choice, support paths to citizenship etc, so yes, by definition this is a sweeping generalization.

    4. Yeah we messed up on Iraq. And I mean literally everyone when I say “we.” The CIA and intelligence agencies around the world were certain that Iraq had WMDs. So were Democratic leaders. That’s called making a mistake, not some diabolical scheme to start more wars.
    And Ron Paul, a Republican, voted against the Iraq intervention, so yes its a generalization to say all Republicans supported the Iraq War.

  • LukeinNE

    Just a tip, when you’re getting destroyed on a point, just let it go, don’t abruptly change the subject, its sophomoric.

  • Pat Boyle

    I’m sorry but where was the outrage when 12 American posts and embassies were attacked and a total of 53 Americans were killed at these locations when Bush was in office?

  • Pat Boyle

    smb 1973 owned you on that point. You lost me (lost my interest) on you previous post with all the “geek speak.”

    Referring to 3 million as a small number is just silly. How valid would your test be if your degrees of freedom were plus or minus 3 million?

  • Joan

    Move on huh? I would like to see Dick Cheney move his fat as* into a jail cell for all the lies and lives we lost in Irag. Try as you may Libya does not compare. You can try to white wash the Bush era but is down in history now as the worst.

  • Joan

    That is true Jazzee and go look up Stockholm Syndrome, you might learn something.

  • LukeinNE

    Basic statistics confuse you? “Mean” means average. The average popular vote percentage win in presidential elections over the last 50 years was 8.03%. The average electoral college margin of victory in the same period was 231.

    Obama’s margins in the 2012 election were 3.9% and 126, both way below historical average. SMB argued that 2012 constituted an Obama blowout. He’s wrong, period.

    The 3 million votes comment was not mine.

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    As both a Republican AND a former Army Officer with inside knowledge of the circumstances, I’ll say this: Everybody, including Sec. of State Collin Powell, was duped by the Bush Administration lies that were continually inundating the conversation, and that originated with Dick Cheney, about WMD’s in Iraq. Let’s also NOT forget about Dick Cheney’s act of TREASON in his retaliatory outing an undercover CIA operative just because her husband’s investigation revealed that Iraq did NOT possess fissionable uranium. Dick Cheney and his former employer, Haliburton, profited tens of millions of dollars on the blood of American lives lost in Iraq.

    So, Jazzee, until you have served our country and have REAL knowledge of the situation, NOT Fox News distortions and talking head blathering that echoes in the space between your ears, I suggest that you just STFU because the incident at Benghazi does NOT even come close to the travesty of the “wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan that Bush the Lesser and Darth Cheney sucked us into based off of out right lies to the American People, Congress and the International Community. Heed your own advice and “MoveOn” to something other than Bhengazi.

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    You need to readjust your tin-foil helmet. You would be proud of a Dick Cheney in drag now representing the mega wealthy benefactors that bought her an election. Deb Ficher isn’t fit to sweep up after the SOTU address, let alone pass comments as a newly-elected former State Senator hick from the sticks Koch sucker on topics that are WAY beyond her expertise. but she does sound SO convincing like a skipping record repeating the tired, worn talking points supplied to her by her AFP string-pullers.

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    Making comments on an address that you didn’t even watch? You ARE truly pathetic, and a shining example of all that’s wrong with America lately: Uninformed idiots passing judgements on things which they know nothing about like some kind of expert, solely based on somebody else’s “opinion”.

    You may think that Obama is an empty lying suit (of course Romney was the poster child for that), but you prove you’re just plain empty-headed.

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    What, Jazzee get some learnin’? Heavens forbid a Ditto Head let FACTS get in the way of their perception of reality!

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    Look at the Electoral College totals. It meets the definition of a landslide. Not to mention that Obama won BOTH elections with over 50% of the popular votes, something Bush the Lesser was UNABLE to do in EITHER election he “won”, and something that hasn’t been done since FDR by ANY candidate. I think you’re just bitter that more Americans can see with clarity the reality around them, than the poisonous lies that your world is built on.

  • Joan

    What a lying daughter of a German Sheppard you are Jazzee. I am about as left as you get and I worked on the Brady Bill and we did not want to take your guns then and we don’t want to take your guns now. Unless you use an AK47 with a 20 bullet magazine! Give me a break!

  • Kevin

    Actually I was. I was quite critical of the assertation that there were WMD’s without more proof.

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    Considering how much the GOP has tried (thankfully for the most part unsuccessfully) over the past twelve years to Gerrymander, disenfranchise, cheat and lie their way to “total domination” of a Fascist Corporate agenda, I would consider across the board, including the POTUS, the 2012 elections to be a “landslide”, not in the Nixon-McGovern sense (I was around for that, as well as ’68 and ’64), but in a giant “In your face” to the Corporate Dark Money trying to buy the American Electoral process thanks to the totally wrong Citizens United ruling. People Power won out over Corporate Power.

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    Luke, I tutored Statistical Analysis at UNL. With the change in the face of American Politics, Obama’s victory WAS considered a blowout by today’s standards of 50/50 gridlock.

  • Joan

    What a black mark Nebraska has on it’s Political horizon with Senator Deb Fischer in office. So far not one positive statement from her month and every comment she has made has been about something she knows nothing about. It looks like she and fellow Republicans are going to play the obstructionist game the next four years. Oh well, we will just have to take over the House the next election, obviously the right didn’t get the message by whats been posted here at this site. OBAMA RULES

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    You need to forgive the foaming at the mouth rabid dogs, they can not help what they’ve been bred and trained to think, say or do, it’s an instinctive reflex. I spent sixteen years as an Army Officer, been a Registered Republican for over 33 years, and FULLY support the VERY limited restrictions that are being proposed 100%! Civilians do NOT have a need for civilianized military assault rifles or high capacity magazines, PERIOD!

    What I find both so funny and discomforting is the rabid objections to the exact same legislation written and enacted by REPUBLICANS in reaction to the assassination attempt on President Reagan: The Brady Bill. These proposals are nothing more than just trying to re-authorize that which the Republican Party once not only endorsed, but pushed for.

    It just goes to show how far rabidly-to-the-right dangerous the Republican Party has become, and how ignorant and stupid their goose-stepping rank and file truly are, when common sense is thrown out the window just because some talking head on their favorite Propaganda Channel tells them lies and then tells them to oppose it.

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    Luke, in regards to 4), you’re talking out your anus. The CIA KNEW for years that there were NO WMD’s in Iraq and I know this for a FACT! Try enlightening yourself (if your dogma doesn’t get in the way) and read a book authored by a friend of mine, and former CIA analyst for Iraq, Pat Eddington entitled “Gassed in the Gulf” The CIA KNEW where the WMD’s were, KNEW we destroyed ALL of them after the Gulf War and KNEW that Iraq did NOT have the capability to build more following the Gulf War, but this information was INTENTIONALLY quashed by the Bush Administration, and Dick Cheney specifically, to promote the WMD lie post 9/11 as justification to invade Iraq, NOT to restore Democracy as was claimed, but TO secure the world’s third largest known oil reserves for the profit of the Oil Industry, Haliburton and Dick cheney personally.

    As for 3), those of us Republicans who are Pro-Choice, want a path to citizenship, know the economic soundness of a Single Payer health care system for the US or have any view point to the contrary of the Official Party Line are immediately marginalized, ostracized and excommunicated from the Party. Want proof? Just look at the sham of the NEGOP Party Convention last summer where ANY dissenting voices were silenced by Mark Falheson’s manipulations of the rules to prevent even the discussion of any alternate issues or candidates. Ron Paul was NOT a Republican. He hid his fascist and racist tendencies under the guise of “Libertarianism”, but called himself a Republican because we do not have a true democracy here in the US, just a two-party system that does not allow any other Party or label to exist legitimately in their gamed system.

    For somebody who tries to appear intelligent, you merely reveal yourself to be just another of the, albeit more verbose, mindless drones of the Corpro-fascist movement trying to take over America under the guise of “Conservative Republicanism”.

  • Watching_From_Lincoln

    Yet you were a good Party Dog and willingly jumped on the bandwagon. Where was your voice LOUDLY and PUBLICLY dissenting at the time???? I know where mine was, being soundly drowned out by the Republican Machine.

  • Kevin

    Hold a seance at my fathers grave and he’ll tell you all about my criticism of the H.W. Bush administration.

  • ToucheTurtle

    I am hereby submitting your name to Fox News as a contributor because you are obviously a genius and NO ONE has more knowledge and understanding than you do!!! We are absolutely honored to have you and your expertise at our disposal!!!

    Interesting that you identify yourself as a Republican . . . are you SURE??? I would have sworn you were nothing but a two-bit progressive and now you are disguising yourself!!! Come one . . you talk like a progressive, you write like a progressive and you use the trigger words of a progressive . . . BUT you are a Republican??? I think not, my friend!! You can fool some of the people SOME of the time . . . . .

  • ToucheTurtle

    And according to Leon Panetta, after ONE ten-minute conversation, the POTUS was “unavailable” . . . in otherwards, he went to BED!!!!! You are correct . . . only Democrats sounded the alarm . . . and Rome burned!!! Thank GOD we have loyal Republicans like you and WFL!!!

  • ToucheTurtle

    I have read several of YOUR unprofessional and very caustic responses and wonder who got up this morning and P*SSED in your Wheaties???

  • Kevin

    H.W. Bush only lost the popular vote once. Check your facts.

  • ToucheTurtle

    With all of your inside knowledge, and all your military expertise, and now your expertise in “tutoring Statistical Analysis at UNL, it is truly amazing to me that we don’t see you putting your name in the hat to run for Governor!!! Come on, a big tough Son of a Gun like you??? Why, you could mop the floor with any wimpy opponenty who you might face, and you could be the next Senator or Representative from Nebraska to replace the likes of Deb or Mike or any of the other boneheads (according to you) we currently have there. You could start down the path to Washington because there is obviously NOBODY who is smart, as talented, as educated, as verbally inclusive as you are!!! Hell, I might even vote for you . . . . if you run as a REPUBLICAN!!!!!

  • ToucheTurtle

    At least until the Court system gets done with him!! Even HE apparently is not completely ABOVE the law!!!

  • ToucheTurtle

    One thing about it, if the Dems take the House back in 2014 and continue down the path we are now one, there will be no doubt that they will OWN the outcome for the country . . . lock, stock and barrell!! It won’t work to try to blame everything bad that happens on the Republicans anymore!!! No, sometime the Dems will be held accountable, and I will be watching with interest to how they try to squirm out of it!

    I don’t know if you have children, but you might just want to consider what will happen if we incur another $6-8 trillion debt over the next four years and the interest rate starts to rise as it surely will! The Federal Reserve can’t artificially suppress the interest rates forever, and when the rates start to rise, the negative impact may well be overwhelming. No matter what you say, there WILL be a day of reconning . . .

  • Kevin

    Turnabout is fair play. The Dems did to both Bushs what the Reps are doing to Obama.

  • Joan

    IWhat a hoot you are ToucheTurtle…Bush nor Cheney aren’t in prison, you really don’t think you Republicans are going to get a conviction against the President. You all are just going to waste our tax dollars. The money would be better spent on investigating how you ALL tried to suppress the vote. I wish you would get a life!

  • Joan

    How quickly you forget President Clinton and the surplus he brought to this country that Bush wiped out.

  • Joan

    Don’t under estimate the power of women…We have had it with you white Republican males.

  • D. Mark

    We have 23 million of our citizens out of work! We have millions more who are working part-time jobs who would like to work full-time! Your President wants to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour and give an amnesty to ten to twenty million illegal immigrants so they can compete with our own citizens for the few jobs that are out there!
    Under his administration the food stamp program has increased 49.3% and we have 47,692,896 people on food stamps as of November 2012. One in seven adults and one in four children. He has a tough job in helping the middle class, the middle class is in worse shape than he will ever know!!

  • ToucheTurtle

    DUH . . . I was referring to his appointments which were ruled illegal and overturned!!!

    Don’t get your tail in a knot . . . I am pretty sure that SOMEONE was guilty of suppressing the vote, but honey, it was the “boogey man”!!! SOMEONE allowed millions of illegals to overrun our borders, gave them a “get-out-of-jail free card” and carried them to the polls . . . and it sure as H*LL wasn’t the Republicans!!!

    And in terms of “wasting our tax dollars” . . . you might not want to throw rocks because you guys live in the glass house and are the epitome of wasteful spending or did you forget Solyndra and all the other boondoggles we have dished out money for over the past four years!!!

    Go to WORK honey and pay your taxes . . . the Big Guy is getting ready to raise your tax rate on everything in sight!!! Praise the Lord and pass the collection plate!!!

  • Pat Boyle

    Basic stats don’t confuse me, you’re just boring.

  • Joan

    #1 Mr Turtle….Don’t call me honey, I would never let a snake like you near me you sexist pig!. #2 the things you stated above are not even worth the space you took up on this blog. Besides being a sexist you are a racist and a bigot as well as stupid.

  • LukeinNE

    Joan, you are entitled to your opinions, but not your facts. Clinton and Gingrich both claim that they balanced the budget, but they didn’t. They raided the Social Security trust and left a bunch of IOU’s there. There was never a surplus.