Wyoming Republicans aren’t too happy with the vision President Obama laid out in his State of the Union address. The President laid out an ambitious agenda. He wants to invest to increase the minimum wage, spur investments in infrastructure, and continue taking steps to address climate change.
Democrats are cheering on that agenda while Republicans are bristling because the president says he’ll use executive orders whenever possible to bypass G-O-P opposition. Senator John Barrasso says the president missed an opportunity to reach across the aisle.
"The president ought to be working with members of both parties on things where there is bipartisan agreement right now."
Even before the speech Senator Mike Enzi said the president’s call for hiking the minimum wage misguided. Barrasso agrees. He says instead of taking executive action to put new regulations on the oil and gas industry the president ought to be spurring job creation by expanding U-S energy exploration.
"What we are seeing is that we are getting more, and more people working part time who want to be fulltime. And they can’t find fulltime jobs, and it is a result of the policies of the president."
It’s an election year and if reaction to the State of the Union address is any indicator this year promises to be heavy on politics and light on bipartisan legislation.