Obama’s Toughest Critics

When I said on CNN last night that President Obama had given a pretty good speech, and when Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers gave a very positive Republican response, I doubt any of us realized what the Democrats would go on to say about the President’s address.

After seeing some of their comments, however, I thought some of the best surrogates for Republicans last night were the Senate Democrats running for reelection.

Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers, who leads the House Republican Conference, did an excellent job describing a conservative approach to governing. Her speech was warm, hopeful, and looked toward the future. She is a real leader in the party.

In contrast to the broadly positive assessment to the President’s speech among Republicans–notwithstanding our many policy disagreements–many members of Obama’s own party were amazingly critical.

Here’s what Senator Mark Pryor, the Arkansas Democrat, had to say about the President’s speech:

Overall, I’m disappointed with the President’s State of the Union address because he was heavy on rhetoric, but light on specifics about how we can move our country forward.

I’ve always said that I’ll work with the President when I think he’s right, but oppose him when I think he’s wrong. That’s why I’ve opposed his policies on gun control, the Keystone Pipeline, military action in Syria, regulatory overreach on our farms — to name a few — and why I’ll continue to oppose his agenda when it’s bad for Arkansas and our country.

I had hoped he would strike a more bipartisan tone because, if recent history shows anything, red vs. blue is dead end politics.

Senator Mark Begich, a Democrat from Alaska, was even more blunt in his language. Asked if he would welcome the President to campaign with him in Alaska, the Senator responded:

First I’ll tell you when I ran and won was the same year he ran for his first election for the presidency. He lost Alaska by 22 points and I still won my election. If he wants to come up, I’m not really interested in campaigning.

What I’d like him to do is see why his policies are wrong–on ANWR for example. He opposes oil and gas development…I’d like to be able to show him some of the issues we’ve battled with the federal government on and try to get his policies changed that directly affect us.

You have got to be very careful of how far you extend those executive powers…I think that’s going to upset the balance and also create a lot of controversy not just from Republicans, but some of us that are much more moderate and view this careful balance that we have a role here…If they go too far you’ll clearly hear push back from me. There’s no question about it.

Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, echoed Begich’s criticism of the President’s promise to act on his own, without Congress. Manchin (who isn’t even up for reelection this year) said the idea “rubs a lot of people wrong. It rubs, I gotta be honest, me too…I think a couple of times the remarks were made like, ‘I will do, even exceed if I need to, to do what I think is right.’ And I’m praying to God that’s not what he meant and not what he tries to do.”

Also last night, Democratic Senator Mark Udall refused three times on CNN to say whether he would join the President for campaign events in his home state of Colorado, where he is on the ballot this fall. Senator Kay Hagan, another Democrat running for reelection, similarly declined to appear with the President at his recent event in North Carolina.

You know a president is really in trouble when his own party produces his harshest critics, and does so more than nine months before an election. Probably not since the Carter years have incumbents so conspicuously abandoned a president of their own party. And there is certainly more to come.

Perhaps a few of these senators now taking pains to distance themselves from the President should have considered the wishes of the people they represent when voting for Obamacare, for historically irresponsible budgets, and for consolidating Harry Reid’s power.

In November, the voters will decide whether they believe their senators are really independent voices in Washington, or whether these Democrats are just telling them what they want to hear.