On January 28, Gov. Gary Locke (D-WA) delivered the Democratic response to President Bush’s State of the Union address, focusing his remarks on state of the economy.
“In too many ways, our country is headed in the wrong direction,” he charged, calling the President’s economic stimulus plan, “upside down economics.” Noting that the economy is “limping along,” he criticized the President’s proposed tax cuts, which he said would benefit the wealthy, while states, cities, and rural communities are suffering a budget crisis. “We’re being forced to cut vital services from police to fire to health care,” he stated.
“We need a White House that understands the challenges our communities and people are facing across America,” said Gov. Locke, asserting that the Democratic stimulus plan would “give our economy a jump-start” and provide tax relief for middle-class, working families. Outlining his party’s proposal, he said the plan would provide incentives for businesses and an immediate extension of unemployment benefits “for nearly a million American workers who have already exhausted their benefits.”
Gov. Locke criticized the President for failing to provide enough funding for education, highlighting that Democrats worked with Republicans last year to pass a new and more demanding education bill. “We say we want to leave no child behind, but our schools need more than kind words about education from Washington, D.C.,” he admonished.
Regarding a prescription drug benefit for seniors, he charged that the President’s plan would force senior citizens to “give up their doctor or join an HMO to get the medicine they need.” He added, “That wouldn’t save Medicare; it would privatize it.”
Additionally, Gov. Locke pledged that Democrats would work to create jobs and strengthen homeland security. “We will fight to protect a woman’s right to choose, and we will fight for affirmative action, equal opportunity, and diversity in our schools and our workplaces,” he said.
