President Barack Obama is living in an alternate reality in which he does not comprehend that Americans have soundly rejected his policies, according to Republican Rep. Ted Poe of Texas, who appeared Wednesday on
Newsmax TV's "America's Forum" to discuss the president's State of the Union address.
"The president did not get the November memo that the country rejected all of his policies, that's why Republicans won throughout the country, even in state houses," said Poe. "The president does not live in the real world. He is catering to Iran and he wants less sanctions on Iran. Are you kidding me? They are the state sponsor of terror. He doesn't understand or believe the war on terror is still going on and domestically, he's recycling old policies of the past."
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"Let's spend more money we don't have and let's tax people to do it. Americans have rejected more taxes and we have rejected more spending. He doesn't care. It's all about the president and it's not about the country. His arrogance and defiance was quite embarrassing."
When the president told the country Wednesday that he wants to compromise with the Republican-controlled Congress to effect positive change, he meant that he wants Republicans "to give in to all the things he wants," Poe said.
Obama's speech included plans to raise taxes on the rich, offer free community college, boost cybersecurity and expand access to broadband Internet.
Washington Post writer Dana Milbank called Obama's attitude toward terrorism "nonchalant" and "full of swagger" but little substance.
"He dwelled on the topic only long enough to say he'd 'continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks' and 'keep our country safe while strengthening privacy,'"
Milbank wrote.
Poe agreed.
"He's talking about things the way he wishes they were and they're not," he said. "ISIS is on the rise, you have homegrown terrorists that are now showing their faces, committing crimes in their native country, they have been overseas, trained by ISIS, going back to their native countries and are committing crimes. ISIL is in Syria.
"We're not arming the Kurds as we should because the want to fight their own battles. The war on terror or the fight against ISIS is not as successful as it could be, but the president thinks it is, not living in the reality. Releasing more terrorists from Gitmo and sending them back to Yemen."
Republicans will not cave to Obama's defiance and will forge ahead to do what the electorate has asked, Poe added.
"The country doesn't like what the president has done," he said. "He talks about the Affordable Care Act and that's the biggest tax increase in American history. Those policies that the president talked about are policies that the country has rejected, we represent the country and we're going to do what's right by the country. The president can do whatever he thinks he needs to do to make himself look good."
The middle class has been "hammered" by taxes and regulations imposed by the president via Obamacare, according to Poe, and taxing people more is only going to make things worse.
"The economy is not recovering for the middle class because of his policy and now he wants more taxes," he said. "More taxes is not the answer and it's not going to occur."
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