WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's State of the Union address is drawing critical reviews from Tennessee Republicans.
Senator Lamar Alexander’s reaction was blunt, saying the ideas the president put forward were little more than “partisan proposals that don’t have any chance of becoming law.”
State Senator Bill Ketron was equally disparaging, suggesting that rather than promoting additional spending, the president should follow Tennessee’s example and balance the federal budget.
“He had an opportunity to say, ‘Let’s work together to reduce the federal bureaucracy and try to get our country back on track.’”
President Obama did give a nod to Tennessee during the annual speech. While promoting his idea to make free community college available nationwide, the president praised the state for leading the way.
“Tennessee, a state with Republican leadership, and Chicago, a city with Democratic leadership are showing that free community college is possible. I want to spread that idea all across America; that two years of community college become as free and universal in America as High School is today.”
The president is in Idaho today to promote the ideas he outlined during the State of the Union. He’ll be traveling next to Kansas.