until Obama unveils his budget on Thursday. “That should be the standard bearer on how we fund his ideas. But as Obama said, there are going to have to be sacrifices. One of the problems of the past administration is they wanted all benefits and no burdens. We have to sacrifice in order for America to be greater in the future,†Jackson-Lee said.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican rising star, delivered his party’s response to Obama’s address. Oddly, however, he prepared his remarks without knowing what the president would say.
While acknowledging that Republicans have lost voters’ trust, Jindal contends that Democrats are taking the wrong approach to repairing the economy. “Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt,†he said. “We appreciate [Obama’s] message of hope, but sometimes it seems we look for hope in different places. Democratic leaders in Washington place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you — the American people.â€
Deborah Creighton Skinner contributed to this article.