CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Mountain State’s GOP leaders had heavy criticism in response to President Obama’s final State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Obama outlined four main questions that he believed had to be answered as the United States moves forward in his speech, addressing a variety of issues from climate change to national security to the economy.
“I think it was very general. I was looking for more specifics, particularly in areas on national security, economic growth; drug prevention,” said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. “He mentioned all those but didn’t really get into specific how to’s and how we’re going to work together.”
Third District Congressman Evan Jenkins said he was outraged by Obama’s use of the phrase “dirty energy” to twice describe coal.
“His legacy is not good in our state. We feel it each and every day,” Jenkins said. “His words tonight were pretty hollow. To use the State of the Union address to talk to the country and talk to the world and put who we are, what we do down in such a derogatory way was an outrage to me.”
Capito agreed that what she heard from Obama Tuesday night didn’t bode well for coal moving forward.
“He doubled down on his climate change policies. He basically said that we’re going to move forward with more jobs in renewable and clean energy,” she said. “He tried to say energy is more affordable on the renewable side but doesn’t acknowledge that there’s enormous tax credit in the wind and solar area.”
Both Capito and Jenkins saw the Obama administration’s attitude toward ISIS as far too casual.
“Let’s not kid ourselves. This president called ISIS the JV team. They have underestimated Islamic extremism at every step of the way. They can’t even call it what it is,” Jenkins said. “The president just has a different view of the United States’ standing in the world.”
Capito wanted to hear more specific solutions on combating ISIS and terrorism, but agreed with Obama’s attitude that anti-Islamic sentiment should be avoided.
“I do agree with the president in terms of this country was founded on religious freedoms, on equality; on respecting other people’s opinions,” Capito said. “That is the beauty of our freedom. I think we have to make sure our rhetoric doesn’t bite the people that really shouldn’t be held accountable for (terrorism).”
Congressman David McKinley posted a YouTube video in response to the State of the Union, in which he criticized both the economy and foreign policy under Obama.
Iraq and Afghanistan are still in the headlines, but now they’ve been joined by ISIS terrorizing parts of Syria and Iraq, instability in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, North Korea testing new nuclear weapons, Russian aggression towards Ukraine, and Iranian missile tests and pursuit of nuclear weapons. America’s foreign policy is a disaster,” he said in part of the video.
Capito said that regardless of opposing many of Obama’s policies, it was an honor to attend nonetheless.
“It’s an honor that the voters have given me and so I’m thankful for that. I feel very blessed to be right on a front row seat,” she said.
A special guest of Michelle Obama at Tuesday night’s State of the Union was Cary Dixon, a Huntington woman whose son is fighting addiction.
Dixon spoke passionately on the struggles of drug addiction when Obama visited Charleston in October for a forum on the issue.
Obama’s final State of the Union ran just under an hour.