Republicans were critical of President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address delivered Tuesday night.
Senator Lamar Alexander said, “Last year the Republican Senate majority made a real difference by passing several pieces of bipartisan legislation that will help American families, including the first major education reform since 2002 that fixes No Child Left Behind.
"This record shows that if President Obama focuses on what he agrees on with Congress instead of what we disagree on, there's quite a bit we could get done in 2016. The president has plenty of opportunities to work with the Republican majority to get things done that the American people want done.”
Congressman Chuck Fleischmann said, “Tonight I entered the House Chamber hopeful that we would hear a real plan from the President on how we are going to protect our nation from the growing terrorist threat and finally jumpstart our stalled economy. Instead the President used the opportunity to rationalize his failed economic and foreign policies and to divert attention away from the real issues facing our nation.
"It was made abundantly clear that the President’s primary objective in his final year in office will be defending his legacy. That legacy is a top-down, big-government approach that has given us the worst economic recovery in American history and stagnating middle class wages. The House is providing a different path, one that is driven from the bottom-up and will provide real opportunity and solutions by empowering the American people.”
Congressman Scott DesJarlais said, "Tonight’s address amounted to little more than the same empty rhetoric and broken promises that have come to define President Obama’s tenure in the White House. Rather than put forth a credible plan to restore our nation, the president chose to extol his legacy of pursuing a leftist agenda that has weakened our country both domestically and abroad.
"With the Obama administration coming to a conclusion, we must remain vigilant in preventing the White House from subsuming powers through the use of executive fiat that are expressly reserved for Congress. Whether it is gun control or immigration, any unilateral action violating our constitutional separation of powers must be met with stiff resistance in the House and Senate.”
Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Ryan Haynes said of President Barack Obama's final state of the Union address:
"Old habits die hard and the President fell right back into his role as divider-in-chief. In fact, President Obama couldn't be bothered to address the alarming situation with Iran detaining our sailors. He talked about the 'future we want.' Well, the future Americans want is one where despotic regimes don't make provocative actions without fear of repercussions.
"The last seven years we've witnessed a litany of failed policies that have made the world less safe, caused our health care costs to skyrocket, and our economy to sputter. This sort of political posturing at a time when citizens want answers from the White House merely sows the seeds for the defeat of the Democratic Party in November."
Rep. Tom Graves said in a video, "Tonight, we heard the president’s plans for his final year in office. Let’s be honest – it’s the same old stuff. It’s time to move on to new ideas and a brighter future.
"This year, we will put forward a conservative vision to make our nation more prosperous, restore health care freedom and make national defense a top priority once again.
"We want to empower individuals to make their own decisions and pursue their own American Dream. Our plan is to take power from Washington and give it back to the people – where it belongs.
"Already, we’ve proved that we can grow the economy, repeal Obamacare, protect innocent life, cut wasteful spending, secure the border, and destroy ISIS – we just need a new president who will work with us and sign these bills into law.
"I know it’s been a tough time for many in America. You might be one who fears for your family’s safety, or for your freedoms. You see people hurting. Your heart aches for our country.
"You are not alone. We are all in this together, and I know we can and will turn things around.
"I’ll leave you with a quote from Ronald Reagan: “The American Dream lives… As long as that dream lives, as long as we continue to defend it, America has a future, and all mankind has reason to hope.'”
Grant Starrett, Republican candidate for Congress in Tennessee's 4th District, said, "There were plenty of better ways to spend this evening than tuning into the State of the Union, and most Americans probably did them. The President did not say much interesting nor did he say anything about the 10 sailors captured by Iran this afternoon—though his press secretary bizarrely used the opportunity to highlight the Iranian nuclear deal. Obama did proclaim the bold non sequitur that Food Stamps did not cause the financial crisis, ignoring the fact that we're racking up $700 billion in debt to pay for a program that discourages work and family formation. I hope to earn the support of voters to join a Republican majority in Congress and a Republican President delivering a State of the Union announcing the reversal of the Obama agenda and placing our country on a path to prosperity and security."