eastern, senator roger wicker the national republican senatorial chair gives his reaction and an update on the senate gop priorities. america, know this action the shad hoe has passed and the state of the union is strong. host: president obama last night in his 6th state of the union address to congress and the american people. he called to make community college free for most students enhance credit for child care and the newly minuted g.o.p. congress rejected the president's ideas. beyond the economy, the president talked cuba iran and isis and gay marriage civil rights and climate change.

plenty of reaction from washington. we want to go outside the beltway and get your thoughts. democrats 202-748-2000. join the conversation on social media @c-spanwj is our handle or facebook.com/c-span and also send us an e-mail journal@c-span.org. we will take your thoughts your comments your critiques of the president's speech last night for the next hours here on the "wall street journal." here here is a little bit more from the president last night talking about the economy. [video clip.] >> at every step we were told our goals are too misguided, too ambitious, we would crush jobs and explode deficits. instead, we have seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade. our deficits cut by 2 similar 3

residence, and a stockmarket had a has kept inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years [applause.] there is good news people. so -- so the verdict is clear: middle class economics works. expanding opportunity works. and these policies will continue to work as long as politics don't get in the way. host: president obama in his 6th state of the union address talking about the economy. >> dominated his speech last night and it dominates the morning headlines. look at the fronts page of the waurl street journal, state of the union, obama makes middle

class pitch, ladies out aid to help middle class americans to a skeptical congress. the washington post front page: shadow of crisis has pass did. obama asserts an improving economy vined indicates his policies. the "new york times" this morning, their headline, obama defiantly sets an ambitious ajust a second a, uses the state of the union to focus on aiding the middle class. finally, the washington times this morning obama plan will transfer wealth to the poor. republicans slam trickle down taxes. we are getting your reaction to the state of the union address. we will do we will do so for the full three hours of today's "wall street journal." before calls we will go to the news desk. john mccardel has reaction up on capitol hill. >> reporter: speaker boehner may have spent the entire speech sitting behind the president but his press team was hard at work. a total of 34 tweets from

speaker boehner's official account during the speech and during the g.o.p. responses. the speaker summed up his reaction in three tweets saying president obama's are the wrong priorities, growing bureaucracy instead of america's economy. he said all the president offered is more taxes, more government and more of the same approach that has failed middle class families. veto threats and unserious proposals may make good political theatre but they won't distract the new american congress. by come paver son senator majority leader mitch mcconnell's account was quieter. three tweets linking to the official g.o.p. response. and his statement that he put up last night, senator majority leader mcconnell says the biggest problem is the president made a speech that makes it look like he's going to run for office again. his time for running is over. his time for governing hereto over the last two years of the

obama administration. he needs to work with the republican congress. what i hoped he would work for possible agreement, trade, infrastructure. those are the things we need to be concentrating on and netlet the next election occur in 2015. one interesting hill newspaper under the headline "obama snubs mccome" noting president obama made no mention last night of majority leader mitch mcconnell's recent ascension to that title of majority leader. he made a point of congratulating john boehner for winning the speakers' gavel at the start of his 20s 11 state of the union weeks after republicans ousted democrats. but he ignored the republican takeover of the senate. if you want to read more on that, that's in "the hill newspaper." we will track this morning's reaction from members of congress throughout today's "wall street journal" host: we will bring you what the democrats had to say.

it was about 60 minutes long. as we said the economy dominated his remarks. he did talk about other issues as well. so we will go to your take now. thomas in fort lauderdale. what did you make of it caller: i thought it was kind of reckless actually the $18 trillion debt we have i think that's like $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities and he wants to extend the debt tax more and he is doing -- he wants to do everything that's causing the problems more government more taxes more spending. it seems like like i said, it's reckless. sometimes i wonder you know the man has had al sharpton over to the white house 84 times. maybe the man ought to be drug tested because some of the things -- it's really reckless. host: maxine in new york a

democratic caller. high maxine. did you watch the whole speech? caller: yes, ma'am. i watched it three times. greta, i am going to say this right quick and get to my point real quick. i raised my kids. they are in their 30s. and two of them -- one of them is 27 years old. now, i would never let my kids watch c-span now because it's too racist. and you see the man who just make a comment. i don't want my kids -- i have grandkids. i do not want to teach them hate, and watching this channel right now, i wouldn't dare let my grand kids watch this channel the way i allowed my kids to when they were younger. to the point, it was great. i am about to graduate from an r n. program. but how will i pay off that bill? but i am going to pay it. you know what i mean? i pay my bills and i pay them on time. and he touched up on a lot of stuff, but i could not get over all of those angry white male

republicans. i am like, oh, my god. look what we have to deal with until we learn to go out and vote these people out. they are going to sit on their hands. they are not going to help the president at all. and i didn't like the way boehner was just eyeballing the back of the president. you know what i mean? host: all right, maxine. butch is next in paceson, arizona. hi butch. caller: good morning. the situation, you know, the conservatives, like when the president talks about giving a hand to children the dreamers or giving healthcare to children anything that has to do with children the republicans sit on their hands. the only thing they want to do is protect an embryo. after the baby passes the birthing world, they want nothing to do with children.

you know. they don't want to help them whatsoever. as long as they are in the womb that's when they care about children. host: okay. all right. vicky in paris, california democratic caller. vicky, what did you make the president's state of the union address? caller: i thought it was an excellent speech. this man he still has to fight so much hatred and evilness because when you are hateful, all of these so-called christians that like hucqabee how could he possibly be a christian and be up there with cat stevens or whatever that horrible man is and then come back and criticize the president and his wife for being with beyonce. beyonce does not dance on a pole but president obama did a great job, and he still has to fight. hatred immaturity and just

evilness. host: all right vicky. we will take more calls coming out throughout today's "wall street journal" but first to capitol hill where representative tom crites, the republican fromga is joining us from the canonhouse office building. let's begin with what the president had to say on the economy. he spoke for 25 minutes minutes and said the shadow of the crisis has passed. do you agree? >> i think not. i have we have had some uptick in the economy of late. >> that's good. if you see the policies of this administration, they will continue to increase not just the deficit but the debt as one of your callers talked about. and the fact is that the president didn't even mention the debt. 18 trill$18 trillion in debt. >> that's not just the number. every dollar that we put to debt has to be paid for from an interest standpoint and every dollar that we pay for interest doesn't go to healthcare doesn't go to education, doesn't go to infrastructure.

it doesn't go to national defense. within a very short period of time we are about to spend $1 trillion on the interest on our debt. we have to get other economy rolling and grow the economy so we can lift off -- i didn't hear the president talk about that. i heard him talking about dividing the nation between income and class, take from one person and giving to another. >> that's not the way we became the greatest nation in the history of the world. host: "the wall street journal" said made a middle-class pitch last night. what are the republicans' ideas to help middle class and low income americans? guest: we have passed them through the house. last congress the senate wouldn't pick any up. we have a jobs bill that would provide for more jobs creators to be more jobs to be created across this country. this year, already, we have passed through the house a higherhigh hire more veterans act. the president says he wants veterans to be able to be employed. we have passed a bill that would do just that. and what does the president say to that bill? he will veto it. we have passed a bill that would

increase the definition of full-time work from not 30 hours the way the president wants to be which it is right now, to 40 hours. so that's a fullly 1/3 increase in one's income. what does the president say he will do to that? veto it. what we have seen out of the president is a lot of lofty talk, a lot of great rhetoric. nothing that will bring about a healthy economy host: the president said he would veto anything from the republicans including the affordable care act immigration. what can republicans do? what tools do you have to respond to any veto? guest: what the american people said in november is that they want congress to speak with one voice. thank you, we have been given the opportunity to have both a republican house and a republican senate and what we need to do is pass quality, high positive legislation that gets people back to work that recognizes that healthcare is between a patient and a family and a doctor and not the federal

government, that unleashes our energy resources across this nation and that ensures that we have the greatest amount of national security and then put them on the president's desks and then the president has the choice. he can either sign it which means it will be good policy for the american people or he can vetoes 0 it, which is his opportunity and his choice. if he does that then the american people will know who is fighting here in washington for them, who is trying to get this nation on the right track and who is standing in the way. host: host where do you see republicans and the president agreeing and passing some legislative ini haveu issuetives? holy guest: one is the whole area of trade that the president talked about. he has been sitting on his hands on this. we have been begging him for years literally to get in this game and help some of his democrat colleagues recognize that the more trade we are able to utilize with other countries, the more that helps our middle class, the more that helps job creation in the united states. the area of infrastructure trans portation, we look forward

to get a transportation highway bill through the congress this year so that we can -- we repair our infrastructure, yes but also increase capacity in the most congested areas. then i am hopeful from a ways and means and a budget standpoint that we will be able to work on tax reform. the president has skirted the issue a bit. last night he talked a lot about raising taxes. what we believe needs to be done is wholesale tax reform so that we can get this economy rolling again and get jobs being created. i hope that the president recognizes that the ideas that we have been putting on the table are positive ideas that the american people sent us to washington after last november's election to do. host: sir specifically, what tax initiatives that the president talked about last night could republicans be open to in some sort of overall tax reform package? guest: the president talks about closing loopholes. we have been for closing loopholes before closing loopholes was cool. we have been urging decreasing the unusual of deductions and credits, lowering the rate

broadening the bates so that everybody is able to benefit from tax reduction. >> gets to this economy rolling again. the president talked -- has talked about -- i don't think he did last night but talked about decreasing the corporate tax rate. we have the highest business tax rate in the industrialized world so that we are not competitive when it relates to the global economy that we have in the area of taxes. the president has talked about bringing that down. we totally support that and look forward to working with the president on that bringing down taxes for both large and small businesses the, those job creators out there across the country. >> finally, congressman, what's it like to sit in the house chamber for a state of the union address? what does it mean to you? guest: it's a harkining back to the founders and the institutions that they have created. i am a little saddened though because i think it's become much more of a political speech as opposed to a policy speech and that's happened over the years through both administrations. i think that the tone ought to be set that we ought to be

working together ought to be getting together and solving the challenges that are before us that the american people sent us here to solve. if we do that, if we get things done here in washington on behalf of the american people then i know we can turn this economy around get the middle class rolling again, get jobs being created and have the world recognize america for what it ought to be, and that is the leader of the free world. host: as budget chairman sir what should americans can watching for from you? what's your first priority guest: to pass a budget through the house andnate gets to balance. we can't continue to run these deficits and debts and expect our economy is going to get rolling again. the president talked about deficits a little bit last night. what he didn't talk about is balancing the budget. >> that's absolutely imperative. every single one of your listeners, every single one of your viewers understands that they can't spend more money that be they have available to them to spend and they take in. the government is no different. we ought not be spending the kind of money that we don't have in this town. so we need to -- we will pass a

budget that will get the balance that will demonstrate the kind of policies whether it's tax reform or energy policy or healthcare policy that will assist in turning this country around from an economic standpoint get those jobs being created across this great land. host: tom price republican of georgia, appreciate your time sir. guest: thanks so much. host: you heard from the budget chairman there republican tom price. we can get your thoughts on that, as well. your reaction to president obama's state of the union address and what republicans are saying in return. we will get your thoughts here in just a minute but first, let's go back to the news desk and get reaction from democratic leaders up on capitol hill to the president's state of the union address. ? >> harry reid has missed the first two weeks of the new session of congress after that exercise energy. he was impac on capitol hill yesterday. here is a picture of him back at his desk with the tweet saying "back at work." it of course that exercise injury causing broken bones in

his face fractured ribs and an eye energy. you can see the eye energy. he didn't stick around for the speech last night but was able to tweet out his comments and release a statement after the speech. he said, in part democrats are focused on the middle class while the g.o.p. congress is busy purring more giveaways to special interests and the very wealthy. he we want on to say there is stim plenty of time for republicans to change course and work with democrats. i hope they will seize sees that opportunity. nancy pelosi releasing her statement last night on her web page. >> statement reading, in part, "pom "president obama has challenged congress to builds an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected. republicans have a choice: come together with democrats to advance the priorities of the more than people or dig in their heels for the same special interest giveaways. that's some of thedraft democratic reaction to the state of the union address last night.

host: we will bring you more reaction from capitol hill but we want to hear from you: host: let's go to anthony in sierra vista, arizona. an independent. caller: good morning, ghada. host: good morning. caller: one of my favorite lights on nelson's website, the president says to every field in america: if you want somebody who is going to get the job done hire a veteran. now, in that, the president is the ceo of america. everyone else who is elected and goes to washington is a manager. the president has put forth policies to invest in human capital. you have to take on some debt to

invest in human capital because i work three jobs to become a computer science major and had to leave nigh college so that -- leave my college so i wouldn't kill any kids driving a school bus and enlisted and then rose back up to the ranks to retire as a lieutenants colonel. now, i am disabled but here is what is so significant: and that is it goes like this. we have to understand that everything society outlaws occurs within its confines leaving only the passage of time to consider the relevance. caller: anthony, did you hear enough last night on veterans issues? caller: yes i did. and i have to state, as i take a whole lot of medications every day, so i didn't catch the last

part of it. but i will watch the rest of it on c-span. but what i have to compliment him on is first giving general secretary the opportunity to present a better front for us. one of the major issues with veterans is when you go in it is the only job where you are issued a discharge paper that states your character of service, a dd-214. and that affects you for the rest of your life. you can't work any other job if you get a bad discharge. it will follow you. you can work at mcdonaldts applebee's, amazon and you don't get a dd-214. host: i will move on to cedricking in 40 saint lucy, a democratic caller.

you are next. caller: i appreciated president obama state of the union address. there are a lot of important issues and things that he did address and the economy is getting better i don't know how in the world the g.o.p. can den it. you know eight years ago he took office how bad it is. look how good it is now. host: sedric there is lots of fact checking and politico has put together one on their website sxher improving? not for everyone. obama saying the shadow of the crisis has passed and the state of the union was strong. this was the key line of the speech with obama declaring the affects of the financial crisis over and removing into a period of renewed strength. it might take a little longer. medium income dropped 4 fors

$51,939 from when obama took office in 2009 t while it is half of the peak the sides of the labor force has continued to shrink. >> reflects baby boomer retirement but the frustration of workers giving up on ever finding a decent-paying job. the labor force participation rate is now 62.7 percent on, the lowest level since 1978. wages are not really growing much either. over the last year, wages rose just $0.40 did or 1.65 fors $241.57 an hour. bobby until miami, oklahoma. what are your thoughts on the president's state of the union address? caller: you know i truly appreciate -- i have to say i agree with some. i disagree with others. you know i have been a registered democrat my entire

life until this last election and i changed my party affiliation. i may consider doing that again and going straight independent. i resent other voters who couldme on your show and other shows and tell me that i am a racist because i don't like some of his ideas. it doesn't make me a racist. it makes me a person who pays attention to the issues. host: why did you change your party affiliations? what decisions did he make as president that made you go from a democrat to a republican? caller: you know honestly it wasn't gist barack obama. it truly wasn't. we had to look back at my personal voting history. i don't believe people should say i am a democrat or republican and be blindly without thought to what they actually belief. you can't look at one sing thing and say this makes me a democrat or this makes me a republican. and when i look back at my

voting history from the time i was first registered to vote when i was 18 years old, i voted republican more than i had democrat. i thought, oh, my gosh. i am a closet republican. >> that's what my mother told me. you know, i changed my affiliation. host: okay. caller: i think that people need to think intelligently about the things they are voting for and not just look at, you know, whether i really like this person. there are people in this world. you are not particularly going to care for that person but neighbor ideals are something you can stand behind. host: since you voted for both individuals in both parties, where do you want these two sides to agree? what areas should there be compromise on? caller: i think there should be great compromise on what they are doing inside this country. you know i have heard a couple of people say talking to you this morning, that they feel like the economy is getting better that, you know that in

president obama's state of the union that, you know he made that point. but, you know, it's not getting better for everyone. i can look around myself or people i know and people in my family and what the economy looked like in the area i live in and i can tell you i don't see it's getting better here at all. host: bobby a new nbc news/wall street judge poll found 45 percent of americans are satisfied with the economy. the highest share in 11 years. so, the polls, better for the president as he addresses the country in his sixth state of the union address. he talked fo-60 minutes, 25 was on the economy. he spent about 10 minutes on foreign policy nearly four minutes talking about education and over two on the climate and less than two minutes on national security. we are getting your take on the president's state of the union address. what did you make of it? we will keep getting your calls. first, let me show you what the

president had to say on the issue of trade. you heard from republican tom price that this is one area where the two sides could come together. [video clip". >> 21th century business did including small businesses need to sell more products overseas. today our businesses export more than ever and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. but as we speak, china wants to right the rules for the world's fastest growing region. that would put our workers and our businesses at a disadvantage. why would we let that happen? we should write those rules. we should level the playing field. >> that's why i am asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect american workers with strong new trade deals from asia to europe that aren't just free but are also fair. it's the right thing to do.

looke look. i am the first one to admit. i am the first one to admit that past trade deals haven't always lived up to the hype. >> that's why we have gone after countries that break the rules at our expense. but 95% of the world's customers live outside our borders. we can't close ourselves off from those opportunities. more than half the manufacturing executives have said they are actively looking to bring jobs back from china. let's give them one more reason to get it done. host: president obama last night talking about trade, an issue where the two sides could agree and pass some legislation. this 114th congress and this 2015 legislative session. alex in buford georgia.

caller: i liked the president's speech. i think he covered a lot of the things, you know, the fortune 500 companies, those guys are safe. those guys are secure. we are beyond the financial meltdown. now, it's time to take a step down and say, hey, okay. now, let's look at our middle class. once you start sensing the middle class, we will be on the road to prosperity because i make over $100,000 a year but i have two kids that are in their early 20s. and so every month i have to take money i make for them to survive. >> that's the way this country should run. i am independent because -- go ahead. host: how much are your kids making that they can't make ends meet, that you have to help them out? caller: my daughter makes $19,000 a year and my son makes

$22,000 a year. host: is just starting their careers? is it because that's entry-level pay? caller: because that's entry-level pay. >> that's here in georgia. now, i understand 17,000 or $21,000 a year would be alternates of money in mississippi. but 17,000 and 21,000, that's not a lot of money here in georgia. host: alex did your kids watch the state of the of the union? caller: yes they did. they was pleased with what they saw. we discussed it. host: what did they say to you? caller: they was like dad, the middle class does need the help. if we start trying to focus on the middle class and put some things in place to help the middle class, that will strengths en our country. host: okay. caller: you can't have a strong top and a weak bottom or your foundation will crumble. host: okay. caller: the middle class is the foundation of this country.

host: alex talking about his reaction and his adult children's reaction to the president last night. many saying felt speech was political and framing the debate for the 2016 president cial election. john mckordell at the news desk with reaction from possible democratic contenders in a couple of years. >> if that conversation begins with anyone it begins with hillary clinton and her tweet last night about the state of the union saying that the state of the union pointed the way to an economy that works for all. now, we need to step up and deliver for the middle class. elizabeth warren also a name mentioned as a possible democratic contender in the 2016 presidential election. great speech mr. president, looking forward to working with the white house to build an economy that works for all our families. >> that's senator elizabeth warren from massachusetts and her tweet last night. also a little bit of news on this front already this morning, a story from abc news this

morning, vice president biden there is a chance he would challenge hillary in 2016 is the headline talking to abc's george instead of stephanopolous. >> he said there is a caution. i haven't made up my mind. we have a lot of work to do between now and them. he described clinton as a competent, capable person and a friend. he said he didn't have to make up his mind until the summer about whether to launch another white house bid. and one other name that gets mentioned in this conversation on the democratic side is bernie sanders, senator bernie sanders of ver hospital. here is his reaction to the state of the union last night as president obama indicated, our economy today is much stronger than it was six years ago. the bad news however, is that millions of middle class families continue to struggle economically and we have an obscene level of income and wealth inequality. he said as ranking member of the senate budget schmidt, i look forward to working with the president and my colleagues in the senate to expand the middle

class, strengthen social security and create decent paying jobs. host: some reaction from the democratic hopefuls for 2016 there, showing tweets from hillary clinton and others. by the way twitter saying that there were 2.6 million tweets around the state of the union from the beginning of the address through the republican response and facebook saying there was 3.8 million posts on facebook like, likes and comments, et cetera. so you can see the reaction on social media. we will go to wayne in chicago k democratic caller wayne. we are getting your thoughts here outside the beltway this morning on the president's state of the union address. go ahead. caller: morning, sunshine. last night was sort of a cold slap in the face to me. >> okay. why? >> the contrast between the

president and the g.o.p. -- i'm sorry. the democrats and the g.o.p. was shocking. i mean i think that i have listened to the president. it was purely political, just to make me feel good. last night showed me it's not. i could feel the hatred through the television set when ever the cameras panned on to the g.o.p. and it made me feel really bad to be an american last night. i love this country. i for the for this country. i really felt bad about last night. host: okay. all right, wayne in chicago, democratic caller. well joni ernst the new senator from iowa republican there, she gave the official g.o.p. response and she talked about the dysfunction in washington. take a look. [video clip ".

>> tonight, though rather than respond to a speech i would like to talk about your priorities. i would like to have a conversation about the new republican congress you just elected and how we plan to make washington focus on your concerns again. we heard the message you sent in november loud and clear, and now, we are getting to work to change the direction washington has been taking our country. the new republican congress also understands how difficult these past six years have been. for many of us the sting of the economy and the frustration with washington's dysfunction weren't things we had to read about. we felt them every day. host: joni ernst giving the republican response to the president's state of the union address. we are getting your thoughts

about the speech and the state of the union. what do you think it is? brent, you are on the air. caller: yes good morning. thank you for taking my call. i would ask the people who listened to the speech last night to compare obama's words with obama's actions because they don't match up on almost every issue that he talked about last night. you have his words, and you have his, and they do not agree. for example, when he talks about he wants a more civil tone and let's have an honest debate and let's disagree without attacking each other personally. his administration has spent the last six years doing nothing but attacking republicans, particularly those republicans who have in good faith offered solutions toss our deficit problem, to our national debt problem, to the healthcare problem, and we get nothing.

look at paul ryan. paul ryan has proposed every year a solution to begin reducing the national debt. and every year he is absolutely demonized by this administration. host: can i jump in? let me ask you: what's the one or two issues that you want the president to say yes to from republicans? caller: i want him -- first of all, i want him to abandoned this agenda that he has of increasing taxes increasing spinning. it does not work. it never has worked in the history of the country. secondly, i would like him to begin to open his mind to the possibility that perhaps the accident scene pipeline plight be on the wait back to a ronk. laming, this economy is not in a real recovery. a real recovery took place in the 1980s. a real recovery could create

millions of jobs. host: the senate as you know debating that keystone xl pipeline bill. they will could not this week passing amendments disprove disapproving of others. many amendments coming to the floor. we can tell you a little bit about the debate yesterday in the senate. you can watch our coverage of it on c-span 2. in a caller saying he would like the president to aband on the agenda. the "new york times," a president out-gunned but combative. they wrote there is .1 other thing he must do redsist his instinct to follow the false promise of compromise. give and take is part of the legislative process but trade-off for, is unacceptable. gridlock seemed foredained. mr. obama should do nothing to confuse the voters as to where

the responsibility lie did. that's what the "new york times" editorial board lies. ronald a democratic caller. caller: how are you doing? host: yes. caller: i am cure yes, sir, you know, i hear well we owe all of this money overseas because they are selling us all of their stuff. we don't have jobs here so we are going to keep buying all of their stuff from overseas. i don't understand how we can buy all of their stuff from overseas and shut down manufacturing here or go to mexico. fruit of the looms we want over there. 1800 jobs were lost over that. ford now makes all of their parts in mexico. canada wants to ship their pipeline oil free of charge through our pipeline not pay any environmental stuff and they don't have to pay for the railroads. all of these countries do three, 4% trade. we are doing much greater than

that because we are giving away trade. we are not doing fair trade. we are doing free trade. host: okay. all right, ronald on manufacturing let me show you what glen kessler put together for the "washington post" fact checker. he writes this, the president talking about over the past five years, businesses have created more than 11 million new jobs. the low point in jobs was reached in february of 2010 and there has indeed been a gain of more than 11 million private sector jobs since then. note that the president carefully referred to "businesses" as in the same period the number of federal, state, and local governments have actually declined by more than 500,000. so adding in government jobs slightly reduces the total number of new, non-farm jobs to 10.7 million while obama has touted that he often calls the longest stretch of uninterrupted job growth in u.s. history, the average number of jobs is significantly lower than in

understand bill clinton or ronald reagan. when you exclude a single month of decline clinton and reagan had streaks of 85 to 71 months, respectively. richard, east china michigan hi richard. caller: good morning, getsa. host: what did you make of this speech? caller: greta, i am not thinking it's really good as far as his foreign trade, what he wants to do action the tpp talking about how china is wanting to call the shots. well, he wants to call the shots, and he wants to fast track it. he wants permission to where he can just do it. there is no transparency in the bill he wants. nobody knows what it is. >> that's businesses and all of that that are doing it. but you talk to our congressmen and that they don't know what's in there. host: right so you think --

caller: we elect our congress people to do this stuff. they should do it instead of fast track it. they should vote on this. host: instead of an up or down boat, you want to see debate and know what's in the negotiations? caller: absolutely. absolutely. host: okay. caller: bill clinton gave us nafta. it hasn't worked good for canada, mexico or the united states. host: januarinet springfield gardens, a democratic caller. go ahead. are you in north dakota janet? caller: no. new york city. host: couldn't read the prompter. caller: calling about the president's speech last night. i thought he did a really great job. my concern is for some reason people get very upset when he talks about the middle class. i don't even consider myself a middle class. i am a veteran of the united

states navy service. and i am also an assistant teacher. i am currently trying to put my son through college. he has to take out loans, you know, and like he said a lot of people live on $15,000 a year. those people sitting there in congress and senate, they don't know what we go through because their medical benefits are paid for once they leave. they talk about medical. they talk about what he did. they had time to get something in position for medical. host: janet, trying to put your kids through school. you are a teacher. what did you make of his proposal on community college being free for most? caller: you know what? i think it's a wonderful idea because like i said this is my son's first year of college, and it's tough. he has to take out a loan because i don't have enough money to afford him.

it's going for a four-year college. if there was an opportunities for him to get that first two years under his belt for free and if he has to get time to work, whatever he needs to do that will put united states at least ahead of the game because a lot of people just cannot afford to go to clem. host: let me show you another of what the president said about this idea. [video clip.] >> by the end of this, we live in a country where too many bright striving americans are priced out of the education they need. it's not fair to them. it's sure not smart for our future. >> that's why i am sending this congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college to zero

[applause.] keep in mind 40% of our college students choose community college. some are young and starting out. some are older and looking for a better job. some are veterans and single parents trying to transition back into the job market. whoever you are, this plan subpoena your chance to graduate for the new economy without a lot of debt. understand you have to earn it. you have to keep your grades up and graduate on time. 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 the two years of college becomes as free andousal in america as high school is today [applause.]

let's stay ahead of the curve [applause.] let's make sure those already burdened with student loans reduce their payments. host: president obama talking about his proposal for community college, it being free for most "washington types reports" communeit initially would cost the treasury about 6 billion per year and save students an avenue of 3800 annually. >> that's from the "washington times." also, this morning is this piece in "the wall street journal" about his college saving program faying canfacing a fight. part of his pitch last night was

part of a tax plan would scale back a significant break that republicans generally want to preserve. taxpayers' ability to use money earned in 529 college savings plan on a tax-free basis. currently people can withdraw without paying taxes. under the alabama plan funds would be allowed to grow tax-free in 529 accounts but the gains earned on those investments will be subject to tax as they are withdrawn to pay for education expenses. current 529 accounts would be grandfathered under the white house plan. a little bit from president obama's address on college education and what he would like to see done on that. we are goingetting your thoughts on the president's state of the union address. it was his sixth of his presidency last night and he spoke for about 60 minutes to depressed and the american people. phone call lines on your screen. the phone lines are open. keep dialling in.

first, back to the news desk. john mckordell with more on 2016. >> greta, you just mentioned the washington times. there is a front page story in today's washington times about a potential third presidential campaign for mitt romney sending out his reaction along with other potential 2016 contenders. mitt romney wrote on his facebook page true to form the president in his state of the union speech is more interested in politics than in leadership. more intent on winning elections than on winning progress. he ignores the fact that the country has elected a congress that's for smaller government and lower taxes rather than bridging the gap between the parties. he makes bridge to no where proposals. it's disappointing, he writes. some of the other potential g.o.p. contenders jeb bush wrote, while the sluggish economy has been good for some, far too many have been left behind. it's sfornlt president obama wants to use the tax code to divide us instead of proposing reforms to provide economic

opportunity for every american. we can do better. and then some tweets from others being watched ahead of 2016 scotts walker tweeted last night, the president wants to grow the economy in washington. we want to grow the economy in cities and towns and villages across america. busy last night was senator rand paul from kentucky. here is one tweet: he says obama claims his budget is prac practical practical, not partisan. what about it being balanced? also putting out his own response to the state of the union address. a video response you can watch on his political action committee web page. see it there. he also offered his own we checked facts from old statements from previous state of the union. play the game and test your knowledge, he implores those. some of the reaction from some of those being watched ahead of

2016. many headed to the koch primary. front page story, ashley parker has it when senator rand paul went to campaign for sam brownback, he requested a meeting with charles koch: his pitch of all of the candidates action he best reflects the views of mr. koch and his younger brother, david koch. similarly ted cruz of texas asked, for an audience he had requested and told the elder mr. koch the republican party needed a grassroots conservative like him to take back the white house. chris christie has worked to cultivate a relationship with the younger mr. koch calling him to talk politics and socializing with him their wives included. this koch primary as it refers to in "the new york times" will be taking plates kicking offer

the so-called primary she rights steved invitations to the end and are expected to attend. scott walker and jeb bush, who is not to make it because after scheduling conflict. unlike groups of the left the afl and cio they do not hand out traditional endorsements but their network spans 300 donors, many wealthedy business owners and clouds canada to tap conservatives but not part of the donor establishment. in 2012 americans for prosperity spent more than 120s million in an effort to defeat president obama and concongressional democrats. the so-called koch primary daniel, republican what are your thoughts on president

obama's state of the union address? caller: thanks for having me on here. i have to watch. i am on social security and he talked about the economy. i only made $12 this year extra on my benefits but i am paying 30 to $40 more on bills. you know, i don't see how the economy is getting better when i am paying more and i made let's. i made $12 and i am billed 30 or $40 more this year than it was last year. also i want to mention that also taxing the rich. they are the ones who create jobs. when you tax them, they are going to make less jobs for the middle class. and i believe we should have the pipeline from canada coming down here. it creates jobs even though it would be smaller jobs when it gets done but it also lowers the fuel cost. also you want to add taxes. you know, they give a 2% raise

and but they want to add extra gas tax plus they want to add tooingsz different things. they give a 2% raise but by the time you have a little gas tax and add on or about taxes, it will supersede that 2% raise from minimum wage. you know, then you are paying 3 and 4% so that minimum wage you are actually going to pay more over that 2%. host: okay. caller: i don't see how people can benefit host: you mentioned the keystone xl pipeline t some say they want the president to agree to that. republicans are pushing that the debate taking plates on the senate floor this week with many amendments being offered. so take a look at what joni ernst, thevan from iowa had to say in the g.o.p. response about this issue. >> americans have been hurting, but when we demanded solutions too often washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like

obamacare. it's a mindset that gave us political talking points not serious solutions. >> that's why the new republican majority you elected started by reforming congress to make it function again. and now we are working hard to pass the kind of serious job creation ideas you deserve. one you have probably heard about is the keystone jobs bill. president obama has been delaying this bi-partisan infrastructure project for years even though many members of his party, unions and strong majority of americans support it. the president's own state department has said keystone's construction could support thousands of jobs and pump billions into our economy and do it with minimal environmental impact. we worked with democrats to pass

this bill through the house. we are doing the same now in the senate. president obama will soon have a decision to make. will he sign the bill or block good american jobs? host: senator joni ernst responding to the president's state of the union address talking about the keystone xl pipeline. the new york sometimes this morning carl davenport has the story about the debate that's happening in the senate a rare moment of consensus. the senate on tuesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the keystone xl pipeline that is aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings, a rare moment of bi-partisan agreement and an intense debate that is nowhere near being settled. lawmakers voted 91 to 5 to add the popular energy-e first en see provisions to at that contentious bill that would approve construction of the keystone pipe . it goes on to say the senate rejected two amendments voting

57 to 42 to reject a measure offered by senator edward kennedy, democrat he had wells fargo bank, markey excuse me democrat of massachusetts which would have forbidden oil shipped through the pipeline to be exported. senators voted 53 to 46 to reject a measure offered by al franken, the democrat of minnesota. >> would have required all steel used to build the pipeline to be made in the united states. senators are expected in the coming weeks to debate and vote on dozens of keystone amendments that cover a variety of energy and climate issues. whatever happens in congress transcapped, the company that is hoping to build the pipeline is moving ahead with its >> plans. the company announced tuesday it had filed the necessary court documents to acquire through imminent domain the alaska land it needs for construction. you can watch that debate on c-span 2. betty in wills point, texas, an independent. hi, there, betty. call call had you row, today? host: doing well. go ahead.

caller: i am really concerned about the obamacare that they are talking about. it was to pie understanding that if you made under $60,000 that you would be ineligible for medicaid. he's always talking about the higher class, the middle class, the high-dollar type class. what about the lower class. the lower cost can't afford to get the medical insurance he has offered and said that he would get. now, at this point, a family of two can't even get insurance unless you pay $349 a month. i don't understand what's going on with the lower class. why don't he talk about the lower class and help the lower class get up in a better standing to where they are? to where that they can be able to afford medical insurance and not be upset about they are

going to get taxed or get fined because of this. some of the people that make under $15,000 a year just can't afford it. host: okay. betty, would you consider yourself low-income? caused caller: yes, i would. host: why is that? caller: my husband and i make social security disability. we make under $1,500 a month. out of that $1,500 a month, our bills sometimes ex cruciate over because we are having to pay the medical costs, the deductible did, the co-pay did, the insurance, premiums that we to pay through medicare and i just don't understand why is everybody talking about the middle class? why don't they talk about the lower class, the ones that can't afford everything that is supposed to be out there available to them and when they try to get on the obamacare

plan, they can't do it because they don't have $300 a month. host: okay. all right. morgan in guam. morgan a democratic caller,. caller: yes how are you doing, morgan aiken from guam. i thought it was a great speech by the president. what i wanted to take basis on was closing up the loopholes. i am a retired vet and small business owner here in guam. one of the things i found is that civilian employees, when they get state-side higher status, there are some here on guam that has no plans at all about leaving, and now typically, under the overseas incentive program, the max you can stay is five years but since guam is a u.s. territory, it creates a loophole in the system. so you have people who have no desire to leave guam but they are getting free air travel back to the u.s. i want to say once or twice a

year for their entire family and although i have never conducted a survey on that i am sure america loses probably almost a billion dollars a year on something, on an old policy that's out dated. host: okay. all right, morgan. we are talking about president obama's state of the union address. it was his 6th last night. he talked for about an hour. he said 25 minutes on the economy. he also talked for 10 minutes on foreign policy nearly fowler four minutes on education, two minutes on the climate and spent less than two minutes on national security. we are getting your thoughts this morning here on the "wall street journal" for the next two hours of today's program, the phone lines are on your screen. you can dial in with your comments your questions and your critique of the president's speech. what do you make of what he said, what he proposed and the republicans' response to it?

>> my only agenda for the next two years is the same i had when i sworn oath on the steps of this capital. to do what i believe is best for america.

if you share of the broadvision i outlined tonight, i ask you to join me at the work at hand. if you disagree with parts of it, i hope you will at least work with me where you do a great. i commit to every republican here tonight, that i will seek out your ideas and seek to work out this country's problems. because i want this chamber this city, to reflect the truth of our blind spots and shortcomings. we are a people with the strength and generosity and the spirit to bridge divides. tonight -- two tonight in a common effort. to help our neighbors down the street or on the other side of

the world. quite president obama and and as a little moment of yesterday's state of the union address talking about working together and that he is not running for office again. the president didn't also issue of blunt the 10th threat if republicans try to undo any of his major initiatives. we will hear this morning. richard in west virginia. caller: i want to make a remark on the to hear community college idea. i think that that is a great starter idea, but i think ultimately, what we need to do is integrate that into the last three years of high school. take a 11th, 12th grade and move it back to seventh, eighth, and ninth grade. bring in that two-year curriculum stressing and

discovering where the aptitudes are. maybe a work study program in the summer with the public -private partnerships. so when the student graduates high school, he or she has a firm idea of what is out there to gain advantage to where they want to go. if they want to go to a tech ok. they want to go to a pool college, ok. but at least they graduate high school. that will eliminate a lot of remedial education that has to go on at the community college and higher levels. host: header treated, you are on the trade caller: -- host: katrina, you are on. caller: let's just be honest, we

are $18 trillion in debt. it seems like we are going to be in a world war, but all the president wanted to talk about with giving away more free stuff. that puts the biggest majority of the middle class and having to pay more taxes. people are not be realistic. the president is not being realistic. everybody seems to be living in a dream world. all you have to do is watch the nightly news and you will see where the state of our country is. host: wall street journal editorial this morning. they write this, with the exception of trade, the president sought no common policy with republicans. if george bush had proposed that

$320 billion tax rate cut in his 2007 state of the unit following his route for 2006 midterm. he would have been hooted out of the chamber, followed by days of wondering if he'd went out. if mr. obama won't make any concessions to political reality, the republicans are under no obligation to take his agenda seriously. for their peace of mind, they should ignore for their own -- caller: listen, i am very dissatisfied with what people are saying about the president. as long as he has been in office, he has had to face many obstacles from the gop. they blocked many of his ideas blocked -- would not pass any

laws or anything to help the average american. for example, you had the senator talking about the gop mandate. yet, it was a mandate, but they stole the election by rigging elections so that a lot of people cannot vote. host: diana in new york. a democratic caller: caller. good morning. my concern is not only the border and people who have a right to life, but that they can secure and receive every benefit that the people who have been here for years and are low income or almost middle, cannot get help. i am talking about people who are using food stamps, soup kitchens, and people who are still working to part-time jobs because they cannot make an and me. families who have minor and dull

children cannot afford insurance because the obamacare, and i am a senior and i struggle like everybody else, middle-class and under middle-class, working part-time, full-time people with children and adult children, cannot afford obamacare. they have lost their new york state insurance when you thought this wonderful pelosi read it after we pass it built for insurance, there is no common sense with this situation. there is no common sense that you have to pay $300 to $600 a month and are fine $3000 because that is your first responsibility to that family. your first 3000 is out of your pocket. host: we will hear from me in mansfield, massachusetts. he is also a democratic caller.

caller: i am me. it is nice to meet you, greta. i watched state of the union last night and i was wondering what does he really mean by free college? host: why do you ask, we question do you have concerns with it? caller: yes, i graduated in 2002 high school and i have been in three colleges. i quit medicare and health insurance and i have spoken mandarin and chinese close to five years. i want to continue my college to graduate harvard university. but when he mentioned free college, i am not sure if it is financial aid or completely zero dollars. host: i do not have specific differently, but there are more details in the papers today. that color was interested in community college.

he was calling on all lawmakers to enact that proposal. also calling for tax increases on the wealthier americans. shifting tax credit to middle-class americans. he also talked about a change in a speech. take a listen. >> 2014 was the planets warmest record -- year on record. one year does not make a trend but this does. 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of this century. i have heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they are not scientists. we do not have enough information to act. well, i am not a scientist either. but you know what? i know a lot of really good scientist at nasa and that no one, and that our major universities. they are all telling us that our activities are changing the

climate. if we do not act hoarsely, we will continue to see rising oceans longer and hotter heat waves, dangerous drops -- droughts and floods. and massive disruptions that can trigger migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe. the pentagon says the climate change poses immediate risk to national security. we should act like it. and that is why -- [applause] and that is why over the past six years, we have done more than ever to combat climate change from the waiting produce energy to the way we use it. that is why we have set aside more public plans than any administration in history. that is why i will not let this congress endanger the health of our children by turning back the clock on our efforts. i am determined to make sure that american leadership drives

international action. [applause] in beijing, we made a historic announcement. the united states will double the pace at which we cut carbon pollution and china committed for the first time to eliminating -- to limiting their admissions. because the world's two largest economies can together, other nations are now stepping up. they are offering help -- quote that this year, the world will finally reached an agreement to the one planet we have. >> president obama in the state of the union address. he spent a little over two minutes talking about climate and vowing to continue to act on this issue. we will go back to the news desk with more reaction to the president's speech. >> several members of the president's cabinet immediately taking to the internet and twitter to talk about climate change after the president's speech last night.

here is gina mccarthy, the epa administrator. thank you president obama for your commitment to act on act climate. we're growing clean energy that create jobs and that was admissions. proud work for a president who is the leader on climate change and jobs. that is some of the cabinets reaction. several members of the republican party taking to twitter as well to push back against the president's statements on climate. he talked for about two minutes and 25 seconds on climate last night. here's randy weber, republican of texas, the greatest threat to our future generations will be debt and not climate change. jason smith, a republican from missouri from the eighth district, if the administration continues with its climate regulations, the gdp loss could be more than $2.5 trillion in 2030. congressman of south carolina,

the best scientists are all telling us question really? all question i wasn't aware of that, interesting, wrong, but interesting. mick mullaney talking about the president's comments last night. glenn kessler looked into the president's numbers that he cited on it be the warmest years on record. 14 of the past 15 years to place in the first 15 years of this century and quoted at the president was exciting research from several government agencies. they include, the national oceanic and administrative administration, and nasa as well. the environmental group very happy with the president's comments. here is a statement from michael brown. he is the executive director when it comes to the climate crisis, the president knows the stakes and tonight he underscored the urgency of the problem and his commitment to climate action for our children's future to meet the greatest challenge of our

generation, we can and we must end our dependence not on foreign oil, but all fossil fuels. we can set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. that single oil type like is referring to the keystone pipeline. the topic that the president talked about. back is in the president's attention. in particular from the american petroleum institute. jack gerard is the president there and he immediately released -- checking their own statement saying, that americans energy renaissance has profoundly strengthened our economy and is helping the president of the many of his policy goals. this speech did not even begin to tell the whole story. america is a global energy superpower thanks to our oil and natural gas renaissance. most of this development has occurred in spite of the government. they can continue the quality by continuing the gas and oil renaissance. our increased production in the recent years have created

millions of jobs and have saved the average household $1200 in 2012. just some of the responses on energy and the climate issues from last night. host: we will see what collars had to say -- collars had to say on the president's speech. jessica, you are next. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i would like to comment on one issue that the president brought up last night. that is increasing the minimum wage on a federal level. i believe that this would help our economy enormously. you know, we hear all this talk about raising taxes and tax breaks. you know, when people have more money, they spend more money. that is common sense. i honestly cannot believe we are having a debate on raising the minimum wage when we are lagging so far behind in our middle-class for the past 10 years.

we made more money 10 years ago then we made it now. i think that is something that more people should consider, and it does not matter what party line you fall behind. raising the minimum wage federally would definitely help. host: darlene, a democratic caller. caller: good morning. i felt a state of the union did express the state of the union here in florida. we have had so years, but now our roads are filling up, our restaurants. there are signs that things are different. the company does not exactly do a fast turnaround, but we have had slow improvement over the past years. 2014 was a jump. things are changing on the ground. the other thing i wanted to say my husband and i brokered ourselves last year to make a big push into our grandchildren's pre-funding of their college education plans. florida's prepaid plans is one

of the worst if you look at it from an economic standpoint. many of our people to choose that plan because it is better to save a few bucks a month then if it is forced on you if you are not about the person. they do not realize all the opportunities that are out there. whether you are wealthy or not the opportunities are there. to make the best advantage, like i disaster, i knew when i was doing it, when i was realizing what it meant, that only i could afford to do what there is to do right now. if there is something like taxing and withdraws happen in the future, it was not the there because right now it is the best or worst, however you want to look at it, generation skipping wealth avenue that exists. the use of it is a, john norquist. host: you think the 529 plan caters to the wealthy americans? the ones you can already afford

college? caller: yes. if you take use of them in the best way. host: tennessee leonard. a republican. caller: well, it sounded pretty good but i am hearing the that politicians are talking about. i would like to find out if i'm a poor person or if i'm a middle has worked on my life. especially with the income tax is the are paying out. what exactly is a monetary value on a middle as person? host: i will try to look that up to read why do you bring it up leonard? caller: that is all i hear the politicians talk about, but they never tell us what a middle-class person is. host: do you feel like you are middle-class? caller: i don't know. i thought i was, but from what

they are saying now, maybe i am a poor person. i spent many years in the military when i do not have to pay for my interest, and now i do. host: "usa today," has a piece that defines the middle class. some say that the income level there is depending on what you are looking at. "usa today," says it has been called -- hold on. i lost my place. they have taken a stab at night -- at the question and it has been described as $32,900 and $54,000 a year. that is "usa today" with that story. great in north carolina. an independent. -- great in north carolina/. caller: i thought the

president's speech last night was excellent. since he won both his terms, i was listening for campaign finances. in addition to that, i really do not think that the problem is the rich. i think the problem is more money going into fewer hands at a faster rate. a musical chair economy. i think that is what has to be reversed. more money going into fewer hands at a faster rate with no hope of returning. also as far as national security goes, the supreme court says that money is speech. according to the first amendment. but we are stopping on the fourth amendment, not just with network security which we need but through division of motor vehicles.

that is my comment. host: all right greg. a lot of reaction to president obama's six state of the union address. keep dialing in. we will spend all of "washington journal" getting your thoughts. how the republicans reacted too many of his ideas, saying that republicans believe the president was trying to pick a fight with them. that is one of the quotes from republican lawmakers on capitol hill. the president yesterday, last night, also talking about foreign-policy issues. the fight against isis. here is what he had to say to congress. president: first, we stand united with the people who have been helping us fight terrorists . from the streets of pakistan to paris. we will continue to hunt down and dismantle their network.

we have done relentlessly to take out terrorist. [applause] at the same time, we have learned some lessons over the last 13 years. instead of americans controlling the valleys of afghanistan, we have trained their security forces who have now taken the lead. we have pondered our troops sacrifice by supporting that countries first aquatic transition. -- democratic transition. we are partnering with nations to deny safe haven to terrorists who threaten america. in iraq, syria, american leadership, including our leader -- military power, is stopping isis advancements.

instead of getting dragged into another war, we are leading a broad coalition, including arab nations to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group. we are also supporting a moderate opposition in syria that can help us and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of island extremists. this effort will take time. it will require focus. but we will succeed. tonight i call on this congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against isis. we need that authority. host: president obama calling on congress to give authorization to fight isis. "wall street journal," says it was welcomed by democrats, but some criticizing the president for not giving them guidance on

what the administration wants to see in that kind of authorization. "wall street journal," also noting the 3100 troops for training and programs in iraq. including military groups planning to train in turkey. the u.s. has conducted more than 1800 airstrikes. that this morning from "the wall street journal," on what the president had to say on taking the fight to isis. you heard in his comment that he started out talking about how the u.s. has been fighting isis. there has been some progress there. "the washington post" with -- takes a look at what the president had to say. he notes in his list that he put together of what the president had to say about this issue that the president can certainly make a case that progress is being made against the islamic state militants in iraq, but he goes

to bar when he left syria into the same sentence. just last week, they documented the airstrikes in syria had failed to prevent the group from expanding its territory in the country. the article quoted a senior defense official saying that, certainly isis has been able to stand in syria, but that is not our main objective. fact checking their by glenn kessler of "the washington post." steeped in oklahoma. a democratic caller. what did you make of the speech? caller: i think he is an awesome, awesome president. anybody who thinks differently is not paying attention. i would like to go back to the 1920's when the buzzword of the republican party was tax cuts for the rich and deregulation. at the end of a decade and that, what was the end result? the great depression. and then the democrats took over. for 50 years under democratic

and liberal policies we had no financial meltdowns. zero. and then comes ronald reagan. what were his buzzwords? tax cuts for the rich and deregulation. look where we are today? i advise all americans to think about that. we were once the greatest nation on the planet. after 50 years of democratic and liberal policies, and we were alone in money around the world. now, it is the opposite. it is not rocket science, people. time to wake up. thank you, honey. host: we will go to pennsylvania. elizabeth public and. -- bill is a republican. caller: all of the people who are talking have no idea what is going on. i just came back from your. they are in a very bad state. -- i just came back from europe. they are in a very bad state. host: why do you think that?

caller: i will tell you. when you have a country with seven open borders, it goes down the drains. that is what happened to them. number two, you have to understand one thing, nothing will happen in the country between republicans, democrats and the president. the president is a good actor. he is a movie star. the only way you will stop is giving a bill that they will all like. it is a bill that will not go through. they said bill, it will not go through. i know it won't, because you are lobbyists. as long as you have lobbyists controlling both parties, then they will not go nowhere. we are wasting our time and the american people -- like nixon says, they are too dumb to understand and to realize we need to stick together to fight for our country that we love, and respect.

we are fighting against each other and the government is laughing at us all the way to the bank. i wish the american people would wake up. for christ sake. my god. thank you. host: we will hear from ernie who was an independent in colorado. caller: good morning. a few things. back in the late 1990's, though clinton -- bill clinton had the separation of commercial and investment banks. that ended the 2008 bubble burst. they brought in doc frank and recently, they took that provision and put it back in. the separation of banks. now they have changed it and brought it back to where the banks can merge again. we are getting set up for a big fall. in my opinion.

they are talking about the jobs that keystone timeline makes. why are they outsourcing the work of other countries? as far as the gas i thought i was supposed to be used here instead of exporting it? it is going to be exported instead of being held right here in the united states. host: ernie talking about the debate on the senate floor this week. attenuation of the discussion of the keystone -- continuations of the keystone pipeline. our coverage on c-span two, if you are interested in that issue. more reaction from those in washington. we will go from john -- we will go to john at the news desk. >> several people making out

that he made history in his 6000 word speech. when he used one of those speech -- words in his speech transgendered. the president noted that americans respect human dignity. he included the word along with lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. that is why we need to defend free speech and advocate for political prisoners and condemned the persecution of women in religious minorities. for people who are gay, as we, transgendered, or bisexual. it makes us safer. the presidencies of the work the word making headlines around the world and country. in sydney, they had a headline discussing the president's use of the word transgendered. u.s. president barack obama's state of the union address includes historic words. the human rights campaign on their blog also talking about the issue of gay rights and gay marriage. they noted that two newlyweds from florida will attend --

attended last night's state of the union as guests of congresswoman. todd and jack dell may. a with a were the second same-sex couple to legally marry in florida. some reaction from traditional marriage advocates as well on the president's statements and comments last night. here is tony perkins from the family of research council. state of the union feels the family. he took to twitter to say, we must pray and ask for a spiritual, moral, and cultural renewal in our nation. he went on to say that may not be the message the president wants to bring to the american people, but it is the message that our country needs to hear. one more tweet two point out this concerns the case that is going before the supreme court talking about gay marriage. john diaz, the editorial page director for the san francisco chronicle noted, the supreme court justices were judiciously stoic when the subject turned to gamers.

they hold the keys to the ultimate equality areas. that is expected to be argued in april and a decision in late june. supreme court justices were all there, six were there. those who were not work justice scalia, justice thomas, and justice alito. they stayed away from the state of the union address last night. host: after president obama's state of the union address, he will be leaving about way and traveling to boise, idaho. this is a story in the state and website. the engineering lab with president obama -- that president obama will tour wednesday, has been interpreted to idaho's high-tech economy since 2001. it is help local industries and entrepreneurs develop new products and bring them to market. the president is expected to visit this tech lab and talk about tech proposals he would

like to propose after last night's state of the union address. brian in madison, ohio. url. you are up. caller: good morning my americans. i wanted to say that his speech last night was great. the republican response was a ridiculous -- hurts is brand-new -- joni ernst is brand-new and who is she to speak for america? she is not want to speak for america. if you paid any attention to the keystone pipeline, which you were very well informed and show the american people, or you will be coming down for export.

we do not get a drop of that oil , republicans. we do not get a drop. host: john in pennsylvania. republican. hi, john. caller: good morning. i have a veteran and a registered republican. unlike many of the republicans who called in this morning i think the president's speech last night was an excellence speech. i think the reason i feel differently about that is that i know the history of my party. when i look back to when we had a real general, to eisenhower as president, president eisenhower never left the richest people go

below 91%. the tax rate stayed at least 91%. eisenhower balanced budgets. when the president raised the rate to 39%, you would think that from the republicans today, this guy was going to fall because they recede to 39%. i called in to c-span one time when forbes -- steve forbes was on your show. forbes said, he agreed with me that it was 91% but he said well, they had deductions back then. do not tell me they do not have deductions today. romney made it $20 million and he paid 13%. he did not pay 39%. he paid 13% of taxes. i think that is the difference

between me and most republicans. thank you. host: john, what do you think of capital gains? what should be done about that tax? caller: i think even under reagan, it was under -- at 28%. the president is talking about raising it to. host: do you think it should be done? caller: yes, yes, absolutely. i not in favor -- >> sorry, you were in and out. caller: i not in favor of all the wars. eisenhower warned us about the industrial complex. host: betty in green bay, wisconsin. welcome to the conversation. caller: thank you to c-span. the gentleman who was just on, i agree with him 100%. i worked for a republican congressman many years ago. he was a high-ranking member of the armed services committee.

i worked for a short time, but i wanted to talk about minimum wage. what i do not understand is if congress gets $295 an hour, why can't they allow a minimum wage for people who really need it? we are paying our wages. if they make that much, why don't they want us to have more to live better? to me, that is selfish. president obama is our president. we are supposed to help him. it is just ridiculous. i do not even recognize the republican party anymore. host: betty, take a listen to the new republican senator from colorado. cory gardner. c-span cameras were outside in the house chamber and we talked

with senator gardner. we got his reaction to the president's speech. guest: it is about 50 people left who have suffered far too long. we have a situation where it looks good, but you scratch underneath the surface and people are really hurting. people who have not had wage opportunities and they do not have a job to make sure to make family ends meet and meet goals. we can do this working together, but with the president talked about will not do the job. higher taxes and more government programs and spending is not with the nation needs and it is not the message that was sent in november. host: senator cory gardner on the capitol hill yesterday. it was on what the president had to say on the economy. we also talked with amy klobuchar. this is what she had to say. guest: i thought it was a very positive speech. it was done in a way that was pretty joyful about the positive of the country and what we stand for.

he clearly laid out the challenges and how to solve it in terms of community college and childcare. but i think what was also important was that he talked about the successes and where we were six years ago and where we are now. i think that was an important thing to do. at least in my say, we are down to 3.7 percent unemployment and we need more students with community college degree street we need more welders. we are starting to turn away business. we have something like 8 million people who are unemployed. we still have 5 million job openings. the key is to match the people with the job openings. you do that through training very a lot of times it isn't some kind of advanced degree. host: minnesota senator talking about with the president had to say. focusing on the economy and going outside the beltway to get your thoughts on what the president had to say.

in new jersey. go ahead. caller: go ahead -- good morning. i just wanted to say that president obama has done a wonderful job last night. he didn't wonderful job with the state of the union address. -- he did a wonderful job with the state of the union address. the republican party needs to stop their nonsense. if their own personal home was on fire, and president obama told about it, it would tonight. -- they would deny it. they need to stop their nonsense and get along with this president. since the first time this man got elected, they have been doing this. thank you very much host: dan what do you think? caller: one of the proposals that obama made last night was 529 and he was to start taxing it.

what happened is, all of these accumulation of new taxes every time he makes a speech, he has a new taxes and that he wants to propose. new spending. it is just tax and spend. i have daughters that i do not want to pass on massive debt. our parents did not do that to us. if we want to talk about helping the middle class, we need to stop the ridiculous spending. you know, he was to give a lot of things away with these take programs, but who is paying for it? for crying out loud, my taxes have gone up since he started this tax and spend programs. when they talk about unemployment rate and how great it is, people forget that the government plays with these statistics. there are millions of people who dropped out of the statistics because they have been out of

work for so long that they do not even count them. unemployment is terrible. what we need is a jobs. jobs would help the middle class. tax and spend -- here is a program that people for years put money into to say and send their kids to college the 529. he was to start taxing it. it is just an accumulation of new taxes that we are always getting. you know, when i go to pay my taxes this year, my wife and i both work full time busting are behind so we can send our kids to college. which we did. we pay for it. we took out a lot of logs. -- we took out a lot of loans. we cannot afford that. this is all hurting the middle class. host: let me show you a graphic that "usa today" put together. how the tax burden would be shifted.

obama wants to raise taxes by $320 billion over 10 years. among those proposals, a trust fund loophole and raise top capital gains tax rate from 23.8% to 28%. here are the tax cuts for the middle class, a tax cut of up to 500 for families. make maximum childcare tax cut for families who aren't up $220,000. and consolidate six college aid programs into two and help more students get up to $2500 in aid. take a listen to what he had to say last night on the childcare tax credit. president obama: in today's economy, when having both parents in the workforce and economic necessity, we need affordable and high care -- affordable childcare more than ever. [applause]

it is not a nice to have, it is a must-have. it is -- it is time we stop treating childcare as a side issue or as a women's issue. we need to treat it like the national economic priority that it is for all of us. [applause] and that is why my plan will make the childcare more available and more affordable for every middle-class and low income family with young children in america. by creating more slots and a new tax cut of up to $3000 her child, per year. [applause] here is another example, today, we are the only advanced country on earth that does not guarantee

paid sick leave for our workers. 43 million workers have no paid sick leave. 43 million. think about that. and that forces too many parents to make the gut wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home. i will be taking a new action to help states adopt paid leave homes and where was on the ballot last november, let's put it to about right here in washington. every worker in america deserves the opportunity to call -- to earn seven days of paid leave. host: president obama in his state of the union address wanting proposals for middle-class families. we are getting your thoughts and reactions to what the president had to say last night. before we get to more calls, joining us from the rotunda congressman.

we appreciate your time. let's begin with this headline on the front page of "the washington post" on the president's legacy. the president embraces a label for the history book, the borough. -- liberal. do you agree? guest: i think the president -- critics have said he was a lame duck. that was not a lame speech at all. i think it was progressive and it spoke -- he was not only speaking to congress, he was speaking to the nation. he was speaking to those who were struggling and trying to make ends meet. they are in the middle class or trying to stay there, or trying to get there. they are trying to lift themselves up and looking for help. i think that is something that is resonating this morning in the country.

people are talking about it at breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well. the president gave a very strong speech last night. host: did he go far enough to the left, in your opinion? guest: i do not think he talked about left or right issues. the fact that we live in a world where both mothers and fathers need to work -- husband and wives need to work. my communications director, who wanted to be here for the c-span event this morning has said my child has been that. i cannot be there this morning. i know how hard it was to make that decision, but she made the right one. to be with her child. not everybody has the ability to do that. i think that is what the president is talking about. that gut wrenching decision. stay home without pay or leave their child behind to go to work. those are issues that the world is struggling with. talking about the cost of tuition in college, making the

first two years of college potentially free. if they choose to go to a community college. that is not talking democrat or republican, but to the american people about the expectations. we need further education than a high school diploma. that is what the president was speaking about last night. host: the love a seat at the leadership table, but you are in the minority -- you have a seat at the leadership table, but you are in the minority. what tools do you have russian mark guest: -- what tools you have? guest: we have the president. he has the ability to talk to the american people and promote his agenda. i will do my part in washington at home, new york, the bronx. we all have that ability. we can remind the american people that we have opportunities.

that is improving the economy. having a good economy and months of job creations. people have been that to work since the president took office. we are moving very well, but more needs to be done. we need to see more of that middle-class building that the president was talking about last night. anybody who wants a job has opportunity for a job. that is what we need to talk about. host: do you agree that idea of fast-track authority and the trade negotiations that the administration is conducting with specific -- pacific partners? guest: i have not seen a bill yet on fast track. i know there are two, but i have not seen language on any of those bills. they are not prepared to be submitted. trade promotion authority i have

not seen. i supported some trade agreements and rejected others. i do not support the permanent global trade relations with china. i do not support -- i have supported other trade agreements and i take them on a case-by-case basis. one of the problems is that it is a multilateral trade agreement. it is not a bilateral agreement. it is not just about one country or two countries, this is a multilateral agreement. as is the european agreement. it is very complicated and we need to do diligence. quote we are required -- required to get and give. host: will the democrats get behind the president on trade? do you think the majority of democrats would vote for? guest: i think they will be respectful when they listen to

both sides of the issue. i know there are many members looking for a shift in the paradigm on the issue. i think the president began that last night. i think he has some work to do in terms of explaining to the american people the benefits of trade. both democrats and republicans and i think many people have been sold on trade and have not seen the benefits. there are jobs shipped overseas down south up north. i think we do have to do a better job of explaining the benefits to the american people. if the president -- the president was accurate and right saying that we cannot shut down our borders. especially when 95% of the market is outside of our borders. i think that is a very solid point. we need to look at this and give it is time. i think the due process that it would deserve. it cannot render decisions there are many out there who are for against and have not seen

what exactly is an agreements. host: what does the president need to do to convince you other democrats, and the american people that the trade agreements are a good idea? how should he go about doing that? guest: i think he has to communicate the fairness of the agreements. in other words, it is not just about the united states. the first priority is the united states. what does it do to jobs in the united states? what advantages or disadvantages are beginning to other countries? what standards are we requiring those countries to maintain? those who are in favor of these have argued like i have, that we need to lift the country's up and put standards on the environment and on labor standards as well. there is a call for more transparency here in congress by democrats particularly, but by then -- by republicans as well. many of our counterparts have

refused to fully negotiate until they know from the authorities from the president to move a bill forward in congress. i think there needs to be more openness about the process. many of my colleagues are concerned about currency reform particularly within china. there are a myriad of issues that need to be discussed and talked about the given the respect they deserve. host: another issue that the president called on congress to do authorization to cite isis -- to fight isis. calling for a new authorization. are you behind that? would you vote yes and where do you think the democratic party is -- democratic lawmakers in the house? guest: i think we do need to take a vote. as to where democrats or republicans, we need to see the response from both. it was somewhat muted in terms of the applause.

i do think with respect, that we do need to have the debate and discussion. we also have to see what the president is asking for. it is not open-ended. it has to be clearly defined. we need to respond to how to be vote on something without actually looking at the biltmore reading it and interpreting it. that is premature, we would need to wait and see. i would authorize or give him the authority. i tend to lean in giving our commander in chief the authority. i believe we ought to do that. host: we talked with congressman tom price earlier on the show. i want to ask you what i asked him, what is it like to be in the chamber for the state of the union address? what does it mean to you? guest: it is a very special place. obviously, in a personal sense

you are a part of such an incredible legislative body. the leader of the free world is speaking before us, our president. not only so many americans, but the eyes of the world are tuning in and watching how we behave, how we react, and what the president is saying. you know, to me, this is my 17th. i have never missed a state of the union address as long as i have here and i hope to never have to do that. whether you are republican or democrat, we all want to respect the incredible opportunity we have been given to be in that room and to do the work that we do do. i think it is also important for us to give the president the respect that he does -- deserves. and to get working on the agenda that the president has set forth.

republicans and democrats do not have to agree with everything the president say but the ball is in the majority of the republican court. we will see what they come back with in terms of response. host: he represents the 14th district in new york. we appreciate your time, sir. guest: thank you, greta. great to be with you. host: talking about what it is like to be in the house chamber for the sake of the union address last night. it was his 17th hearing he hopes to never miss any and he has not missed any. we covered the speech. if you missed it, go to our website at www.c-span.org. we also cover the republican response given by i was first female senator, joni ernst. the headline for the "washington post," of personal, populist message.

we will go to john for more. >> there were more than one republican responses. there was one in spanish last night. overnight, "the washington post," broke down the differences between journey parents -- joni ernst response in english and spanish. -- and spanish gop response. national security expressed his hope that republicans can work with obama on immigration reforms, specifically he said in spanish, that we should also work to the appropriate channels to create permanent solutions for our immigration system, modernizing illegal immigration and strengthen our economy. he concluded by saying, in the past, the president has supported -- ideas and noted that joni ernst never minded the

word immigration -- never muttered the word immigration once. the president saying immigration twice in his about 6000 word speech. he threatened to veto any gop bill that rehashes past battles on immigration. we have a system to fix, and in the second reference the president called probably for congress to resist policies that would tear families apart. of course, member of the leadership sending out their tweets on the issue of immigration. here is nancy pelosi. president obama's immigration act has kept families together and will provide long-term deficit reduction to grow our economy. speaker boehner in one of his state of the union fact checks said president obama's unilateral action on immigration is unprecedented and a major flip-flop. he went on to say that president obama has left out thousands of immigrants with criminal records off the hook. just a few comments on that

issue of immigration. host: if you want to follow along from reactions of congress members, go to our website -- excuse me go to our twitter page at [video clip] --http://twitter.com/cspanwj you can see it all on c_span's twitter page. this is from the "washington post" this morning. this is how they break down the speech __ 25 minutes on the economy, 10 minutes on foreign_policy, three minutes on education, two minutes on climate change, less than two minutes on national security. madeleine in new england. what do you make of what the present them had to say last night?

caller: i would like for someone to talk about __ it is very easy to talk about programs, spending money, doing things. i could say here and make you a list of hundreds of things that i think the government should buy, or pay for, or encourage. the thing that was not mentioned last night or this morning is how do you pay for these things. the people who are going to be hurt the worst __ if we go bankrupt, or the government collapses because we can no longer borrow money, the people who will be devastated by those people in this country who are dependent on government __ welfare recipients, subsidize housing assistance. all those people will be absolutely devastated. the evidence is seven years ago when the economy __ those were the people who were hurt the

most, the wealthy were not hurt. according to everything i hear, they are better off. the poor will be very hurt. host: you bring up a deficit in the cost of what the president is proposing. his proposal for community college will cost the treasury about $6 billion per year and would save students on average $3800 annually. his proposal for middle_class tax breaks include a $500 second earner credit to 24 million households. he also proposed to reform the education tax system by consolidating provisions in providing students $2500 a year towards completing a college degree. that would affect a point 5

million families. since he announced his tax plan on saturday, republican lawmakers have predicted that has no chance of passage in the senate. our next color is from illinois. caller: i have a question about the keystone pipeline. i know the republicans want to get that through. i was totally against it. i do not like going to the bread basket of her country. then, when i heard all the states agreed to it where it would go through, i said, okay, it is their problem. then, i read a tiny article about a tiny town __ there was a leak in the pipeline that are of about 70,000 gallons of oil.

nobody knew it was there until they discovered in a nearby town there were traces of oil in their drinking water __ now they have bottled water everywhere. now i'm entirely gets the pipeline. i noticed the presidents shook hands with all the supreme court members last night. do they normally do that? finally, who are the supreme court justices that were missing? host: yeah __ caller: i thought it was just the two __ i thought it was maybe just been to. i thought i counted five __ or seven __ i wasn't sure how many were there. host: i think they were actually six there. peter baker had a tweet about this.

we'll try to get that for you so we can show you. surely the ones who did __ show you the ones who did not attend. we will go next to sheila, an independent caller. caller: thank you for having me on. i just have a few things i want to say. his speech reminded me __ you know the glass bubbles the u_shaped and the glitter and the snow goes up, and all of a sudden it calms back down. i think that's what's going to happen to our country. i feel like a few points that you brought up about maternity and sick leave __ i own an extremely small business. no one really talks about the small businesses, like five or six people.

if i had to pay that, i would be bankrupt. not everyone gets pregnant or sick all the time. i also want to talk about minimum wage. it is not just minimum wage that goes up, it is social security, medicare. i feel like when minimum wage goes out, the prices of everything has to go up to compensate that. you do not gain anything from it. i think they need to focus on the big businesses, the utility companies __ they get the big discounts. i just got a cable bill, and it went up four dollars. host: we're taking your phone calls about the present state of the union last night. he spoke for an hour to congress and the american people. if you missed it, you can go to c_span.org. we have been showing parts of

the speech. lots of reactions on twitter. a couple of tweets here from viewers. thai capital gains taxes to sustain employment __ watchdog numbers go up. how about the cost of food going down the fuel is reducing. by the way, our previous caller asking which justices were in attendance. peter baker tweeting out six justices arrives, thomas and alit opt to stay away. caller: good morning. we should all work together for the rich and poor, and those in

between. i see sometimes the comments coming through that are negative. those are from the people who have an ideology __ a pre_programmed ideology __ they do not really think about what is being said, they have already been programmed to say something negative. i think of presidents speech should not be subject to any negative comments. it should only be subject to what helps people. these people who make these comments they are not experts on anything. they do not wait to see if anything the president has put in place will work or not work. host: ron in vermont. hi, ron. caller: where i'm from __ the

economy for me, it is really good. some of the things that semi conductors shipped to __ it provides these __ this great technology. we have body scanners at the airport. we militarize the local police departments. we have autonomous drones. that's the american life. that tells us everything about our gnt, but it tells me nothing about why i am proud to be american. host: george, a republican.

caller: happy new year. just a couple things __ it's the truth it you taxing see what less of. that is just a common philosophy. in making wealth creators and job creators port, does that necessarily make the poor richer? on top of that, when was the last time you were given a job corps person? host: out __ al, you are next. caller: a few quick things __ the minimum wage. that one lady hit it just right. when you raise the minimum wage, prices of everything will go up.

you are really not getting ahead. it will cost you more to buy everything. the democrats are not telling the american people the reason why they want minimum wage should go up and so they will have more taxes. the pipeline __ wait a minute, warren buffett and bill gates are moving on down on railcars. that's why obama does not want that. none of that he said is going to help me. host: in __ on this issue of wages, a few callers about that up. here is "usa today"'s opinion this morning __ obama's populace plans skirts causes of wage stagnation.

the problem, obama's critics say, is that they have even less of a plan. even a redistributive tax scheme like obama is my hope that the margins. that is the opinion of "usa today" in their paper this morning. we're getting your thoughts on what the present __ president had to say last night in his 60 minute address. we'll go to brian. caller: i would like to say that i do not see how any of this is helping the middle class one bit. i worked for 38 years and my taxes have never gone down, they have always gone up. i'm wondering what will happen when we get to the point where we decide that we need to be on

the government bill and quit working, and stay home with our kids and be able to see them off to school and back from school. i think at some point the american worker will have to make a decision if it is better for your children __ bbetter for you to be there for them and cheaper than you to work, maybe that's where we need to go. host: go ahead and finish your thought. caller: and then see what happens to the economy whenever i decide it's better to stay home. host: we will keep getting your thoughts here this morning. before we get more phone calls, we want to go back up to capitol hill to the rotunda where roger wicker is joining us. thank you for your time. guest: god to be __ glad to be with you.

host: a new poll shows that the highest share in 11 years is satisfied with the economy. can the present them get credit for that? guest: i think it is the energy boom that has largely contributed to a boost in the economy. also, this free and open internet that the president now wants to regulate has been a key part of that. to me, there is an irony that the two things that have given us little growth that we have had he wants to change. host: what are the republicans plans? guest: i think there's an opportunity for tax reform. this is something that the government has accomplished in the past __ big things like what reagan did, he was able

to get through major tax reforms. we are interested in reducing loopholes and making the tax system more job friendly, and simpler for americans. i think that the president iis mixing the mark when he says we __ missing the mark when he says we can raise taxes on job makers. let's sit down and work together. we have about public and house __ a republican house and senate. it may be a good time to roll up our sleeves and work with the senate finance committee, and supply the tax code to create a better job environment. host: senator, how did you view

the tone of last night's speech? guest: i really do not care for the dueling over nations type of approach that we have come to see in recent state of the union addresses. it almost seems like at times the president was encouraging one side or the other to stand and applaud. i would rather sit there and listen to the presidents ideas and let the american people judge. i was not a fan of the style, to be honest. host: as chair of the national senatorial chair committee, it seems like another election is around the corner, how will republicans talk about

americans moving up to the election? guest: i feel good about our chances to hold onto the majority in the senate. i think we will be judged on how we perform. i think the american people want accomplishments. they want to see legislation. they will see the senate go back to the traditional role of taking up legislation, working at it. i think we'll end up with a lot more legislation on the presidents desk. while talking about working together, he also use the veto word quite forcefully. we will see if we can send things to the president that he will sign.

i think there's an opportunity to build more highways. the president said he wants to do that. he certainly has an ally in me when he wants to commit more money to disease research. i think you notice that the presidents call for free trade as a job creation measure __ because 95% of the customers are outside of these borders __ they received a lot more encouragement from the republican side than from the democratic side. i think that we can come up with some a competence like that, and then take our senate races state_by_state with the quality of the incumbents that we have up there, i feel good about our chances to build on the majority in 2016. host: what about the presidents call to congress to give him new authorization to fight isis?

are you a yes vote on that? guest: i think it is a debate we should have had last fall. i expected in december. i would certainly like to see the president lead a more aggressive effort to arm our friends and allies in the region. we are not going to beat isis. to defeat this thread without boots on the ground. i would hope that their boots on the ground from countries in the region. we have been very slow to work with sustained airstrikes. in addition, the people that we want to see succeed will need american assistance.

i would like to see more results from the president on this. we will hear from more generals and defense officials from the administration. i'm on that committee. i want us to be successful. not as democrats and republicans, but as americans. it will take a more serious, and determined effort that we have seen out of this president so far. host: what you make of this headline that is on many of the front pages this morning __ what does that mean, and __ rebels are sold key sites __ rebels assault key sites in yemen.

guest: we see today that the foundations were crumbling all along. it is troublesome. i think it points to a lack ofreality on the part of the menstruation. they would think that they had a success there, when in fact things were going so poorly. this will happen in other countries and other regions. we might as well get ready for. we are not as well equipped as a national defense posture as we need to be. host: what needs to happen? guest: we need to avoid sequestration that is in the law, and coming down the pipe. like i said, we need to arm our friends.

we need to make sure that they are as a quick as they can possibly be to carry the fight of the ice of people so that american troops do not have to. host: senator roger wicker, thanks for talking to us. guest: thanks for the opportunity. host: said a wicker with his reaction to the state of the union address. you heard there, some of the tensions that exist between the two parties, and the agendas that the republicans would like to push over the next two years. we're going outside of the beltway to get your thoughts this morning. more of your calls coming up. let's go back to john with more

on the president's speech. host: facebook releasing some stats on the state of the union address. the most talked about moment, according to the stats, was president obama is off the scripts campaign remark. it caused a __ i want both __ i won both of them __ hashtag. about 2.6 million tweets were sent during the state of the union. during the republican response, the most talked about topics

were college reform. twitter releasing a time lapse of the tweets that were sent out. you can see the map there __ where people were most engaged during the speech. that time lapse map shown during the speech itself and the gop response. social media response to state of the union has come along way since 2002. george bush's speech was the first live webcast online. that was probably best remembered for president bush's reference to axis of evil. the first television address

was in 1947 with harry truman. he was the first president to broadcast on television. the state of the union did not go to prime time until 1965 with lyndon b. johnson. the first on radio, calvin coolidge in 1923. he was the first president have his speech podcast on the new medium on the radio. host: it was the president's six state of the union address. what are your thoughts? good morning. caller: i was really thrilled

with what the president was saying. what i do not understand is that they forget about the poor people. those people who make less than $1000 per month. i work, and i raise my children by myself. i got injured on my job, aand that has been since 1999. i got hurricane katrina and had 20 surgeries. i get $741 per month. $23 in food stamps. how am i supposed to survive? host: shiva in louisiana talking about not enough mentions of poor people in this country (. we'll go next to robert. caller: i want to make a comment on the keystone pipeline.

i heard some people say that it will not be used in this country. the facts are __ oil is a worldwide commodity. anytime we can move oil from anyplace into the market, it lowers the price for fuel for country. as far as the tax situation __ why should the democrats want to tax is higher and higher? the fact is, if they would go to the sales tax and do away with the irs __ completely do away with it __ and drop government spending to what we actually need __ this country would see an economy soar like it never has. host: paul, what do you think?

caller: great show. i have three comments __ or observations. they all center around the fact that actions speak louder than words. i think it is obvious that when the president took office, we were in terrible shape. we had a number of significant problems. in regards to the party affiliation __ yyou have to admit that today we are in a better place. the second is the visible response to the folks in the audience. i know is always the game plan that some stand and some set. i guess i was personally offended that when the __ the president spoke from his heart about america.

it was still visible that there were those who sat and failed to respond in a positive way. finally, a comment on the three justices that did not attend the state of the union. i think that that is deplorable. i think that that is beyond unprofessional, and quite an embarrassment. there you have it. host: lorenzo, a democratic caller. host: hello. i thought the state of the union address was __ i thought the state of the union address was great. host: unfortunately, we are having trouble hearing you. maybe you can call back. anthony from washington, d.c.

caller: thank you. i just wanted to say __ as an attorney, i have been a republican and it seems to me that our party is stretching itself to send. it is trying to appeal to job creators and families of a certain income, and even quote unquote middle_class. you have interest of very right wingers that are driving others out. there should be no reason why when obama makes mention of creating jobs and women's rights that our leaders are sitting down. it is a __ i'm not sure how we can win any elections without manipulating votes.

it's a tough time for our party. if we all wake up and stop spreading ourselves to send. host: you mentioned voting rights issues. [video clip] >> we may go at it in voting season, but certainly we can agree that the right to vote is sacred. on this 50th anniversary of the great march from selma to montgomery, and the passage of the voting rights act, we can come together. as democrats and republicans to make voting easier for everyone. [applause] we may have different takes on the events in ferguson in new york. surely we can understand the father who fears that his son cannot walk home without being arrested.

surely, we can understand the wife who cannot sleep until her husband comes home after his shift. the crime rate and incarceration rate has come down together. use as a starting point for democrats and republicans, for community leaders and law enforcement to reform our criminal justice system. so that it protects and serves all. [applause] that's a better policy. that's how we start rebuilding trust. that's how we move this country forward. that's what the american people want. that's what they deserve.

host: president obama last night talking about the criminal justice system, civil rights. part of his speech from the state of the union last night. what are your thoughts on what he had to say? alana, aan independent. caller: good morning. it's nice to see you. you have a beautiful hairdo. host: thank you. caller: you're welcome. my idea is this __ the next person running for president should consider eliminating taxing the minimum wage earner. the people working at burger king would bring home a whole lot more money if the government did not taxes on their $7.50 earnings. that would put more people to work.

they would come home with a little bit more money. they would have a little bit more consumer power. the government should have the heart to not taxed people earning less than $10 per hour. host: travis from kentucky. caller: good morning. i'm from michigan, though. i wanted to talk about the minimum wage, and how it should go up. i know some people disagree. host: john in oregon. a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. i just wanted to make a comment about the presidents speech last night. he was saying __ talking about wanting to work with democrats and republicans. he made a long list of things he would be to.

i do not understand how that would work with republicans or democrats. that's my comment. host: sandy from texas. what are your thoughts? caller: thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to say that both sides of the aisle keep talking about the middle class and what needs to be done for them. i am 70 years old. what happens the middle_class is mass immigration and these free trade agreements. the saturation of workers into the workforce. that includes pushing women during the 70's and 80's into the workforce. the amount of workers for jobs has increased to the point where wages have not gone up

for 25 or 30 years. what's talked about __ they talk about everything else, but they do not want to __ they continually talk about increasing immigration, either legal or obama's amnesty plan for illegals. this is what has driven wages down, and what is destroying the middle class in this country. host: steve in arizona. you are on the air. caller: thank you for c_span. my comment is __ right after the present speech, the lady said, we cannot afford that. it almost seems like the republicans say, we cannot afford that, and the democrats want to help. it's almost as if the democrats

want to help you and the rug __ republicans don't. host: a story from politico this morning stating that speaker boehner invites netanyahu to speak to congress. that yahoo is vehemently opposed to a deal with iran and is very vocal that the united states is making a mistake in negotiating. boehner is setting up a major confrontation with the obama administration. boehner hhas invited that yahoo to address congress for his third time on february 11. congress has been weighing

legislation to impose additional sanctions on iran, even as john kerry has been trying to negotiate an agreement. there is a bipartisan support for additional sanctions. the present them said in his speech on tuesday that he would veto additional sanctions at this time. nancy, welcome to the conversation. caller: thank you so much. i thought the present speech was remarkable last night. it is so obvious to me that he is speaking from his heart __ someone else said. he really does want right for the american people. of course, his hands have been tied for most of his presidency __ or at least a lot of his presidency. it's going to sound a little silly, but i think he could literally find a cure to cancer in people would complain. i feel that if we stand behind him as one nation, that

everyone will really find a pursuit of happiness. thank you so much. host: james from fort worth, texas. what do you think of the president's speech? caller: i thought it was the same bs. host: why? caller: he does not know what the middle_class is. host: what is it? caller: at one time in my lifetime, i'm 70 years old, i consider myself to be in the middle_class. if you think that people live with $17,000 per year, hhe should try my life. host: we have about 20 minutes left here to keep take your thoughts.

first, john from the news desk with more on the present speech. host: something that viewers may have missed last night was the releasing of the state of the union publicly. it was released about 17 minutes before the speech was supposed to begin. it was posted last night, as the speech was beginning on medium.com. the white house explained that there is a ritual that before the speech, a copy is embargoed to the press. eventually, everyone in washington can read along. this year, the change that. the white house mmade the full

copy of the speech available online. they said you could follow along on medium, and included charts as well. one journalist wrote on politico __ look, the media, however you define that does not have any such right to embargo the state of the union remarks. the white house decision makes tons of sense. another journalist wrote that others may disagree, but i support the releasing of the state of the union address. another reporter from the "new york times" said __ yet again, the white house goes around reporters. host: if you missed it, the speech last night __ you can go to our website, c_span.org, to

watch the full speech there. the republican reaction from joni ernst, the first female senator from iowa. ricky is up next. caller: great show. i just want to talk a little bit about what the president had to say about taxing the rich. it is my understanding that the koch brothers and monsanto had record_breaking profits. people like me who make $29,000 per year get 30% of our check taken. host: raphael, what's on your mind?

caller: all of the states that passed right to work __ one time in louisiana, we had a union, everybody was working __ blacks, whites, hispanics. then, the right to work destroyed construction jobs. they're cutting out the poor whites and the poor blacks. the republican party __ because they like cheap labor in the south, wwe have a slave mentality __ most poor whites and poor blacks do not have jobs. they are filling the job with hispanics. i'm an old man, and i've never seen this country go down so fast. host: waterway just like? give us some examples of wages.

guest: when they passed right to work, they said they would stay the same. if you work in construction now, you may make $20 per hour. i've seen homes go down. the only people building houses now are the illegals. they are using trailer houses, if you can't afford them. this country is going down. host: wassail, were you in the construction business? caller: i was a union builder. i had my own business. i did construction on homes.

you may have wanted to wipe over the jobs, but you have eight or nine hispanics. the blacks in the white __ they don't have any jobs. host: will go to alan __ ellen. caller: good morning. speaking about moving this country forward, and the paid tuition for the community colleges. we have our work force out there with graduates right now ready to work. they're saying there's all this unemployment. these kids cannot find jobs. they are working in an industry that they have not gone to college for, and they cannot find a job. why is the eddie by talking __ iisn't anybody talking about them? not to mention all the loans on

the middle class. let's have a conversation about that and put our kids to work right now. host: lewis from pennsylvania. what do you think? caller: we have to __ the democrats and republicans, they have to work together. republicans talking about spending money __ you have to save money before __ you can draw all the money out of the bank and then say, we have to save some money. i think they should have had __

host: lewis mentions republicans tactics against the present them. republicans say they will continue to chip away __ that is the headline in "the washington times." yesterday, warren hatch, the new chairman of the finance committee spoke before the chamber of commerce. here's what you have to say about the affordable care act. [video clip] >> no buy should be surprised that i oppose the affordable care act and think that it should be repealed. what he is present, there will never be a full repeal. but does not mean we should not do anything. we'll strike away with that piece by piece. just last week, i reintroduced legislation to repeal the medical device tax.

also to repeal __ host: he went on to say that the republicans will use any tool that they have to fight the present them on the affordable care act. we will go to bill from arkansas. bill, did you watch the speech last night? caller: yes i did. i was displeased that veterans were not mentioned very much. i would like to recommend all veterans read a book called leave no man behind. host: roberta, you are on the air. caller: thank you. in the last couple years, in this area, we have had several severe tornadoes.

we are all very familiar with the contractors that comment to do the work to rebuild homes. in almost every case __ maybe because this happened to us and our neighbors __ the contractors come in with anywhere from 3 to 7 hispanic laborers. maybe one or two that are of the white race, or certified electricians, the rest are hispanic laborers. they all make from $5_$7 per hour under the table. how can they expect our people to be able to have jobs, or find a job, when hispanics take the jobs away from them? even though i'm a democrat, i disagree totally with mr. obama on immigration. host: we learned early that

president obama mentioned immigration just a couple times in his speech last night. we have a couple minutes left. first, john at the news desk. host: at the present speech last night, his cabinet was present, minus one member who is the quote designated survivor. anthony foxx was picked to be the designated survivor. he has a grim task __ to stay away from the address, and be ready for any sort of catastrophic event that would wipe out the government.

dave leventhal at the public integrity group tweets that the last time a woman was the state of the union designated survivor was back in 2002. one other tweet __ why does the designated survivor change? if moniz was good enough to demonstrate a nuclear wasteland last year, why not this year? host: if you missed the speech again, go to c_span.org. we're getting your thoughts. we'll go to anzar in california. good morning. caller: good morning.

my comment is a little off the subject __ there is a climate against president obama __ a climate of hate. i think of you not cautious of this climate, it could lead to the death of our president. you have white guard senators and congressmen who are creating an atmosphere of hate. the presidents life is a danger. i say this as a young black man. for instance, the seeker the house from kansas __ he dedicated psalms to the president. it reads in the bible __ make another take his place. may his wife be a widower.

may his children be wanderers and beggars. maybe be driven from their home. may a creditor sees all of his assets. may no one __ host: i think we got the point. we will go to all __ oliver. what did you think of what the present had to say last night? caller: i enjoyed his speech. i think he is doing a wonderful job for this country. i know he knows what he is doing. caller: a republican from jackson, michigan. caller: thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to make a comment

on the immigration policies that we have had in this country for the last 12 years. i was a democrat of to the reagan years. we have seen that the influx of mexican immigrants taking our jobs __ jobs that we want. i work in the manufacturing business. we do not have jobs anymore. i would like to know what congress and what the president plans on doing to put the american people back to work. host: robert from illinois. caller: i'm calling in regards to immigration. if you listen very closely to the last four or five callers, everybody saying the same thing. why are americans having to

compete with illegals in order to get the jobs in the united states? something is wrong with that picture. why are we competing with these people who shouldn't be here to begin with. this idea that it is a republican or democratic issue, it is a total issue. they both agree on the issue. they love the fact that they can provide cheap labor to the big corporations. they have no regard for the working people. that guy from louisiana is 100% correct. our people should not have to compete with illegals. host: lori from north carolina. caller: i just took issue with several things that obama said last night.

mainly on the first two years of college being free. how do you even pay for that? we have had 12 years of free education for our children, and there's still not a lot to show for that. two more years of free education __ who will really take advantage of that? how will they pay for? we artie put a lot __ we already put a lot into education. it will come out of the middle_class pockets for sure. that is one big issue that i take with a speech. host: "the washington times" this morning is putting that figure at $6 billion for the first year for the presidents proposal on to me colleges. tony in chicago. an independent caller. go ahead.

caller: these rich __ you know, like auto companies. those folks up there working __ get them back up on their feet. give them a little raise or something. that's how the society is. you want to hire cheap labor. the rich need to come up with this money, and help others with better. host: what did you think about what the president had to say about raising taxes on the wealthier and shifting some of that benefit to middle_class americans?

caller: that's why they don't respect our president. i'm tired of people disrespecting our present them. they need to give him some respect. use trying to do his job. racism plays a big part of this. host: david from kansas. caller: about the present speech __ president's speech last night __ about the only thing i agree with him on was making child care affordable. i know what it's like to pay outrageous childcare feeds. we also need to make it safe for our children. you pick up the newspaper for the last five years and constantly find out about children being abused in day

care centers, and by day care providers. secondly, i ran for the u.s. house until i started having health problems. i have a comprehensive budget and tax plan that actually works. i spent over 16 years putting it together. it was a comprehensive plan that was fair and equal for all people. the main saying is that it benefits them working class in a way that the government has never considered. i presented to both house and senate republicans and democrats. i've even sent it into the white house. it's just not a plan that they want to do because it does not interest their special interest or lobbyists. host: i'm going to try and get george in. the house is about to gavel in.

make it real quick. caller: how can the president keep talking about this veto. how does he have the right to veto over millions of votes? we've got 20 million people here. host: i'll leave it there. we have to run. thanks for watching today and for joining the conversation. live coverage here on c_span of the house.