The State of the Union Address

WAND's Guide: For Listening. And For Action.

Download our guide here: WAND's State of the Union Listening Guide

Tuesday night WAND eagerly watched and listened during President Obama’s State of the Union address.  Instead of listing all policy issues facing Congress and his administration, the president outlined the issues facing our nation. WAND listened carefully for his thoughts on security and budget priorities issues-- and we hope you did, too!

Although many chuckled at “date night” and the vision of Democrats and Republicans sitting together, that was just the beginning of the bi-partisan show.  There were moments last night when the entire Democratic contingent stood up in support of Obama, then moments when it was only the Republicans who stood in support. And, there was even a second when it looked like almost everyone rose in support.

This was an address that tried to appeal to the entire nation. It was an address that gave WAND cause for both hope and concern.

President Obama focused a significant amount of his speech on budget priorities. He advocated for investments in education and science research. He called on the United States to lead in innovation, and dubbed this another “Sputnik moment.” The president also presented a plan to freeze some discretionary spending in order to help bring down the deficit, but did not include freezing military spending. He mentioned that tackling the deficit would mean considering cuts to defense spending, but he did not commit to scrutiny or cuts to the outdated Cold War weapons systems that waste billions of U.S. taxpayer money.

The president did applaud the bi-partisan vote for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and indeed we are pleased to note that Russia just ratified the treaty. He also noted important efforts to secure nuclear weapons materials “so they never fall into the hands of terrorists.”  Unfortunately, though, President Obama failed to a push for next steps to reduce nuclear dangers, like the essential ratification Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

While the pesident reiterated the July “beginning” of a withdrawal from Afghanistan, he said precious little about the war itself.  As a cost in many ways to this country, that war was the elephant in the room.

In all, the State of the Union  clearly outlined a  platform that will require both parties and other ideologies to work together.  Now,  as engaged citizens it will be important for you to continue to make sure that the president and your elected representatives know your stand and understand what matters to you.

To learn more about what you can do to respond to the State of the Union address, visit WAND's Action Center. Use the links to the left side of the screen to visit WAND's Action Center.