With Republicans now in charge of both the House and Senate and already battling him on immigration and the Keystone XL pipeline, there is precious little legislationexcepting perhaps trade and cybersecuritythat both the White House and Congress can agree on.
So while he’ll likely give lip service to the concept of cooperation, Obama isn’t expected to hone in much on those areas of mutual agreement during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.
Obama tax plan: Hikes and cuts
Instead, he’ll play up the parties’ philosophical differences in the biggest way possible.
Emboldened by an approval rating that a Washington Post/ABC News poll found had hit 50% for the first time in nearly two years, and fresh off major unilateral actions to forestall deportations, ease tensions with Cuba, restrict environmentally damaging emissions, Obama is taking a more direct approach than he had when his fellow Democrats’ success at the polls was tied to his performance.
–
How Obama’s State of the Union sets up 2016
Those guests — many selected after they wrote letters to Obama last year — offer Obama opportunities to highlight his initiatives on immigration, health care, the minimum wage and more.
Rubio, meanwhile, invited Cuban activist Rosa María Payá to come as his guest. She’s the daughter of Oswaldo Payá, a pro-democracy activist who was killed in a 2012 crash in which the car’s driver has said it was deliberately targeted by Cuban government officials.
“I hope Rosa María Payá’s presence on Tuesday night will at least remind him that her father’s murderers have not been brought to justice, and that the U.S. is now, in fact, sitting at the table with them,” Rubio said.
