# Republicans and Independant: What did you think of the SOTU address last night? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 1, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525 "2006-02-01T17:35:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/21 "2006-02-02T04:53:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I find it funny that you seem to think that Independent=Neutral to Bush. Speaking as an independent, from a family of independents, with many independent and third party friends. I don’t know a single independent that has a neutral attitude towards Bush. Most, myself included, loathe him! The rest I know are on the fence. Independents by their very nature are at least nominally unbiased…at least they don’t associate so strongly with either the Democrat or Republican PARTY as far as blindly toeing the party line. I consider myself an Independent btw and while I’m no fan of GW’s I’d say that at least a fairly large percentage of Independents of various stripes were either neutral towards Bush or in favor of him…otherwise he would never have been re-elected, no? > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Socialists, Greens and Libertarians are all “independents,” xtisme. And practically all of them hate the Bush Admin. Gee…really BG? Being a libertarian myself I never would have realized that we were independents. 😛 The reason I asked for ‘Republicans and Independents’ is I wanted to get a different viewpoint not always seen on this board…instead of the same old knee jerk anti-Bush crap. Personally I thought the speech sucked and I wanted to see if the self styled Republicans on the board agreed. As for the Independents, I generally like to hear what they have to say more than either of the folks who self identify with either of the major parties as they are often more non-partisan…i.e. they actually have valid reason for disliking Bush and looking critically, while also are able to listen objectively if he actually makes good points. > [@rjung](#): > > Translation: “Wahh! I can’t handle dissent!” Case in point. rjung doesn’t even need to post and I already know what he thinks and can predict he will say stupid shit like this reguardless if Bush is even mentioned in a thead. And he obviously is incapable of reading more than a few words at a time since I said “I pretty much know what self styled Dems on the board think of it already, **but feel free to give your thoughts as well** though I’m most interested in folks who are either pro-Bush or neutral as to the speech.” You see rjung there are ALREADY at least two threads on the board that give plenty of examples of what folks like you thought of the speech…I was interested in trying to get ANOTHER viewpoint for a change. More specifically I was trying to draw out the very few pro-Bush or Bush-neutral dopers out there to try and coax them to give THEIR thoughts on the speech where perhaps they wouldn’t feel like they were going to be overwhelmed by, er, folks like you. Not that it seems to be working…none of the folks I had hoped to hear from have showed up, while all the usual suspects have come crashing in as, well, usual. C’est la vie I guess. You could at least be well behaved and actually give your thoughts on the speech…something a bit more than ‘it sucked’ would be niece. -XT ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/22 "2006-02-02T04:59:29Z")
alaricthegoth: > [@](#): > > and they can’t raise the price I don’t know about that. The price has nowhere to go but up. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/23 "2006-02-02T05:30:25Z")
Bush actually closely split the independent vote in 2004, he got 48% Kerry got 49%. As for the speech? The State of the Union is meaningless political theatre at its worst. In general while it’s useful to have an idea what the President has planned for the coming year, ultimately I’m a whole lot more interested in what Bush actually does versus what he says he’s going to do (same for all politicians, actually.) ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/24 "2006-02-02T13:35:31Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Almost forgot. I’m relived the federal gov’t is finally making a stand against the threat of human/animal hybrids. We’ve offically gone from basing our national defense startegy on bad Tom Clancy books to bad Michael Crichton movies. I wonder how that little gem will affect things lik insulin for diabetics?? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/25 "2006-02-02T20:26:43Z")
I’m a lefty myself, but maybe some other respondents will have ideas on the subject I was wondering about: What happened to the Space Exploration Initiative? A little over a year ago, many on this board were delighted to see that the Administration was committing serious resources to [a renewed space program:](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288412) > [@Sam Stone in Nov. 2004](#): > > The Space Exploration Initiative is a Go > Back a few months, we debated Bush’s Space Exploration Initiative. The doubters here on the board said that it was just an election gimmick, that Bush wasn’t serious, and that it would quietly die after the election. But nowadays it seems that NASA is having [budget troubles that threaten the Initiative,](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/23/AR2005112301970.html) and I didn’t hear any mention about it in the SOTU address. Will there be a renewed Administration commitment to funding it in next year’s budget? Or is the President’s silence on space exploration a tacit signal that the White House is “backing away” from the program? > [@](#): > > A large deficit in NASA’s troubled shuttle program threatens to seriously delay and possibly cripple President Bush’s space exploration initiative unless the number of planned flights is cut virtually in half or the White House agrees to add billions of dollars to the human spaceflight budget. > > Sources familiar with ongoing negotiations between NASA and the White House say the administration has no intention of spending extra money to deal with a shortfall that some space experts say could exceed $6 billion from 2006 to 2010, when NASA plans to retire the shuttle for good. […] > > The impasse has put the future of Bush’s “Vision for Space Exploration” in doubt less than two years after it was announced. Without extra money, experts say, NASA could have trouble developing a new “crew exploration vehicle” by 2014, as originally planned, let alone fulfilling Griffin’s wish to fly it by 2012. The dilemma is also fueling an odd confrontation between the administration and Congress, where once-wary lawmakers now appear willing to provide the extra funding even as the White House backs away from its own initiative. > > “The decisions made over the next few weeks will determine whether the Bush White House is serious about supporting the vision,” said John Logsdon, director of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute. “We’ve reached a watershed.” […] > > Last year, it took an eleventh-hour arm-twist by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) to win passage of NASA’s $16.1 billion budget, but this year lawmakers easily passed the 2006 budget – for the full $16.5 billion the White House requested. […] > > NASA and the White House budget office said they could not comment on the shortfall before the official 2007 budget rollout in February, but several expert sources described ongoing negotiations to find a solution. […] > > “The budget associated with the Vision’s announcement in 2004 [anticipated] that the shuttle’s demands would significantly decrease in 2008 and 2009,” said one longtime NASA watcher. “That was a myth.” […] > > “The message to the White House is to pony up,” one congressional source said. “The green-eyeshade approach undermines the president’s legacy. You’ve got to have a space station worthy of the name, and you’ve got to close the gap.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/26 "2006-02-02T21:50:40Z")
> [@vinniepaz](#): > > Anyone else find this funny? Yes. 😃 I thought the speech was fine. Of course, I didn’t listen to it. 🙂 When was the last time anyone heard a good SotU speech? It’s a constitutional requirement that is made into theater. And, frankly, I’m finding it impossible to listen to Bush talk these days without wanting to smash my TV. I know he’s not as sutpid as he sounds, but _my God does he ever sound stupid!!_ How long is it until the next election…? ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/27 "2006-02-02T22:54:28Z")
Meh. I could get behind most of his talking points if it weren’t for those pesky details of implementation. Being a force to end tyrrany in the world is all well and good as long as the methods chosen do not merely substitute one tyrant for another. Ending dependence on oil sounds good, but what if the plan is massive ethanol subsidies? Social Security needs to be fixed, but record spending and tax cuts aren’t going to give much wiggle room to actually DO anything with it. Not thrilled with the “life is a gift from our creator” bit, even though I’m pro-life I don’t have anything against research. Especially research as promising as stem cell research. Personally I think the Fed and foreign capital had much, MUCH, more to do with the recovery we’ve seen so far than anything Bush did, so kind of annoyed with his taking credit for it. Iraq. Don’t even want to go there. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/28 "2006-02-03T20:19:45Z")
Related item: > [@](#): > > **[Bush Advisors Clarify Oil Reduction Pledge](http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060202/NEWS02/602020405)** > > One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America’s dependence on Middle East oil by cutting 75% of imports from there by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said yesterday that the president didn’t mean it literally. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/29 "2006-02-03T20:38:45Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > How long is it until the next election…? Nine months. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/30 "2006-02-03T20:47:29Z")
> [@alaricthegoth](#): > > aha! a clever ruse to “out” the pugs on the board. I approve… Pugs? You mean we have [PUGS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pug) posting on this board? Oh, the horror. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/31 "2006-02-03T20:48:58Z")
It was a good speech overall. Hit some good points but unfortunately omitted some others (tax reform? border closure?). I’d score it a B. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525/32 "2006-02-03T21:46:47Z")
I think I qualify as an independent, not being American and all that. I didn’t hear the speech, but I have read it, so I won’t comment on the delivery. It’s full of stuff which sounds good. He’s learned from Tony Blair to give total figures rather than figures per year. A robust defence of Iraq. Etc. It remains to be seen whether he will carry out what he has pledged. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-and-independant-what-did-you-think-of-the-sotu-address-last-night/342525.md?page=1)