Collins reacts to State of the Union speech, says Obama failed to act when needed

Saying that "hope and change are merely words," Georgia's Ninth District Congressman took President Obama to task following the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

 

Republican Doug Collins of Gainesville issued a video statement and said the President has failed to act on important issues over the last seven years.

 

Collins further criticized Obama for using executive action too often to circumvent opponents in Congress.

 

The full body of Collins' reaction follows:

 

President Obama knows he is still searching for a legacy to show for seven years of liberal policies and failed leadership.

Americans have found his message of hope and change are merely words when what we needed was needed a president willing to act.

Instead of stepping up to lead the charge against ISIS, President Obama prioritized climate change.

He brushed the failures of Obamacare under the rug while boasting of brokering a nuclear deal with Iran that puts Israel and other freedom-loving nations in jeopardy.

But perhaps most troubling is this President’s addiction to issuing an executive order whenever he doesn’t get his way.

Throughout his tenure, President Obama has used significant chunks of his State of the Union addresses and countless speaking engagements across the country decrying the congressional majority – and, ultimately, the majority of Americans – for standing in the way of his efforts to recreate national immigration and gun control policies in his own image.

Such unilateral actions are the mark of someone desperate to establish a legacy.

Mr. President, simply going your own way isn’t leadership. It’s not principled to just ignore those who disagree with you.

The entire purpose of a federal legislature is to give representatives of the People opportunity to discuss and debate the merits of legislation from all angles, not merely the narrow perspective of one man.

But President Obama’s efforts to bypass Congress haven’t worked before, and they will not work this time.

Both the House and Senate have rejected bills that undermine the Second Amendment and open our borders.

We have prevented taxpayer dollars from going to the Administration’s gun control and amnesty efforts through the appropriations process.

Beyond combating the onslaught of dictates from the White House, Republicans in Congress have been busy advancing conservative principles.

The first legislative week of this year, House Republicans sent a full Obamacare repeal bill to the President’s desk for the first time – giving the President an opportunity to put the will of the People before partisanship.

Congress has also worked to keep the Executive Branch in check on everything from its overreaching environmental regulatory scheme to bringing the American people the truth about Benghazi and other scandals that have plagued this Obama Administration.

President Obama has less than twelve months to build his legacy.

My hope for our nation is that he will join the dialogue already going on in our nation’s capital and across our great nation to find meaningful solutions to the challenges we face at home and abroad.

Thank you, and God bless America."