Minnesota Republicans not impressed by Obama speech

Minnesota's three Republicans in Congress, like their national leaders, sounded unmoved by Obama's first State of the Union message. Rep. Michele Bachmann called Obama's proposed budget freeze "a day late and a dollar short. Freezing non-security discretionary funding now will freeze it at the highest funding levels we've ever seen." Cutting Obama a little more slack, the headline for Rep. John Kline's statement was that the private sector, not government, should be creating more jobs. That doesn't necessarily contradict anything Obama said, but Kline unleashed a barrage against what he called "the President's go-it-alone strategy – the consequences of which have been an ineffective non-stimulus package and a wildly unpopular plan to put the government in control of health care." Added Kline: "I welcome his call for a spending freeze, [but] Congress should do more and pass strict budget caps that will limit federal spending each year." A more conciliatory Erik Paulsen acknowledged Obama's nod to mounting deficits and job creation, but noted, "When it comes to new policy proposals, the devil is always in the details."