Joey's Take: Rebuttal

I know, I know. By now you are probably sick and tired of all things having to do with the State of the Union speech, but I have a few points that have, for the most part, eluded the pundits and critics.

1. No speech -- regardless of how "magical" it is -- can create jobs, cut the deficit, put money in our pocket, expand health care coverage, halt climate change, increase national security, punish the bad guys and establish world peace. Anyone who thinks it can needs a hefty dose of reality. All of that takes action -- not slick-sounding words.

2. President Obama once again resorted to the blame game. In trying to justify his unprecedented deficit spending, the president pointed to a $1 trillion deficit he said President Bush created in 2008.

Fact Check: For much of Bush's term before 2007, Congress was so evenly split between the Democrats and Republicans that nothing could get passed without some Democrat support. And since the 2006 election -- yes, the one that sent Obama to the Senate -- both the House and the Senate have been controlled by the Democrats. Thus, any deficit created in 2007 and 2008 was blessed by, endorsed by, passed by and often created by the Democratic Congress.

Inconvenient Truth: Obama did not "inherit" the deficit. He helped create it.

3. The president tried to set the stage for a Democratic victory later this fall by casting Republicans as the obstacle to all things good, as the party of no and as political do-nothings devoid of solutions. Since the Democrats control the bully pulpit and the script going out to the mainstream media, Republicans need to go on the offensive (without being offensive) to get the word out about their legislative proposals.

My Suggestion: Republicans should set up websites -- one for the House and one for the Senate -- with links to all the legislation they have proposed this session. For each link -- grouped into categories for healthcare, taxes, deficit, economy, etc. -- there should be a brief summary of each bill along with its history. When was it introduced? What committee was it sent to? What happened to it in that committee? Who chairs that committee? The websites should include bipartisan legislation Republicans have co-sponsored and list the Democrats who have signed onto it.

Once the websites are up, the Republicans need to get out there and market them, using Twitter, Facebook, email lists, their individual congressional websites and local and national media. Then, no one -- not even the president -- will be able to get by with labeling Republicans as the party of no.

I'm Joey. I'm running for Congress. And I approved this message.

P.S. If you missed my State of the Union address, you'll find it more accurately represents the mood of the people than what you heard last night.