Republican Governors Association Briefing   ...1 of 1 >
Feb. 24, 2014 - Four Republican governors criticized President Obama on a number of fronts at a Republican Governors Association briefing.  The governors, in town for the National Governors Association winter meeting, had earlier met with the president at the White House.  According to press releases from the RGA, "...Washington dysfunction under President Obama continues to hinder economic development.  Republican governors have stepped up to make the tough decisions, and are seeing success in their states despite Washington and President Obama’s inability and refusal to lead."  At the briefing the governors argued for a greater role and more flexibility for the states, and several said that Obama didn't seem to trust the states.

The governors expressed particular concern about possible cuts to the National Guard.  While describing the meeting with the president as "respectful," Gov. Nikki Haley (SC) said, "The tone completely changed when we went to the National Guard."  Speaking as a military wife, she said she was concerned the president would "hollow out the National Guard."  She said the president conveyed an attitude of "well you wanted cuts, this is what you get."  Gov. Rick Perry (TX) noted that the Guard has undergone major, long deployments, and had its equipment worn down, and he said that any cuts would hit governors hard.  "This is not a partisan issue at all," Perry said.

Jindal said Obama told the governors a decision on Keystone XL pipeline would be coming "in the next couple of months."  Perry stated unequivocally, "The president is going to approve the XL pipeline."  "It's too important to America," he said.

The president and the governors also discussed the Affordable Care Act.  Jindal described the law as implemented poorly and designed poorly.  If it is not possible to repeal and replace the law, "Why not delay the whole thing for a year?" he asked.

Gov. Chris Christie, chairman of the RGA, was noticably absent from the briefing; he is currently weathering controversy over the Bridgegate scandal.  The four governors all said that Christie can still be effective at the RGA, and they said that if Christie came to their states they would be happy to appear with him.

Currently there are 29 Republican and 21 Democratic governors.  In 2014 gubernatorial elections will be held in 36 states; 22 are Republican seats and 14 held by Democrats.  Jindal, one of a number of governors mentioned as a possible 2016 presidential candidate, deflected questions about his intentions for 2016 stating, "We need to be completely focused on 2014." 
Quotes:
Gov. Bobby Jindal (LA): “It is increasingly evident the Obama economy is a minimum wage economy. It is increasingly evident this White House is waving the white flag of surrender when it comes to growth and opportunity, and that’s not good enough for America. America deserves better than that, and American can do better than that.” 

Gov. Nikki Haley (SC): “When we look at the fact that he’s talking about raising the minimum wage, what we are all feeling in our states is the effect of Obamacare. And all of our employers are now looking at reducing the hours that employees are working, going below that 30 hours or minimizing their job force. The focus needs to be what works for the private sector and he continues to go back to the government.”

Gov. Rick Perry (TX): "I don’t mind telling you that I was a bit troubled today by the tone of the President. When you have governors – and we all compete against each other, we are the laboratories of innovation – and for the President of the United States to look Democrat and Republican governors in the eye and say, ‘I do not trust you to make decisions in your state about issues of education, transportation infrastructure,’ that is really troubling."

Gov. Bill Haslam (TN): “I think the difference between what you’re hearing from this group of folks and what you’re hearing from the White House is an understanding about how jobs get created. All the folks up here believe that jobs are created when businesses or individuals feel the confidence to invest capital, and until they have that confidence, they’re not going to do it. What you hear here is the states working really hard to create that confidence. I don’t think anybody would be confused enough to say that Washington is creating that confidence to create jobs.”
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