Less than 24 hours after President Obama‘s inaugural speech, Republicans in Washington are seizing on it as evidence that Mr. Obama is the liberal they always insisted he was.
In an Internet video released Tuesday morning, Crossroads GPS, the fund-raising group founded by Karl Rove, cites commentary by members of the news media, who said the address was proof of a liberal agenda.
“The most liberal speech Barack Obama has ever given,†one TV anchor says in the video.
“Unapologetically liberal,†another anchor say..
“You will have a lot of them saying, finally, the president is laying out his real agenda,†Rick Klein, the Washington editor for ABC News, says. “And guess what He’s a liberal.â€
The video suggests that Republicans are eager to revive the accusation against Mr. Obama as the president pushes a second-term agenda that includes gun control, steps on climate change and an immigration overhaul.
They had trouble making the label stick in some quarters during the first four years, in part because Mr. Obama sometimes disappointed his own liberal base with compromises.
But the speech on Monday indicated that the president’s days of treading lightly toward a liberal agenda may be over. And if so, the Republicans are ready to try to take political advantage.
“If the media is calling Obama’s policies liberal,†the video asks, “what can we expect in the next four yearsâ€
Follow Michael D. Shear on Twitter at @shearm.
