President George W. Bush gave on Monday night his last State of the Union address of his presidency.

Bush limped through his speech, an obvious cut-and-paste job during the final lame-duck leg of his journey.

While our economy flounders, our soldiers are encamped in Iraq with no end in sight, and working families grapple with many challenges, the President offered few ideas for solving many of the country’s most pressing problems.

Voters are calling for change. We see it in the overwhelming support and record turnout in the presidential nominating contests on the Democratic side and lagging enthusiasm among Republicans.

The 110th Congress is heeding the call for change by moving America in a new direction and squarely facing challenges that demand more action.

The following is a round-up of Democratic responses to Bush’s cut and paste approach to our nation’s problems.

Congressman Bob Etheridge bent over a parched soybean field Monday, plucked one of farmer Jerry Jordan's withered stalks and cracked open a crunchy brown pod.
"This one's totally dry," he said, holding it up. "There's nothing in it." He pointed at another wispy stalk. "See that one? It's dead."

Etheridge surveyed nine acres of Jordan's agricultural agony, shook his head and declared: "This is pretty much pure drought."

For many Triangle residents, this year's unrelenting, record drought means sacrificing lush lawns and luxurious showers. For thousands of North Carolina farmers, it means financial losses, worries about next year and possible bankruptcy.

"It's a lot more severe than the average person knows," said Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat whose son still works a Harnett County family farm. "The people who provide the food and fiber for America are facing one of their toughest years in a long time."

Etheridge plans to highlight the plight of Tar Heel farmers Thursday at a hearing of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. He and dozens of lawmakers from both parties are pushing to include drought-recovery farm grants in an Iraq war spending bill.

North Carolina’s Democrats in Congress today reaffirmed their support for a new direction in Iraq by voting to pass the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act (HR 2956). The bill, which would begin to responsibly redeploy our troops in Iraq and refocus our efforts on protecting Americans from terrorism, is the latest attempt by Democrats to transition the mission in Iraq and lead where Republicans have failed.

While Republicans like Robin Hayes and Elizabeth Dole still support President Bush’s failed strategy, Democrats are keeping their promise to change course in Iraq. This bill requires a responsible redeployment of U.S. troops beginning within 120 days of enactment and requires the President to publicly justify the post-redeployment missions for the US military in Iraq as well as the minimum number of troops necessary to carry out those missions. It is consistent with the advice of military and foreign policy experts, reflects the will of the American people, would ensure the safety of our men and women in uniform, and would enable a transition to an effective offensive strategy for winning the real war on terrorism.

Butner Site Would Study Human, Animal Diseases

North Carolina Congressmen David Price (NC-4), Brad Miller (NC-13) and Bob Etheridge (NC-02) today announced the selection of a Triangle-area location as a finalist for a proposed Homeland Security research lab.

The research facility is expected to provide hundreds of new high-tech jobs and generate billions in revenue for the local economy over the next 20 years. The research at the high-security lab would be designed to protect U.S. agriculture, the food supply and public health from a bioterrorist attack involving the intentional introduction of foreign animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease. The new facility would replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York, which has become outdated for the current and future Homeland Security needs.

Accomplishments of the 110th Congress:

• Senate Democrats passed comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform.
• Congress passed legislation to help ensure America’s competitive advantage in science, research, and technology.
• Democrats sought better pay for working Americans by passing legislation to raise the federal minimum wage.
• Senate Democrats led the way toward creating a stronger Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• The Senate-passed 2008 Budget Resolution would improve children’s health care coverage and combat our nation’s health care crisis.
  

Congressman Bob Etheridge spoke on the House Floor Tuesday:

Mr. Speaker, as a veteran, as you have heard, of the United States Army, myself, I strongly support our troops, our veterans and their families. Let me state at the outset that our troops have done everything that has been asked of them to do. They have done it well. Exceptionally well, I might say.

More than 34,000 from North Carolina have been deployed on Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. And more than 5,000 are currently over there now. More are preparing to go back to the desert once again.

I am tremendously proud of all the troops from North Carolina and across America who have laced up their boots, followed their orders, and done their duty. They are our heroes, and we salute them.

Regardless if one terms the President's announced change in policy a surge or an escalation or an augmentation, the so-called new plan can be summed up in four words: more of the same.

Tir Na Nog Irish Pub
218 S. Blount St.
Raleigh
6pm - 9 pm

Free Food and Free Entertainment

FEATURING COMEDY BY 'LUMPY' AND MUSIC BY

THE DICKENS BAND

We cannot let low voter turnout in this blue moon election keep
us from achieving the new direction we all know this country
needs. Do your part to turnout the vote. Start by joining us for
free food and free entertainment. Together, we'll take it from there.

For more info call 919-829-9902.

Join us Tonight for a Victory Party!

Who: Congressmen Brad Miller, David Price, and Bob Etheridge, Triangle-area Legislative candidates, Wake County Democratic candidates

When: Tuesday, November 7, 2006; 7:30 p.m.

Where: North Carolina Democratic Party Headquarters, 220 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh

Open to all Democrats!

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7th
Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Etheridge checking recovery of Katrina areas - U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is joining other Democrats from Congress in a trip through the coastal regions of Mississippi and Louisiana early this week to visit communities hit by Hurricane Katrina. [Raleigh News and Observer Politics]