January 22, 2015 6:24PM # #CatoSOTU: A Libertarian Take on the State of the Union Address By [Kat Murti](https://www.cato.org/people/kat-murti) --- SHARE On Tuesday night, President Obama delivered his sixth annual State of the Union address. Cato scholars took to Twitter to live-tweet not only the President’s address, but also the Republican and Tea Party responses—delivered by Sen. Joni Ernst and Rep. Curt Clawson respectively—focusing, as always, on what the policies being discussed would mean for the future of liberty. Many on Twitter joined the discussion, which was billed as a chance to ask experts what to expect from the policy world in 2015; the hashtag [\#CatoSOTU](https://twitter.com/hashtag/CatoSOTU?src=hash) has been used over 4,400 times since Tuesday, a number which will likely continue to grow as Cato scholars and members of the public continue the online conversation. ![Media Name: sotu2.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/sotu2.jpg?itok=kyYlDMYT) Over the years, the State of the Union has become an annual spectacle much larger than the founding fathers would ever have expected, and Cato scholars were quick to put it in context: ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.56.15_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.56.15_pm.png?itok=rTXg4QKv) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.23.59_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.23.59_pm.png?itok=TCRRu1ij) Topics spanned the gamut—from cybersecurity and Guantanamo Bay to the President’s community college proposal and what he has termed “middle class economics”—but Cato responses remained strong throughout. Cato’s policy analysts were quick to call out factual inaccuracies: ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.37.32_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.37.32_pm.png?itok=5zXJ1u7f) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.54.15_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.54.15_pm.png?itok=IduG6-C8) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.03.27_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.03.27_pm.png?itok=Ws9cszaN) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.05.57_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.05.57_pm.png?itok=GJeZ_UwU) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.07.38_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.07.38_pm.png?itok=hw3yS1t_) And hypocrises: ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.52.12_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.52.12_pm.png?itok=QCKE9kjk) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.53.57_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.53.57_pm.png?itok=tkmz6Mj8) [](https://twitter.com/JasonKuznicki/status/557722676882857985) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.45.26_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.45.26_pm.png?itok=g5tzK_Ii) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.47.35_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.47.35_pm.png?itok=hx9_Z1ph) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_6.10.45_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_6.10.45_pm.png?itok=Otmc2Sv8) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.49.06_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.49.06_pm.png?itok=t4ciKSqy) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.55.01_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.55.01_pm.png?itok=lbHRuUDg) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.56.28_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.56.28_pm.png?itok=wwhNzx2y) They highlighted omissions: ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_6.06.43_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_6.06.43_pm.png?itok=oOsp24Vi) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_6.07.35_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_6.07.35_pm.png?itok=6kwRPcGY) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_6.08.53_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_6.08.53_pm.png?itok=wiz-2s3w) And, even, doled out praise where it was due: ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.50.40_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.50.40_pm.png?itok=IOp3ljIv) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.12.36_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.12.36_pm.png?itok=NbB4qIp6) The conversation certainly wasn’t one-sided however. Cato scholars were just as critical of the response speeches as they were of the President’s address: ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.52.49_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.52.49_pm.png?itok=JKSXv9Fz) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.59.47_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.59.47_pm.png?itok=XOSy85bX) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.42.42_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.42.42_pm.png?itok=8gcqI_kP) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.01.23_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.01.23_pm.png?itok=YHAJHgoP) Many Cato scholars also took the opportunity to make policy suggestions to the President and the legislature: ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.33.24_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.33.24_pm.png?itok=PU66xZaq) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.35.45_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.35.45_pm.png?itok=s4W2KGJ6) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.39.03_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.39.03_pm.png?itok=dOhLBseO) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.40.26_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.40.26_pm.png?itok=bSw30GXd) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.44.12_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.44.12_pm.png?itok=6MvTpv9Z) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.58.40_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.58.40_pm.png?itok=1UlmrDCH) [](https://twitter.com/JasonBedrick/status/557725443890356225) ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.59.29_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_5.59.29_pm.png?itok=5N-bwxf6) At the end of the night though, Cato Institute Executive Vice President David Boaz probably summed it up best: ![Media Name: screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.43.25_pm.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/screen_shot_2015-01-22_at_4.43.25_pm.png?itok=fshSMbrK) Looking for even more reactions? Watch our annual State of the Union [response video](http://youtu.be/MGuQcSV6wbE)… ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).