In his State of the Union speech, Obama turned the victorious GOP into the party of pessimism

The party that conquered America last fall didn't sound very sunny about the state of the union on Tuesday night

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images)

Republicans won big last November, increasing their House majority to decades-high margins and taking control of the Senate. So it was an odd spectacle to watch a confident President Obama give his surprisingly triumphal State of the Union address on Tuesday night — and see Republicans respond that it isn't morning in America yet.

Freshman Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who won one of last fall's tossup races, had the unenviable task of formalizing those sentiments in her official GOP response to Obama's speech. "These days," she said, "many families feel like they're working harder and harder, with less and less to show for it." She continued:

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.