Ernst to deliver GOP State of the Union rebuttal

Sen. Joni Ernst will deliver the Republican rebuttal to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, thrusting her into a prominent role that has proved challenging to previous GOP speakers.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday pegged Ernst, an Iowa Republican elected in November, for the nationally prominent speaking role.

In picking Ernst, McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, emphasized her commitment to the middle class and suggested her remarks would focus on GOP efforts to address middle-class families' needs.

"Sen. Ernst's life is a quintessential 'only-in-America' story," Boehner said in a statement. "She built a campaign by listening to the people of Iowa and focusing on their priorities, especially jobs and our still-struggling economy."

Ernst, 44, said she was honored to get the nod.

"It's a long way from Red Oak, Iowa, to Washington, D.C.," she said.

The Iowa Democratic Party on Thursday called Ernst's planned speaking gig a "disappointment."

"If the GOP wants to spotlight someone who is open to impeaching President Obama and went so far as to call him a 'dictator,' then the new bipartisan outlook of Congress just vanished into thin air," party Chairman Scott Brennan said in a statement.

Ernst's speech will provide the GOP's counterpoint to the agenda outlined by the Democratic president in his annual speech to Congress, held Tuesday night. It will be broadcast nationally and almost certainly raises the profile for Ernst as one of last year's breakout political stars.

Ernst will be the first, first year Senator to give the address, according to her office. Political analysts said Ernst is a fresh face that is appealing to Republican leaders as they take control of Congress and try to show they can govern.

"She went from being 'Joni who' to getting elected against a Democrat who was supposed to pretty much inherit the Senate seat. I think Republicans are excited to have someone like her to speak for the party and she knows that," said Steffen Schmidt, a professor of political science at Iowa State University. "I think it will be watched and listened to and read more than the average rebuttal just because there is a lot of buzz about her."

Dennis Goldford, a professor of politics at Drake University, downplayed the importance of the speech. He said while it's a nice opportunity for Ernst, much of the population doesn't watch the State of the Union, and even fewer stay tuned for the rebuttal by the opposition party.

"Ernst is hot stuff in Washington for the national press and for the Republican Party generally," he said. "The Republicans are capitalizing on this, but no one is going to remember what she said unless somebody comes up with another witty 'Make 'em squeal' line."

Ernst made a name for herself during her campaign by promising to cut spending. In a TV ad, she vowed to use her hog-castrating skills to wake up lawmakers in Washington. "I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm," she said. "So when I get to Washington, I'll know how to cut pork. Washington's full of big spenders. Let's make 'em squeal."

Ernst defeated Democrat Bruce Braley in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Harkin, making her Iowa's first new senator in Washington in three decades — and the first woman to represent Iowa in Congress.

The history of the rebuttal

The assignment of responding to the president's State of the Union address is one only one other Iowan has experienced: Retired Sen. Tom Harkin joined other Democrats in delivering remarks in 1984 after President Ronald Reagan's address.

The tradition of a rebuttal began in 1966 when the first official, televised opposition response was delivered by Sen. Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., and House Minority Leader and future President Gerald Ford, R-Mich., who critiqued President Lyndon Johnson.

Republicans — three governors, two House members and one senator — have delivered the speech during Obama's time in office, but several of them have been dogged by challenges. In 2009, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's speech was widely panned. A year later, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell got the assignment. He was later convicted for corruption and is scheduled to report to prison next month. Two years ago, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida surprised viewers by stopping in the middle of his speech to reach for a bottle of water.