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Obama blasts Republicans in Pa. visit, GOP fires back
PITTSBURGH—President Obama used a brief visit here Wednesday to challenge Republicans more directly than at anytime before in his presidency, accusing the GOP of cozying up to Big Business and obstructing any efforts to deal with the economic downturn he inherited.
As November approaches, leaders in the other party will campaign furiously on the same economic argument they’ve been making for decades,” Obama said at Carnegie Mellon University. “Fortunately, we don’t have to look back too many years to see how it turns out. For much of the last 10 years, we tried it their way. They gave tax cuts that weren’t paid for to millionaires who didn’t need them. They gutted regulations, and put industry insiders in charge of industry oversight. They shortchanged investments in clean energy and education, in research and technology. And despite all their current moralizing about the need to curb spending, this is the same crowd who took the record $237 billion surplus that President Clinton left them and turned it into a record $1.3 trillion deficit.”
The pointed criticism, delivered from a battleground state less than six months before the midterm elections, amounted to one of Obama’s most explicit arguments against the GOP this November.
“Before I was even inaugurated, the congressional leaders of the other party got together and made a calculation that if I failed, they’d win,” Obama said. “So when I went to meet with them about the need for a Recovery Act, they announced they were against it before I even arrived at the Capitol.”
Shortly after Obama’s speech, state Republican Party chairman Rob Gleason said the stimulus package, the new health care law and cap-and-trade energy legislation still before Congress would be the key issues in November.
“Pennsylvania has lost 86,000 jobs since the stimulus has passed,” Gleason told reporters on a conference call.
“When President Obama campaigns in 2012, Pennsylvania will be a far more Republican state,” he added. “The only person that stood with the president on the stimulus bill was Arlen Specter, and he lost.”
Michael Macagnone reported from Pittsburgh. Donald Hoegg contributed reporting.
June 2, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Tags: Barack Obama
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Brian O'Connor
Jun 2nd, 2010
According to Jake Tapper at ABC News:
“Obama was serving up some partisan red meat but the audience of about 300 people at Carnegie Mellon University did not seem to have a taste for it. There were few applause breaks and the crowd was largely subdued.”
Mark Knoller over at CBS Tweeted similar comments.
“Though Obama remarks are decidedly partisan, audience response is less so. few interruptions for applause.”
Brian O’Connor
http://www.RedDogReport.com
@RedDogReport
Brian O'Connor
Jun 2nd, 2010
Correction, it was Tapper’s Political Punch blog, but Karen Tavers reporting.
1994 Again
Jun 2nd, 2010
Democrats won control of Congress four years ago and Obama is in his second year in office and he still whines about the GOP. At what point will this man child grow up and take responsibility for his failures and the Democrats’ sinking approval ratings?
Mystapitt
Jun 2nd, 2010
None of the big names running for office ie: Oronato, Murphy, etc attended this guys appearance. He is toxic.
The Kenyan President
Jun 2nd, 2010
GO TO http://WWW.OBAMACRIMES.COM AND HELP GET THE KENYAN PRESIDENT OUT OF OFFICE
TonySoprano
Jun 2nd, 2010
Where did they have him at Carnegie Mellon where he only drew 300 people? I don’t want to jump the gun, because its entirely possible they had him in a room that could only accommodate 300, but if not that’s a chillingly small crowd for the President of the United States, especially on a college campus, which should be considered friendly ground. Fact that students are out of session might have contributed, though.
Brett
Jun 3rd, 2010
Obama’s popularity is on the way down and he will lose the presidential election in 2012 possibly even to a Democratic challenger.
Isaac L.
Jun 3rd, 2010
Brett, that doesn’t really jive with the numbers. His personal popularity is still over 50 percent and as the economy continues to improve, so will his numbers.
Steve Rogers
Jun 3rd, 2010
He’s a one term president and he’s acting like it. He’s trying to get as much of his socialist agenda crammed through before the mid-term elections. He’s personally charismatic, but that’s just the exterior. He’s a radical’s radical down to the bone. As distasteful as I find Hillary Clinton, I wonder if I would have preferred her as Commander-in-Chief.
Tim
Jun 3rd, 2010
All Hail, the post-partisan president!!! YES WE SHALL!!! YES WE SHALL!!!
Brett
Jun 3rd, 2010
To Isaac l
Those poll numbers are cooked, not accurate and Obama is probably more around 42%, By the way, relying on general media poll numbers have proved to be wrong and give a false sense of security and surprise, when their candidates lose.
Ed H.
Jun 4th, 2010
Is Gleason missing out on his meds? Obama has only been steering us through the worst Recession in post-war history that was created from the very proposals the GOP have been championing for decades. The Republicans relied on the Milton Friedman/Chicago School economic ideas and caused a complete failure for our economy. And apparently Gleason has drunk and axtra few gallons of Kook-Aid.
I guess Gleason is averse to learning from past mistakes.
Scolded GOP
Jun 5th, 2010
MMMM MMMM MMMM Barack Hussain Islama!!!!