On Thursday, President Obama gave one of the best speeches I have ever heard, defining the difference between Democrats and Republicans.
The President spelled out the policies Democrats support to assist the middle class. Most important, Obama pointed out that Democrats have specific proposals and are willing to compromise.
He ended this portion of his speech by slamming Republican efforts to block or vote down every serious idea to strengthen the middle class.
And let me be clear about why Washington is broken, because sometimes everybody says, well, you know what, all politicians are the same, the parties — the Democrats, Republicans, it doesn’t matter. Look, Democrats are not perfect, I promise you. I know a lot of them. (Laughter.) And, yes, every member of Congress, they’re thinking about, I’d like to be reelected and I’d like to keep my job. That’s human nature. We all understand that. But let me be clear. On the common-sense agenda that would help middle-class families, the overwhelming number of Democrats are in favor of these things.
They’re in favor of minimum wage. They’re in favor of equal pay. (Applause.) They’re in favor of extending unemployment benefits. They’re in favor of infrastructure. They’re in favor of investing in research and development. They’re in favor of making college more affordable. They’ve got specific proposals. They’re willing to compromise. They’re prepared to go forward.
So when folks say they’re frustrated with Congress, let’s be clear about what the problem is. (Applause.) I’m just telling the truth now. I don’t have to run for office again, so I can just let her rip. (Applause.) And I want to assure you, I’m really not that partisan of a guy. My favorite President is the first Republican President, a guy named Abraham Lincoln. You look at our history, and we had great Republican Presidents who — like Teddy Roosevelt started the National Park System, and Dwight Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System, and Richard Nixon started the EPA.
The statement I’m making is not a partisan statement, it is a statement of fact. (Applause.) So far this year, Republicans in Congress have blocked or voted down every serious idea to strengthen the middle class. They have said no —
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Don’t boo now, because what I want you to do is vote. (Applause.)They’ve said no to raising the minimum wage. They’ve said no to fair pay. They said no to unemployment insurance for hardworking folks like Kinsey’s parents who have paid taxes all their lives and never depended on anything and just needed a little help to get over a hump. They said no to fixing our broken immigration system that we know would strengthen our borders and our businesses and help families. (Applause.)
Instead of investing in education that helps working families, they voted to give another massive tax cut to the wealthiest Americans. Instead of creating jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our ports that help every business, they’ve decided to protect tax loopholes for companies that are shifting jobs overseas and profits overseas.
The best thing you can say about this Congress — the Republicans in Congress, and particularly the House of Representatives — the best you can say for them this year is that so far they have not shut down the government — (laughter) — or threatened to have America welch on our obligations and ruin our credit rating. That’s the best you can say. But of course, it’s only July — (laughter) — so who knows what they may cook up in the next few months.
You can watch the Pres. Obama speaking, below, courtesy of the White House YouTube page:
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