Jack & Jill Politics

President draws sharp contrast between Democratic efforts vs. Republican opposition

Drawing closer and closer towards the 2010 electoral season, President Obama used this week’s address to make a clear distinction between Democratic efforts of the past year and a half and their Republican opposition. The President warned that we can either continue moving forward with Democratic initiatives or take a step backwards by electing Republicans. Listing several Democratic achievements (ranging from Health Care Reform to Financial Reform), President Obama discussed the choice Americans will have to make when considering this country’s economic future:

“This is our economic plan — smart investments in America’s small businesses, America’s clean energy industry, and America’s middle-class. Now, I can’t tell you that this plan will bring back all the jobs we’ve lost and restore our economy to full strength overnight. The truth is, it took nearly a decade of failed economic policies to create this mess, and it will take years to fully repair the damage. But I’m confident that we are finally headed in the right direction. We are moving forward. And what we can’t afford right now is to go back to the same ideas that created this mess in the first place. Unfortunately, those are the ideas we keep hearing from our friends in the other party.”

It was a topic of discussion during a separate address earlier this week:

In his weekly address, the President challenged the opposition, saying a vote for their return to power would equal, not only a return to the same old habits that got us into trouble, but also the loss of some gains that have already been made so far under this Democratic Congress. President Obama characterized the Republican agenda as such:

“This week, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives offered his plan to create jobs. It’s a plan that’s surprisingly short, and sadly familiar. First, he would repeal health insurance reform, which would take away tax credits from millions of small business owners, and take us back to the days when insurance companies had free rein to drop coverage and jack up premiums. Second, he would say no to new investments in clean energy, after his party already voted against the clean energy tax credits and loans that are creating thousands of new jobs and hundreds of new businesses. And third, even though his party voted against tax cuts for middle-class families, he would permanently keep in place the tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans — the same tax cuts that have added hundreds of billions to our debt. These aren’t new ideas. They’re the same policies that led us into this recession. They won’t create jobs; they will kill them. They won’t reduce our deficit; they will add $1 trillion to our deficit. They will take us backward at a time when we need to keep America moving forward.”

President Obama’s Weekly Address: