This afternoon President Obama hit the road to sell the part of his jobs plan providing money for public school modernization. This is the first attempt at breaking the president’s plan into its component parts and pitching them to the public individually. Tomorrow the president travels to Raleigh, North Carolina to continue his efforts.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNN) - High school students chanted "pass this bill" to a rousing speech Tuesday by President Barack Obama touting his $447 billion jobs plan, while senior administration officials said the push for Congress to approve the legislation would last months.
White House spokesman Jay Carney, meanwhile, opened the door to Obama's proposal getting passed in pieces, rather than as a single package.
"If Congress were to send a portion of the American Jobs Act, the president would, of course, not veto it," Carney told reporters. "He would sign it and then he would return to press the Congress to get the rest of the job done."
The plan unveiled last week and presented to Congress on Monday calls for targeted tax cuts, infrastructure spending and new job training assistance that would be paid for by ending tax loopholes for corporations and American families earning more than $250,000 a year.
Congressional Republicans said Tuesday they were open to some aspects of the president's jobs plan, but they rejected Obama's proposal to pay for the measure with what they labeled tax increases.
"This proposal is really not credible," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, while House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, questioned the so-called "pay-for" provisions in the measure.
"We see permanent tax increases put into effect in order to pay for temporary spending," Boehner said. "I just don't think that's really going to help our economy the way it could."
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, indicated legislators can agree on expanded tax breaks for small businesses and rolling back some regulations.
However, House Republicans will oppose having the wealthy pay more in taxes to fund the jobs plan, he said.
"Republicans are not going to accept tax increases if the goal is to grow the economy," he said.
To Obama, the Republican opposition amounts to political obstinacy, and he encouraged a crowd of more than 3,000 students and others at the Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School to telephone, email, tweet and fax their congressional representatives to support the jobs plan.
"They supported this stuff in the past, but they're saying maybe they don't do it this time because Obama's proposing it," he said. "It's not about giving me a win. ... It's about giving people in Ohio a win."
Senior administration officials said Obama would spend most of the rest of 2011 making his case for Congress to pass the jobs plan, including taking his message outside Washington as he did Tuesday.
In addition, Obama will schedule another bus tour like a recent three-state swing and target regional media outlets with advertisements, the administration officials said.
Carney said the idea is to ratchet up public pressure on Congress, particularly Republicans, to act on behalf of the nation rather than party interests.
"Congress will have a lot of explaining to do if, come the end of the year, they have done nothing to address Americans' number one priority," Carney said, later adding: "We live in a time when we have to make choices."
If this "job plan" is such a great idea and a "no-brainer" why, oh why, is he running all around "selling" it?
1. It's not such a great idea; or
2. He IS using it for campainging; or
3. It actually undermines job creation; or
4. All of the above?
Unless it is one of the above answers, it makes no sense why he'd have to sell it. Why are there ADVERTISEMENTS on my local paper's website touting it? Why are they putting out tv ads promoting it? I'd say this is fishier than a Long John Silvers, but then again, it's perfectly clear.
Yeah ... Obama ... continue to feverishly HARD sell your failing policies to Americans, instead of spending your time fulfilling your duties as president, from the last time your were elected. Your strategy of pandering to the free loaders, and malcontents could possibly work. After all, appealing to the lowest common denominator provides you with a huge audience ... even if the results of your self-serving efforts will be to transform America into mediocrity.
I guess the last 5 paragraphs say it all...The Republicans supported it in the past, (when he didn't). I called it 2 weeks ago Obama would put out a plan similar to the ones he threatened to veto and the Republicans would stall. Why didn't HE support these ideas 3-5-10 months ago, but he does now?
Oh, it's because he's getting ready to "Obama will schedule another bus tour like a recent three-state swing and target regional media outlets with advertisements, the administration officials said..." where he will "ratchet up public pressure on Congress, particularly Republicans," in otherwords CAMPAIGN!
Number 2
the snake oil salesman is pushing for his own Job
Fire his ASS in 2012!!
I wish I could put your a$$ in a fire. Pres Obama will wipe the floor with Republicans in 2012. Obama/Biden 2012!
settle down, Juan. Obama is toast. Get used to it.
We'll all remember you're the Juan who said Obama would win, when he goes down in flames in 2012 ...
Juan–I know you wrote this before the news this mornining, but take a closer look–NY seat won by Republican 1st time since 1920, with an DEMOCRAT ex-mayor's backing. Brown in Mass GAINING popularity after taking over Ted Kennedy's seat. Watch Oregon in January's special election for Wu's seat.
Main Street America is speaking up and re-claiming this country. We are tired of endless Gov't spending. We are tired of the leaches. We are tired of empty promises. Most of us would be more than happy to have taxes raised to retire debt, but the Gov't is like the typical 24 year old who takes out a loan to pay off other debt then uses that loan for more spending, spiralling them deeper and deeper. Until they (Gov't) decide to be responsible with the $$ they rob from us, we will continue to rally against raising taxes. We are more than happy to lend a hand to the down trodden and those who cannot make it on their own. But NOT those who are UNWILLING to make it on their own.
Raise the age llimit on SS. Those that DEPEND on it are working until 70, 75 or later (death?) anyway. Those who made the decision to be SELF RELIANT in retirement, whether through pensions, savings or other means, will not lose out. Show some stability and leadership in DC so companies (evil corporations) have confidence to hire again. Relax gov't regulations to reduce barriers of entry for small companies to start, innovate, grow and compete (and hire). These are the principles that Obama and the Dems are against and the reason they are and will continue to fail into 2012.
Obama is useless all he cares about is hi reelection
and as each day goes by he needs to find another job where he can scam people only on a smaller scale
Obama- Biden 2012
We saw the snake oil salesmen (and woman) last Monday night. No thanks!
We seen Buckwheat Obama and the rest of Our Gang make thinks worst over the last 2 years
Jean I said Obama was the snake oil Salesman
Can't you liberals come up with your own Idea;s
Just like Liberal Hollywood just doing remakes
Bozo Obama and Clarabell Biden are history
Students, do a little research before you start tweeting. Barry wants to cut Social Security funding in half. You know the very system that the old people say that they are entitled to. Are benefits being reduced? No chance, so who do you think will make up the difference, thats right, the very young.
Also remember that those tweets will be around forever and one day your children, who will still be paying off the debt, will ask "What were you thinking?"
The place to start modifying education, is with parents, not schools.
Modernization of the schools is paid with the school tax that is paid by citizens to the county in which they live. Obama is trying again to push the federal government into the state's business.
Ohio received $400million in Federal aid to schools last year under the Race to the Top competition. these funds are to be used to close the achievement gaps between wealthy and not wealthy school districts.
In Ohio, federal funds make up about 8% overall of K-12 funding, with other funds divided 46% from the state's funding for education and 46 % from local taxpayers. For the 2008/09 school year the Federal 8% portion of aid was $1.3 billion dollars. The total of these percents only make up about 36%of all school funding. These do not include federal funding shares for " no child left behind"; the federal lunch program; or ARRA funding grants to build schools. In my area we happen to have 5 new school (three of which opened their doors this fall) which would not have been built without the help of federal grant funds.
This president doesn't have a clue how to run this country. He may have inherited a rough economy when first started, but instead of alley focusing on the financial issues and fixing them he turns a blind eye and focuses on more spending. Now he's proposing more of the same. Modernizing Schools does not improve the economy. It just pulls more money away from taxpayers. Obama once again is back at it promoting social issues while hiding the fiscal irresponsibility of his actions.
We are already taxed at the local level for these kind of improvements Obama your giving us nothing more than what is already in play under state of local govt. control
The President is in over his head and he cannot win a reelection. He should contemplate advising the Democratic party of plans not to run so the COUNTRY can adjust for a new candidate who has American interests at heart instead of a personal agenda. His giving in to the GOP on everything has become disgraceful at the expense of the American public who put their trust in him and voted him in. We need a more devoted candidate or plenty of us will stay at home on election day.
Its not what the Country can do for you
Its what you can do for Obama
get the moron Reelected
I subscribe to an Internet newsletter called Energy Central and the news is getting more depressing every week. Every time I scan the headlines I realize I'm looking at another piece of a gathering energy debacle.
Take last Thursday's edition. Right at the top of the page was the story, "Xcel Energy, eXco Join in Major Wind Farm Developments in Minnesota, North Dakota." It's like this every day. Wind farms of sprouting up all over the country like 65-story mushrooms. The North American Reliability Council estimates we will have 175,000 megawatts of new capacity by 2017 (that's the equivalent of 175 major coal or nuclear plants). Unfortunately, it admits, "only approximately 23,000 MW…is projected to be available on peak." That means these windmills will be idle most of the time. Coal plants operate at 65 percent capacity, nuclear rims at 90 percent. But at best windmills produce only 30 percent of their "nameplate capacity" and they are almost useless on torpid summer days. California has found its windmills running at only 3 percent capacity on hot summer days.
Never mind, we are forging ahead anyway. Right under the Minnesota story is a report that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has laid down a "wind farm code of ethics" governing dealings between wind companies and municipal officials. It seems that several windmill manufacturers are following the tried-and-true pattern of bribing municipal officials by hiring them as "consultants" in seeking zoning and other approvals. Although you'd never know it, there are actually folks out there in the hinterland that don't like the idea of littering the landscape with these nearly useless monstrosities. However, those folks are being steamrolled in the march toward alternate energy utopia. As Attorney General Cuomo remarks, "Wind power is an exciting industry that will be a cornerstone of our energy future."
Next comes a story, "More Study is Ordered Before Savannah River Dredging Starts: An NRC Board Says the Environmental Impact Has Not Been Addressed." The Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Generating Station in Burke County, Georgia, has two 1,200-MW reactors sitting on the Savannah River, directly across from the federal nuclear processing facilities in South Carolina. Now Southern Nuclear, which owns Vogtle, wants to build two new 1,000-MW reactors as part of the nuclear renaissance.
Environmental groups have immediately taken up the challenge, arguing that dredging the Savannah River to allow barge delivery of reactor parts will damage the river. The Savannah was dredged regularly for more than a century until the Army Corps of Engineers gave up in 1980 because nothing much was happening on the river. Now environmental groups say a renewal will ruin the environment. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has nodded agreement and will require an environmental impact statement before early site clearance can begin. That will probably add three years to the project.
I hadn't been following Vogtle so I googled it and discovered a manifesto from the Women's Action for New Directions (WAND), a major anti-nuclear opponent. WAND was issuing a call to other organizations around the country to join their crusade. The appeal appears on the Community Blog page of "My Barack Obama," the campaign's effort to organize community groups in support of the candidacy.
IT'S EASY TO SEE where this is leading. President-elect Obama says he supports nuclear "in principle," but then so does the Union of Concerned Scientists, which has opposed reactors for 35 years. Obama also opposes Yucca Mountain, which is a shibboleth among opposition groups. Ironically, Yucca Mountain only became necessary when Jimmy Carter canceled nuclear fuel reprocessing in 1977, creating the so-called problem of "nuclear waste." France has pursued reprocessing and stores all its high-level waste from 40 years of producing 75 percent of its electricity in one room at Le Havre.
Rather than heeding this example, however, the Obama Administration is much more likely to do exactly what California did during the 1980s and 1990s - stall both coal and nuclear construction while adopting huge subsidies and mandates for "renewable energy." Within a decade we could find ourselves where California was in 2000 - saddled with huge quantities of expensive "alternate" energy while not having enough electricity to run its traffic lights.
Is this depressing enough? Well, try the next story on Energy Central, "Russia Offers to Cooperate With Brazil in Nuclear Sector." The rest of the world, you see, is forging ahead with nuclear power. France is already at 80 percent nuclear, Korea is planning 11 new reactors, China is building four plants with a Japanese technology named "Westinghouse." India is exploring thorium technology, France is penetrating the Middle East, Russia is powering Siberian villages with small reactors built on barges. Japan Steel Works, the only company in the world that makes steel reactor vessels, has a four-year waiting list. France, Russia, and Japan are all reprocessing. Now Russia is selling Brazil a whole package that will include uranium mining, small reactors for remote areas, and probably eventually reprocessing as well.
In 1982, President Reagan lifted Jimmy Carter's ban on fuel reprocessing but, given the climate in this country, American industry has never been willing to reinvest. In speaking before groups about the possibilities of a nuclear renaissance, I am often asked, "What would it take to revive reprocessing in this country?" In all honesty, I have to respond, "I think we'll have to ask the French to do it for us."
Reading the latest, I realize I may be wrong. It may be the Russians we have to ask instead.
True that, Jean! 'OUR GANG' and the 'WIZZETTE OF OZ'! LOL! All of which are 'snakeoil salesmen'!
Joe, I came up with idea of 'OUR GANG' aka the GOP in retaliation of you and the rest of your ilk calling the President Buckwheat! BTW, if you loons when the WH back in 2012, which I doubt, you will regret that you ever bought one glass of 'TEA' from the Teaparty! You will come to know very soon who was really selling 'snake oil', and passing it off as tea! It'll be the same lying, self serving 'gang' who sold it to you from 2000 until 2008! You are cutting your own legs out from under yourself. SO SAD!
@Juan; you go boy!
We all heard the ridiculous comment made by Biden the other day, and
some group verifying it. A jobs bill reducing rapes?? That will put more
police into the force, into action? C'mon, that's a stretch! That "jobs bill"
is not about extra police, and extra police is not what the country needs
in terms of JOBS.
That's the first point. The second point is thinking that creating fiat money
will induce a job resurgence in this country, or any country. This prez does
not understand the dynamic of how the economy really works. This is just
another campaign ploy to save his already LOW poll standings. Vote for
RON PAUL ... he seems to be the only candidate that understands the economy!