With flamboyant superstar Lady Gaga present at a fundraiser near San Jose, Calif., President Obama began taking swipes at the stumbling Republican presidential front-runner Rick Perry and told supporters that Republicans would “cripple”the U.S. if they took over the Oval Office.
Speaking at a series of West Coast fundraising events that double as a push for his touted jobs bill in metro areas around Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, Calif., Obama said Texas Gov. Perry is not a realist, calling him a “governor whose state is on fire, denying climate change.”
Next, Obama aimed his sights on the Republican Party as a whole, particularly the GOP debates last week where some cheered at the prospects of a person dying because he couldn’t afford basic health coverage and the people who booed a gay serviceman.
“That’s not reflective of who we are,” he said.
Obama also called out House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, labeling him and his colleagues as “obstructionists” and all but demanding that they support his $447 billion jobs bill.
“From the moment I took office what we’ve seen is a constant ideological push back against any kind of sensible reforms that would make our economy work better and give people more opportunity,” the president said at an intimate brunch fundraiser at the Medina, Wash., home of former Microsoft executive Jon Shirley.
The alternative to the jobs bill, Obama said, is “an approach to government that will fundamentally cripple America in meeting the challenges of the 21st century.”
Obama appears to be endearing himself again to left-leaning Democrats, progressives and independents who had grown disenchanted with his low-key style and lack of apparent resolve in countering Republican’s relentless assault upon his administration.
–terry shropshire
