(White House Photo)
Joe Biden,
speaking on the campaign trail at a fundraiser yesterday in Chicago:
Biden said it was Republicans who were blocking compromise for political gain:
“Pete Sessions, the head of the [Republican] re-elect committee, a congressman from Texas, said, ‘Why should we bail out Barack Obama? His back is against the wall. All it can do its help him.,’” Biden told the crowd. “It’s a simple answer: America. America. Our economy. These guys are playing a different game than the president’s playing. And we are no longer playing.”
With respect to Sessions, I think Biden's referring to this anonymous Republican quote reported by Politico alongside a picture of Sessions, but his basic point is spot on: The Republicans are refusing to do a single damn thing to get the economy back on track.
Biden also said:
“You know what our biggest problem is: There’s no Republican Party. The tail is wagging the dog and they can’t control their party.”
“That’s the only thing that’s going to change their mind is if their constituency tells ’em they have to move.”
And the only way that's going to happen is if the administration continues fighting for a jobs plan, as it will do tomorrow when President Obama again makes the case of infrastructure investment by heading to Ohio to call attention to a bridge in Boehner's backyard desperately in need of upgrade.
The only response Republicans could muster to Biden was this:
Republican National Committee spokesman Ryan Mahoney criticized Biden’s visit:
“Instead of constantly fundraising to save their own jobs, perhaps the Obama Administration should get to work on a serious proposal to get our economy back on track.
Of course, that's exactly what President Obama has done. The problem is that Republicans are saying no.