Obama visits N.H. to tout jobs act
MANCHESTER, N.H. – President Obama, addressing a crowd of hundreds crammed into a high school gym here, redrew battle lines with Capitol Hill Republicans, saying they need to extend payroll tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year or take responsibility for hiking taxes on some 160 million Americans.
“Congress has a very simple choice next week,’’ the president said in promoting the core element of his $447 billion jobs plan. “They should be doing everything they can to protect the middle class from tax hikes.’’
His remarks came a day after a bipartisan congressional committee charged with addressing the nation’s deficit dissolved without reaching an agreement, largely because Democrats want to raise taxes on the richest Americans while Republicans don’t. With today’s directive, Democrats appear to be trying to flip that equation.
Senate Republicans filibustered the overall jobs plan last month, despite several road trips by the president to sell the package to the American electorate. Democrats have since tried to pass pieces of the bill, succeeding only in winning unanimous support for plan benefitting veterans. Obama signed that bill Monday.
The largest piece of the overall package would extend and expand the payroll tax cuts so that small businesses would also benefit. Some Republicans have signaled they would support that piece.
The president today also highlighted a number of executive actions he’s taken in recent weeks as part of a White House initiative called “We can’t wait’’ – as in we can’t wait for Congress to support the economy and create jobs.
Among them are accelerating a program to help people pay off student loan debt, launching job search tools for veterans, and changing the rules on a mortgage refinancing program so more people qualify for federal help.
“We’ve been weathering some hard years, we’ve been taking some tough punches,’’ he said, adding that people in New Hampshire and across the country know a thing or two about weathering tough times.
“But … we’re tough, we’re fighting back, we’re moving forward.’’
He spoke for roughly 30 minutes in the gymnasium at Manchester Central High School. At the start of his remarks, a group of about 20 Occupy New Hampshire supporters in the audience started chanting “Mr. President,’’ followed by complaints about arrests of Occupy protesters.
Another group soon shouted them down with chants of “Obama!’’
The president calmly told the group that they had made their point, “Now let me make mine.’’
Today’s visit to New Hampshire, his first in nearly two years, was the latest in a string of trips outside Washington to take his case for passage of his jobs legislation directly to the American public.
But his reception here – outside as well as inside the gym – wasn’t entirely friendly. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took out full-page ads in New Hampshire newspapers this morning “welcoming’’ Obama and criticizing his record on the economy. Outside the high school, some of the streets were lined with blue Romney signs that someone had erected under cover of night.
“Those weren’t there last night,’’ said Robert Provencher, owner of My Friend Bar & Grill across the street from the school.
Romney is leading Obama 50 percent to 40 percent in New Hampshire, a recent Bloomberg News poll.
But supporters cautioned that the president hasn’t visited the state for nearly two years, while Romney and other GOP hopefuls have been crisscrossing the state for months.
“I think he can take his time to get his message out,’’ said Provencher, who opened for breakfast for the first time this morning to take advantage of the crowds.
Outside the gym, the line began forming hours before his arrival.
Candia resident Mary Plante brought her daughter and daughter-in-law to hear the president speak.
“I’m not actually a Democrat,’’ she said. “Still you want to stay in tune and keep up on what’s going on.’’
Tickets to the event were free and given out on a first come-first served basis.
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