President Obama calls out Republicans for being wrong about his successful policies
A liberated President Obama gave a hell of an uplifting speech at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting (DNC). He first thanked all Americans that fought to make the effecting of his policies possible. He then gave a full throated acknowledgement of the success of his policies. He made sure to remind Americans that the GOP attempted to block progress at every turn. More importantly he castigated Republican leaders for all their ill-advised predictions that thinking Americans knew were not only wrong but willfully misguided.
The video above is a 4 1/2 minute condensed version of the speech. The entire speech can be watched here. Following is the transcript of the condensed version.
Transcript of Video snippet
It was a breakthrough year for America. Last year, our economy created more than three million new jobs — the single best year for job growth since the 1990s. Over the past five years, as Debbie said, the longest stretch of private-sector job creation in American history, businesses adding nearly 12 million new jobs. And in perhaps the single most hopeful sign for middle-class families in a very long time, wages are beginning to rise again. So America is coming back. …
And all that is thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the American people who we serve. But it’s also thanks to the values and the policies at the core of this party that all of you have fought for.
As Democrats, we believe in giving every child a world-class education. And today, our younger students have earned the highest math and reading scores on record. Our high school graduation rate is at an all-time high. More Americans are graduating from college than ever before.
As Democrats, we believe in reducing our dependence on foreign oil and protecting our planet. Today, America is number one in oil; number one in gas; number one in wind power. Every three weeks, we bring online as much solar power as we did in the entire year of 2008. And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family should save about 750 bucks at the pump.
As Democrats, we believe in sensible rules that can prevent financial crisis and shield families from ruin and encourage fair competition. And today, we’ve got new tools to stop taxpayer-funded bailouts, a new consumer watchdog to protect families from predatory lending, a new law to protect families from getting ripped off by credit card companies. We’ve extended the security and fundamental right to affordable, accessible health care to more than 10 million uninsured Americans. …
Now, sometimes, because the news cycle is so quick, we forget how all this came about and the debates that we had last year, or two years, or four years, or six years ago. I just want everybody to remember that at every step as we made policies, as we made this progress, we were told by our good friends, the Republicans, that our actions would crush jobs, and explode deficits, and destroy the country. …
Now, sometimes, because the news cycle is so quick, we forget how all this came about and the debates that we had last year, or two years, or four years, or six years ago. I just want everybody to remember that at every step as we made policies, as we made this progress, we were told by our good friends, the Republicans, that our actions would crush jobs, and explode deficits, and destroy the country. I mean, I want everybody to do a fact-check and go back to 2009, 2010, ’11, ’12, ’13 — just go back and look at the statements that were made each year by these folks about all these policies. Because apparently they don’t remember.
But the facts are before us. The economy kept growing. The stock market has more than doubled, restoring the 401(k)s of millions of people. Our deficits are down by two-thirds. I always find it curious that when a Democrat is President, deficits go down; a Republican is President and then deficits are going up, and yet they try to take on the mantle of fiscal probity.
Our auto industry is firing on all cylinders. None of this is an accident. It’s not an accident that America is creating jobs faster than at any time since the last time a Democrat was President. It’s not an accident that our manufacturers are creating jobs for the first time since the last time a Democrat was President. (Applause.) It’s not an accident that health care inflation is running at the lowest rate in almost 50 years, and that our deficits are falling faster than they have in 60 years.
It’s because we believe in middle-class economics. We believe in the idea that this country does best when everybody gets a fair shot, everybody is doing their fair share, everybody has to play by the same rules. Not top-down economics. Not trickle-down economics. If we were actually to look at the evidence, it’s pretty clear whose theory of how to grow the economy and make sure American people are prospering, which theory works. We know their ideas don’t work. We remember. Middle-class economics — that works.