http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=C72CA6AD-47E9-487B-ABBC-6A5751698929 President Obama: Republicans blocked 500 bills
By: Jonathan Topaz
May 8, 2014 06:10 AM EDT
President Barack Obama is railing against congressional Republicans, telling a Hollywood crowd that the midterm elections are crucial because the GOP is willing “to say no to everything.”
The president, speaking at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee event Wednesday evening hosted at Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn’s home, said Republicans have been obstructionist since even before he took office.
“Their willingness to say no to everything — the fact that since 2007, they have filibustered about 500 pieces of legislation that would help the middle class just gives you a sense of how opposed they are to any progress — has actually led to an increase in cynicism and discouragement among the people who were counting on us to fight for them,” Obama said of Republicans.
“The conclusion is, well, nothing works,” the president continued. “And the problem is, is that for the folks worth fighting for — for the person who’s cleaning up that house or hotel, for the guy who used to work on construction but now has been laid off — they need us. Not because they want a handout, but because they know that government can serve an important function in unleashing the power of our private sector.”
Obama opened by saying that he is “in trouble at home,” because in 2012 he had told his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, that he had run his last campaign.
“A couple months ago, I had to let her in on a secret, and that is, honey, I got one more campaign I got to run,” he said, referring to the 2014 midterm elections. “I need to make sure we continue to have a Democratic Senate, and I need a Democratic House of Representatives in Washington.”
The president spoke to a group of roughly 90 people for about 15 minutes. Those in attendance included actor James Brolin, singer Barbra Streisand and DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
