Politics
Joe Biden: 'We Can't Win Without Florida'
Around the State
Vice President Joe Biden | Credit: c-span.orgWith President Barack Obama almost certainly needing to carry Florida in 2012 to stay in the White House, Vice President Joe Biden tried to rally Democrats in a speech Friday night at Walt Disney World, insisting that the presidential election came down to the Sunshine State.
Speaking at the 2011 Florida Democratic convention, Biden emphasized how high the stakes are in Florida. Biden was introduced by Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson who is running for a third term in 2012.
“You’re going to see an awful lot of me,” said Biden, promising to focus on the Sunshine State and other swing states -- Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania. “We plan on winning Florida. We can’t win without Florida.”
Ignoring the fact that the national unemployment rate went from 7.6 in January 2009, when Obama took office, to 9.1 percent in September 2011, Biden claimed the administration inherited an economic mess from President George W. Bush. Biden said, in January 2009, the nation was “on the verge of a depression.”
Biden took aim at Republicans for attacking the Obama administration on increasing the federal deficit, calling them hypocrites for not having controlled it under Bush. “They gave us a bubble and called it an economy,” Biden said.
The vice president praised the Obama administration for bailing out financial institutions and the auto industry. Biden claimed federal bailouts of the auto industry led to 1 million jobs being saved. Ignoring the national unemployment rate rising under Obama’s watch, Biden maintained that the White House had presided over 19 months of job growth in the private sector.
Insisting the nation had been ready to turn the corner on the economy, Biden slammed Republicans controlling the U.S. House for “playing roulette on the debt.” Biden bashed the GOP for blocking the Obama economic agenda. “They’re standing in the way of progress,” said Biden.
Biden signaled that the White House was ready to attack Republicans in Congress. Quoting Franklin Roosevelt’s attacks on Republican congressional leaders in “Martin, Barton and Fish” from the 1940 election, Biden took aim at “Boehner, Cantor and Mitch” -- a shot at U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
The vice president also brought in the Republican presidential candidates, insisting that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas are following the same game plan. “They’re singing out of the same hymn book,” he said.
Biden also took shots at Gov. Rick Scott, slamming him for turning down federal funds for high-speed rail, backing an Arizona-style immigration law and cutting education funds.
Besides kicking over the economy, Biden also weighed in on foreign policy, pointing to Obama’s announcement earlier in the month that American forces were pulling out of Iraq by the end of the year. Calling it perhaps the most important task Obama had performed, Biden told a cheering crowd that the administration had targeted terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, leading to his death at the hands of American servicemen. While acknowledging the 2012 election would not be fought over foreign policy, Biden said the current field of Republican presidential candidates had a long way to go to be qualified on international issues.
“This is not your father’s Republican Party,” said Biden, kicking the GOP presidential field and Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio for not praising Obama after the death of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
The vice president closed with a shot at Bush.
“The choice is stark and clear,” said Biden. “Name me one major initiative on taxes, on jobs, on Wall Street, on foreclosures ... the Republicans offer that is any different at all from the eight years they controlled the presidency.”
With their party reeling after the 2010 election cycle, other Florida Democrats spoke, stressing how important the Sunshine State would be in 2012.
Comments (6)
If they answer to all is "yes" we may need to revise our preferences. Marco Rubio says he's not interested in the Vice Presidency. I agree with Brit Hume: "He must say that to maintain creditibily in his current position." But Rubio is also thinking about each candidates chances. He won't run on the bottom of a long shot ticket. That's both wise and insightful. Why should he! He's in a great position as Senator and doing a superlative job! Odds are, he will be the decisive difference in Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Colorado. If the Republicans win these states it places Obama in a difficult, though not impossible position. However, if the nominee can sweep the South and the Plains, the Dems chances of victory would become extremely limited. It comes down to simple pragmatism.
Nice to see our flea brained vice president finally get something right. The Democrat-socialists HAVE to carry Florida next year to win. And they WILL NOT. They have no more chance of carrying the “Sunshine State” than they do of taking North Carolina, Virginia (even with the tax greedy Washington suburbs,) or Ohio. Hell, they’re in trouble in such “blue” Democrat-socialist strongholds as Michigan, Wisconsin, and even the People’s Republic of New York.
The American people have had a bellyful of Obama “Hope and Change.” He, with the active support of the “mainstream media,” ran as a “moderate” and got the votes of the brain dead “independents” by presenting himself and his minions as something he is NOT, a patriotic American who loves his country. He is, in fact, a socialist “third world activist” who HATES this nation, it’s history, its institutions, its constitution and especially its economic system, the most productive in world history. He and his Democrat-socialist acolytes in Congress have been attempting to “transform” us into something we refuse to be, a statist, collectivist, quasi-fascist, European style welfare state.
Witness how most Americans despise Obamacare, his signature legislative “triumph” and want it repealed before it starts killing us. Witness the utter failure of his economic policies; the gigantic “stimulus” pork barrel of $ 800 BILLION, his draconian over-regulation of our domestic energy industry, the utterly failed and largely corrupt attempt to foster fantasy “green energy” a la Solyndra and First Solar. The economy is in the dumper and will not emerge until we do the things that actually promote growth; cut spending, cut taxes, cut business taxes drastically, remove impediments to investment and job creation such as Obamacare and the utterly wrongheaded Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law. Only a Republican president, Senate, and House can do what is needed; and NOT a Romney style Obama LITE administration attempting to tweak the current failed system; re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Only a genuine CONSERVATIVE sweep like the “Reagan Revolution” will do. Fortunately that is what we are likely to see next November.
The current carefully planned and orchestrated radical left wing “Occupy Wall Street” burst of puerile petulance will NOT help the Democrat-socialists with the great American middle class. Indeed it may only serve to “turn off” many clueless moderates as did the 1968 left wing convulsions with which today’s balding, overweight, 60’s leftovers are seeking to retrieve their wasted youth. Neither is the aspect of youthful unemployable sociology majors seeking non-payment of their student loans and “freebies for everyone” likely to generate many votes outside academic cloud ku ku lands like Berkley, Madison WI, or own Gainesville (U of FL.)
“Whistling past the graveyard,” the Democrat-socialists are telling themselves that the vicious class envy rhetoric they’ve lately emphasized will turn things around. Absurd! That’ll get ‘em the 20% or so who, according to all polling, are self-described “liberals” (as opposed to 40% “conservatives.”) You don’t win elections with splinter groups. Some also seek to compare the contrived extreme left “Occupy” set as synonymous with the Tea Party on the right; equally absurd. The Tea Party actually arose SPONTANEOUSLY out of rage at having Obamacare socialized medicine shoved down our throats. Remember all those congressmen-women “town halls” that went really badly for its supporters in 2009? The Tea Party is resolutely middle class, enthusiastic, and ready to work. It will decide the GOP nomination for president and then get him elected! Lest you fall into the trap our “mainstream” media are creating, “the Tea Party is over,” know now that it is growing exponentially and will provide the money, volunteers, and zeal to “make it happen.”