President Barack Obama stumped for Gov. Deval Patrick with a forceful and impassioned speech in front of an estimated 10,000 Democratic supporters inside Hynes Convention Center on Saturday.
Taking a confrontational tone, Obama accused Republican leadership of standing by while the country’s economy collapsed before he took office in 2008.
“They knew that it was going to take time to repair the economy. They knew you couldn’t recover eight million jobs overnight . . . the longer it took, the more frustrated and angry people would get,” Obama said.
“It was a tactical decision, that if they just sat on the sidelines, if they didn’t lift a finger to help, if instead they opposed us every step of the way, if they said no even to policies that historically they agreed to – that historically they had sponsored and adopted – they figured they could ride people’s anger and frustration all the way to the ballot box.”
Planned or not, voter frustration over the economy and health care reform has buoyed Republican chances during this hotly contested election season, with tight races threatening Democrat-held offices nationwide.
One of those is the Massachusetts governor’s office – recent polls have shown the race either deadlocked or Patrick clinging to a single-digit lead against GOP opponent Charlie Baker.
Obama’s fiery speech and verbal attack of the GOP at the rally was an attempt to rouse Patrick’s supporters ahead of the Nov. 2 election.
The president praised Patrick’s efforts to improve education, health care, clean energy and the number of jobs in Massachusetts.
“Because Deval Patrick chose to lead in the toughest of times, this state will lead in the future. That’s why you’ve got to help him finish the work y’all started in 2006,” Obama said.
Leading his rhetoric away from the governor’s race, Obama continued his diatribe against Republicans. He criticized what he said was the party’s intent to give tax breaks to corporations that would send jobs overseas and leave the U.S. lagging in green technology innovation.
“We see a future that is driven by American innovation and American ingenuity. . .I don’t want to see all of the solar panels and wind turbines and electric cars built in Europe or in Asia. The bottom line is that I want to see them built right here in America,” Obama said to cheers.
The president attempted to blunt Republican criticism of the way he handled the recession, saying that preventing the world economy from plunging even further into decline was a “once in a lifetime challenge.”
He said that after efforts to prevent the stimulus, healthcare reform and other Democratic initiatives during his first years in office, the Republicans are “asking to have the keys back” to the country.
“They can’t have the keys back. They don’t know how to drive,” Obama said. “They can get in and ride with us if they want but they have to get in the back seat.”
Despite being surrounded by supporters, the president wasn’t complete shielded from criticism during his speech.
Protestors from the Global Health and AIDS Coalition interrupted Obama’s speech with chants calling for the president’s commitment to a promise to help fights the AIDS epidemic.
Soon after the outburst, Obama responded to the group with a strong reply: If [the Republicans] win in Congress they will cut AIDS funding right here in the United States. . . What I would suggest to the folks concerned about AIDS funding is take a look at what the Republican leadership has to say about it.”
The president finished his speech by making a case for continued reforms in American society.
“The only reason we’re here is because past generations have been unafraid to push forward even in the face of difficulty, to do what was necessary even when success was uncertain,” Obama, his voice hoarse, roared over the crowd.
Staff writer Saba Hamedy contributed reporting to this article.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
