RNC Political Director Rick Wiley:
“The unfortunate part about this is that these [trade] agreements have been sitting on his desk for quite some time and it’s almost a little late—too little too late for him to sign these.
“This is a campaign trip to Michigan, no doubt about it. You have a President here right now who is upside-down with his approval ratings and in a state that is crucial for him to win re-election in 2012. You had Vice President Biden here saying some outlandish things in Michigan…They’re looking at their prospects in Michigan, and thinking that they’re in a lot of trouble with all these visits.
“You have a great political environment in Michigan and I think that’s one of the things that, that here at the RNC that we’re excited about…You have a great U.S. Senate race there, and I believe that Debbie Stabenow will be defeated in 2012…I believe that not only will the Presidential race be huge in Michigan, but you’re going to have a top tier U.S. Senate race…
“This is a battleground state, there’s no doubt about it, and at the end of the day, Michigan—the problems that the state has had is they’ve lost 16,000 jobs as a result of the stimulus. Unfortunately they were sold that it was going to gain a 109,000. It just hasn’t happened.
“One of the things I talk about all the time is the ability in these battleground states for the RNC to come in and partner with the state party…it’s strengthened by the fact that you have a Governor who was just elected in 2010, there are a lot of Governors like this in the Midwest, and that infrastructure that propelled Rick Snyder to the Governor’s office will still be in place…”
Michigan GOP Chairman Bobby Schostak:
“Sixty-one percent of Michigan voters give Obama a negative job rating, a [recent] MRA poll. More than 70% think the country is on the wrong track. And that’s a tough pill for Obama to swallow in a state he absolutely must win…
“So, what he’s really doing here is coming to Michigan again on a campaign stop to get reelected in a state that is going to be critical for not only him but for the US Senate race. Debbie Stabenow is at risk, similar kind of numbers, big challenge. We have great candidates. They’re raising lots of money. Rick Snyder won all but five counties in the 2010 election. We’re a red state. It’s our job at the party to continue that trend, and we will…
“If you take a look at specifically this trade agreement that was reached, you know again, it’s wonderful that it was signed. But my question is, where was it two years ago when it was on his desk? Where was the president then? Where was it even six months ago? This should have been one of the first orders of business when he took office. It was there ready to go…
“There is a sharp contrast to what Obama has been doing in Washington. We’ve balanced our state’s budget. Not with one time fixes. Not with accounting gimmicks. But after eight years of deficits growing finally we’re not only a balanced budget but we’re paying down long term obligations. And, give all the credit to Rick Snyder and our legislature…
“So, we applaud the president for visiting us, we appreciate the attention. Michigan is a state that he’s got to work hard, harder than any Democrat in modern era to get control of and that’s not going to happen. So we wish him well, thank him for visiting us and hope that he’ll tend to the business at hand of getting our economy on track.”
Click Here To Listen To The Full Audio: http://www.gop.com/audio/10.14.2011_michigan.mp3
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