President Obama Speaks at the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati, Ohio

President Obama's choice to speak at the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati was no coincidence. Ohio and Kentucky residents should have figured that out easily. His decision was designed to point a finger at House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and that's exactly what he did. The Brent Spence Bridge spans the Ohio River as a primary route between Kentucky and Ohio. John Boehner just happens to live in Ohio and Mitch McConnell just happens to live in Kentucky.

If the American Jobs Act passes, it could provide needed funds for bridge repairs. Both Boehner and McConnell are potential obstacle to the bill's passage, but the president didn't come right out and say that, not immediately. First Ron King, a local concrete worker, talked about working on the bridge for 30 years. Before he introduced President Obama he personally asked Congress to pass the Jobs Act. The president hugged him and zipped right into his brief speech.

He discussed creating and saving job and the funds that could be used to repair the Brent Spence Bridge if the Act made it through the Congress. Only later did he speak of the "coincidence" of being at a structure that spans a river between Boehner and McConnell's home states. He asked the crowd, "How could they refuse to pass a bill that makes the roads between their states safer?" They responded with the first of many rounds of "Pass the bill! Pass the bill!"

Pass this bill

The crowd gathered on a lot owned by Hilltop Ready Mixed Concrete, who provided a barricade of concrete mixer trucks for the event. While President Obama delivered his speech, you could see the Brent Spence Bridge just above and beyond his head. As some lanes were closed to keep traffic to a minimum during his visit, only a few cars and trucks crossed over the bridge during his speech.

It was a crowd of approximately 1000, but there were a number of politicians in attendance. Among them were Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (D), Secretary of Transportation Raymond La Hood, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory (D), Covington, Kentucky Mayor Denny Bowman (D)and Kentucky U S Senator Rand Paul (P). The crowd booed when the president acknowledged Senator Paul. He quickly came to Paul's defense saying "Rand's going to be supporting bridges." If the Jobs Act brings jobs and safer bridges to the region, it would benefit both Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Despite that fact, neither Boehner or McConnell showed up.

Creating and saving jobs

The president was brief. He went straight into the details of his drive to create and save jobs for construction workers, teachers, iron workers, architects, plumbers and other professions. It was a hardhat area with construction workers scattered throughout the crowd. "Millions of construction workers are looking for jobs," the president said. " That doesn't mean there's not plenty of construction waiting to be done." As an example, he explained how the Brent Spence Bridge was safe for travel, yet it had been declared "functionally obsolete." A bridge repair project would update the bridge and put many tradesmen to work.

The Brent Spence Bridge still accommodates 150,000 vehicles each day between Kentucky and Ohio. It is the point where I 75 and I 71 merge into a major trucking route to the South; but, according to the president, some transport companies choose to avoid the bridge altogether. The additional costs of longer routes are passed on to consumers. The Brent Spence Bridge is one of the 1 in 4 Ohio bridges in need of repair.

President Obama talked about teachers as well. They too would benefit from the American Jobs Act. Funds would be used to rehire laid off teachers and hire new ones. He said, "Our young people's success depends on their education. This jobs bill will put teachers back in the classroom."

Pass this Bill!

The president highlighted these additional features of the American Jobs Act:

• A $1500. tax cut for the typical working family
• A tax credit to businesses who hire veterans
• A small business tax cut
• No more earmarks
• No bridges to nowhere

As he ticked off the list of benefits the Act would provide, the crowd responded with "Pass this bill! Pass the bill!" President Obama excited them further when he talked about accusations of class warfare. "If this is class warfare, then guess what? I'm a warrior for the middle class..," Obama said.

Source:

Video of event by Gregory Reese