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President Barack Obama takes the stage last year at Orr Middle School in Las Vegas for a “Moving America Forward” rally. Obama is scheduled to make another stop in Las Vegas on Oct. 24.
By Karoun Demirjian (contact) 
Published Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.
Updated Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 | 3:47 p.m.
Sun coverage
When President Barack Obama visits Las Vegas on Monday, he’ll be speaking to would-be voters about his No. 1 legislative priority: his jobs bill.
It’s a proposal the president has been trying to sell voters since early September, when he laid out his $447 billion plan to invest in infrastructure to Congress. But his message has changed since then.
Obama has taken his message — “Pass this jobs bill.” — to audiences across the country, but in Washington, it’s not faring so well against Republican opposition.
Obama’s jobs bill failed its first test in the Senate this month, when Sen. Harry Reid barely secured a majority — but solely of Democrats — to support a tweaked version of the legislation that paid for the bill by imposing a 5.6 percent surtax on millionaires beginning in 2013.
Reid then pledged to take Obama’s plan to Congress in pieces — which Republicans had said they would prefer in the days following the unveiling of the plan.
But that hasn’t gone so well either. This week, Reid tried to get the Senate to pass two of the least controversial portions of the bill: money for teachers and money for first responders, for a total of $35 billion. The vote on this one split 50-50 — not nearly the 60 Reid needed to avoid the threat of a filibuster.
Now, Senate Democrats have come up with a third plan — a reduced version of Obama’s jobs bill that focuses on transportation and infrastructure investment — the backbone of Obama’s proposal and the piece that’s supposed to get the construction workforce back on the job.
The smaller bill comes in at a total of $60 billion: $50 billion for upgrading roads, modernizing the national air-traffic control system and maintaining rail systems, and $10 billion for a national infrastructure bank meant to encourage public-private partnerships for other projects.
The itemized funding may be of particular interest to Nevada: $27 billion would go directly to rebuilding roads and bridges, and $4 billion would go to construct high-speed rail (which is less than 1 percent of the projected cost of a national high-speed rail network), $9 billion would repair transit systems and $5 billion for a competitive grant program.
The measure would be paid for with a 0.7 percent surtax on millionaires, a figure approximately proportional to the surtax Reid proposed to pay for the full Obama jobs plan, reduced to reflect the smaller size of the $60 billion proposal.
So is this reduced package the new jobs bill that Obama will be stumping for?
Obama’s stop in Las Vegas will be the first in a sweep to sell the American Jobs Act — the name of his full-fledged proposal — and his first since Reid and other Senate Democrats refocused their short-term efforts on the smaller legislation.
Obama called the roadblocks to passing his measure, even piecemeal, “unacceptable,” focusing chiefly on Republicans’ objections to the measure. “Our fight isn’t over. We will keep working with Congress to bring up the American Jobs Act piece by piece, and give Republicans another chance to put country before party and help us put the American people back to work.”
Monday will be Obama’s first chance to coordinate that new public message when he appears at the Bellagio, according to a Democratic source. Reid had been scheduled to appear with Obama.
Turtlehead McConnell said the GOP's top priority is not jobs or the economy -- it's making Obama a one term president.
In other words, business as usual for the Party of No.
Not another dime Barry. Why don't you leave now. I don't want you to finish your one term. Solyndra anyone.
Berry is the most pathetic leader the USA has ever had. He has never been the president of the people. This country hasn't been torn like this for many years, he is the worst president I have ever seen. The first 2.5 years he had the senate and house and all they did was throw away money, while the social security people never recieved a COLA. He is worst than Jimmy!
One will not get the proper relevant facts from reading this koolaid garbage of "news articles" from the Sun.
These votes are just procedural votes to allow the bill to move forward.
They are not actual votes on the bill.
None of the bills votes have enough Democrats that have stated that they would actually vote for the bill when it is ready for an up and down vote.
Republicans have offered to let Obama's entire original bill to come to the floor to be voted as-is in an up and down vote.
Reid used the nuke option to prevent that from happening.
So if you want to read real news to get real facts you need to go somewhere else.
All you will get here is Democrat kool-aid propaganda.
Stupid is as stupid does. Stay in DC with the rest of the buffoons.
Keep hoping loser! You will be gone in 2012 anyway.
The current debt is about 14 trillion, up from 7 trillion five years ago. Yes, TRILLION!!
The current deficit (what we spend vs. what we take in every year) is about 500 billion!!
This country better stop spending money it does not have and most likely will never be able to repay. Does no one understand the concept of spending within your means? Greece, here we come.
This isn't a few billion over every year. This is 500 billion that we are spending over and above what we take in EVERY year. I understand why the Republicans are simply saying no way. We essentially got no job creation from the 700 billion dollar stimulus act. You can't spend money you don't have to create jobs that are not market driven without imploding the capitalist free market system that this country was built on. I'm neither Democrat or Republican, but I refuse to push for more borrowing, more deficits and more debt. I'm just surprised there is not more outrage about these debt and deficit numbers. They are astounding numbers.
The Obama Derangement Syndrome campaign continues....
But it cannot overshadow the simple fact the Republican Party politicians in power now, though they say they love America, demonstrate clearly they hate people.
They hate you.
They hate me.
Your child needs an education? Don't hire a teacher. Hire prison wardens and build more prisons. In their world, you ain't rich, your kid belongs in jail.
Your house is on fire? Don't call the fire department. Call a hedge fund manager.
You have just been the victim of a mugging? Don't call a policeman. Call the President of Wells Fargo Bank.
THIS is the Republican hell they want us immersed in. They want every single policeman, firefighter and teacher in the United States made out to be the bad guy/gal. As if they are armed robbers or something stupid like that. Money they want sent to the oil companies as subsidies in their eternal quest to suck up to them all the time for campaign funds.
All of the proposals by President Obama and his administration are all common sense solutions that have taken into consideration logical ways on how to pay for them. These very same proposals would actually be made by a Republican President if he were in office. I guarantee they would receive their full support too. And then they would turn around and hope people forgot what happened before and pound their chests and loudly proclaim why didn't President Obama think of this?
Buncha hypocritical lowlifes who only want power and could care less about people. We're just pawns to them.
Republicans don't know how to govern and lead. They just know how to protest and strong arm people and make them hostages to their stupid continually failing policies that benefit only them and the filthy rich, the filthy richer, the filthy richest.
I'm so glad people are waking up to their stupid downright criminal political strategies.
Well, according to Harry Reid we don't need this jobs bill, because the private sector is doing just fine. So who is this jobs bill for?
I remember all to well that dark day when President Obama told the entire world it was a bad idea to visit Las Vegas. And if that wasn't bad enough, he went on to say it again as if to drive the point home.
Thanks for all you've done to us Mr. President
"All of the proposals by President Obama and his administration are all common sense solutions that have taken into consideration logical ways on how to pay for them."
In the last 4 years the debt of this country has almost DOUBLED. Please tell me the common sense and logical ways to pay for these "solutions". These are NOT market driven jobs, just welfare created jobs that will run until the money is gone.
There is no plan in place to bring the deficit or debt under control. Once again, where are the jobs from the 700 billion stimulus??!!
Just based on the TOTAL mismanagement of the government "house foreclosure" bill which this newspaper just reported last week...I don't know how you can just let them "manage" another 400 billion. Read the article. All they did was earmark money but no one knew how to manage or implement the program. Now they want to do it again with 400 billion. Just like the money sent to Iraq, this infrastructure money will be given out in no bid contracts, totally mismanaged, no clear understanding of how to implement it...and the money will end up in the hands of a few big contractors with political clout.
Very easy to run a political party that only attacks and finds fault with the other party. That way, Republicans don't have to come up with solutions to anything. Just complaints. Just sit back and pick apart anything, refusing to even get involved to become a part of any type of solution.
They just sit back and hope President Obama and his entire administration fails. They throw monkey wrenches in the gears.
They have been doing this for so long that I believe to my soul that if they actually got into power, they wouldn't have the slightest clue on what to do. Because they have excelled at protesting. Republicans are no longer even a shadow of their past history of greatness. They have lost it. They are practically useless. They couldn't even solve a jigsaw puzzle. Even with a head start and somebody showing them how its done.
It's also very easy to point at polls to show President Obama is dropping in approval rating. But conveniently these polls don't take into account that President Obama isn't running against seven, maybe even eight, possible candidates. Polls don't mean diddly squat right now anyways.
But since right wingnuts love them when they lean in their favor, I have to point out that one poll that seems to conveniently get overlooked by tea bagheads. Consistently, for at least quite a few months now, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has polled at an approval rating that bounces anywhere from 6 percent to 11 percent. And it doesn't seem to rise at all. Because people have lost faith in their abilities.
They do nothing! They don't lead. They don't govern. They don't legislate. They just hate. They protest. They make easy money by not lifting a finger to help anybody.
Point fingers all you want, but the truth is in the pudding for all to see. Republicans do nothing. And when they are confronted with the truth, they run. Witness the speech that Rep. Cantor (R-VA) was supposed to give at a college in Pennsylvania. When it suddenly became open to the public, he did what any loyal brain dead Republican in power does. He cancelled. Ran away. Because Republicans HATE the truth. They run on propaganda, blatant falsities, re-written history, political catch phrases and buzzwords and just outright lies.
The Republican Party is dead, incapable of doing anything. Somebody dig the grave, get the priest to say a eulogy, then roll them in. Good riddance.
Colin, "Very easy to run a political party that only attacks and finds fault with the other party"
"They do nothing! They don't lead. They don't govern. They don't legislate. They just hate. They protest. They make easy money by not lifting a finger to help anybody"
Dude, you need to relax and have a barley pop. You have just described your own party. I just love how you imagine the Repubs as the party of no. Your Boy Harry once read a phone book on the Senate floor to block some legislation. What, you knew that, oh, it's different for your party. Okay, just checking.
Catch phrases??? Really??? Hope and Change anybody!!
Oh look, football is on. Time for important stuff.
If Colin was even remotely correct in his statements, the American people would have flushed the Republican party down the drain. Instead they have a slight minority in the Senate and a pretty stiff lead in the House of Rep. If the 99% can't vote them all out...maybe it's because a good portion of the population agrees with the "no more reckless spending" stance of the party. Obama isn't getting a blank check. Those days are over. He's going to have to have meaningful cuts in spending and compromise.
I don't understand why people can't see the problem with a 500 billion dollar deficit. If every year you made $100,000 but spent $125,000...what eventually happens? It isn't rocket science.
In typical liberal fashion, colin made no points at all in his post. he just attacked the republicans with no actual evidence of anything.
@rhg58....this jobs bill is actually for public sector workers. That way instead of getting wages and pensions under control, we can just throw more money at it, go deeper into debt, and temporarily address the problem.
@TomD. Right on! And it only gets worse with unfunded medicare, SS, and so on. We are headed for an epic crash! More stimulus, money printing inflation, the dollar will reach its intrinsic value...ZERO!
The democratic controlled Senate failed to passed it twice, what's that tell you.
If anything, the comments here indicate a population that will not tolerate more deficit spending and debt. Colin seems an island to himself.
First step is getting a budget that has some reality to what comes in is what goes out. End these wars being fought 15,000 miles away that really do nothing to ensure our security but have just become endless money pits. Cut all pork spending. Once that has been achieved we can start looking at a balance of some tax incentives to drive growth and jobs. I'm not against tax increases if it means we are paying down debt, fixing SS and Medicare. Personally I think we are taxed enough but to get out of this mess of deficit and debt, new taxes is probably the only way.
You would go ballistic if you knew all the billions in cash that we sent to Iraq for infrastructure that wound up in the hands of corrupt politicians and contractors who didn't finish jobs and in some cases never started them. You cannot throw cash at a problem without enormous oversight and management. This 400 billion that Obama wants will follow the same path that the money earmarked for foreclosure prevention did. Go read the stats for that enormous boondoggle...money sitting there, mismanaged, unmanaged, no transparency. You watch, 100 billion will go to Halliburton and the following week they'll hire 3 new guys to pave a road in the middle of no where.
And the best part of all this BS being written is our President Obama will be reelected in 2012. Don't you just love it?
History has proven their never has been an Intelligent Republican!
COLIN>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> You remember when George W was in office and Pelosi said that we will not work with this President ? What goes around comes around. The Democrats will be soundly defeated and guess what the Democrats will be blaming the Republicans. BTW what ever happened to BO school transcripts? Is he ashamed that he was helped by affirmative action?
It's the Presidents job to bridge the gap between what he wants and what he can compromise on. He can scream and yell about the republicans blocking his bills...but the end result is that he will be voted out and his presidency will be viewed as a failure. I'm sure there will be some republicans voted out as well as they are not blameless but Obama's failures will not be noted with an asterisk that says "Republicans unwilling to work with him"
Hell be viewed as a one term failure like Franklin Pierce, Hoover, Carter....
I believe Obama hopes that the Republicans block the bill. He wants that to use a political tool. He does not care if the bill passes. In fact, he does not want the bill to pass.
The bill if it passes can't help him for there is no time for the bill to hep with the economy before Nov 2012.
He gets no political advantage if the bill passes.
But the problem is that Democrats are opposed to the bill.
That is deflating air out his argument that it is those bad ...bad Republicans blocking the bill. Democrats are running from him like he is poison.
This is not a jobs bill, its the union workers protection act. Passing this bill will result in millions of union dollars flowing into his campaign and millions more public debt for all to pay back. If my memory is correct, Democrat Senator Reid is the Majority Leader. This means his party, the Democrat Party controls the Senate. If no jobs bill passes its the fault of Democrat Senators, not the Republicans!
I's all politics...Obama wants the republicans to vote it all down...then they well have to explain why there are no jobs in Nov 2012. If that doesn't work and they win the senate and the white house they well have to explain why there are no jobs in 2013. (and probably why we have gone into the second great depression)
Passing another jobs bill is not moving America forward, its keeps putting us two steps backward. We have passed two jobs bill in the last two years, and it has proven to do nothing but make thing no better. The nation is not moving forward, its moving backwards. Its time for a new direction that has not been tried. Instead of spending another $450 billion on a jobs bill how about giving the 51% of consumers that paid income taxes a stimulus of $5,000. I believe this will stimulate the economy, create jobs because of demand, replenish tax revenues, and move America forward. It worked for the bank, auto industry and other businesses, its now time for the hard working consumers to get there's.
If they would pay for this in cuts I would be all for it. They can't BUDGET why would I vote to give them one more dime. There is plenty to cut.
Colin...Your posts are to long dog. No one is going to read all that.
Glad to have our great President Obama back in
town.
The majority of Americans have already spoken,
they want this jobs bill.
The majority of Americans doesn't listen to the
lying, heartless, souless, greedy republicans.
Stupid republicans caused this mess and have NO
solutions, only hate.
Next year, every greedy, heartless republican
will be voted out of Congress.
We don't need these fools.
You people have clue that what Obama is proposing will not create jobs let alone stimulate the economy. If anyone plans on rebuilding America's infrastructure and reduce unemployment, they better be prepared to dump a few trillion or so into the program and then be prepared for all the lawsuits over the regulations and permits the eccoterrorist require. We tried it already, 785 billion wasted on his brainless trolls.
As it stands, FHWA, DOT, FAA, FRA, OIG, GSA, USACE, DOD, along with States DOT spend in excess of 600 billion annually now and unemployment remains high, dumping another 100 billion will do absolutely nothing except feed their eccoterrorist regulations.
Take a look at the Desert Xpress, anyone who works in this industry knows that California is another country in its self. California will require that their environmental laws and water quality laws be followed before any construction starts. California eccoterrorist laws at a minimum require 15 years of studies before any construction can start. California liberals will suck a few billion or more from the funding and once construction does start, grab your children then hide your wallets; the cost projections just doubled implementing their regulations and feeding their social programs.
What we do know is that any jobs bill will include wasting money on liberal social programs enabling the brainless liberal trolls sucking off the system and not work. We simply can't afford to continually throw good money down the toilet bowl knowing that until we remove the liberal agenda and remove regulations, nothing Obama proposes will work.
This is nothing more than a political rally paid for by the US taxpayers. The Jobs bill is not going to solve the problems of excessive regulations that Obama and his buddies are pushing. All I know is that the rally is going to cause massive problems on the roads and highways and big backups at the airport. Obama is going to lose Nevada big time. He deserves to lose.
This job bill is junk ! I am a union electrician my spouse a plumber pipefitter , how does road work help any construction trade ? Remove regulations that are preventing energy plants from being built . NV has a very large potencial for hydro thermal ( using the steam in the ground ) energy . This is clean energy and a small footprint . It would put all trades back to work , provide permanent jobs also and supply more energy that we need . Police are nothing more than revinue builders and teachers are just dumbing down our kids and inferstucture , really ? Our schools are less than 15 years old and we have no bridges . The unions are pushing a big registration drive for Dems , lets screw the man register Republican by Dec 15th and VOTE Ron Paul . Obama vs Paul now thats a debate I want to see !
Teamster, you are a one man epidemic of stupidity.