President Barack Obama is currently on his Let's Talk About the Economy, You Guys Tour 2013, and his latest stop takes him to Jacksonville on Thursday.
Obama will be speaking on the state of the economy at the Jacksonville Port Authority.
The crux of his speeches thus far -- in Illinois and Missouri, and now Florida -- has been on the state of the middle class. Obama has said that the economy has been smacked around by globalization, Wall Street irresponsibility, and Washington policies that have crippled everyone who isn't rich.
More to the point, Obama is saying politicians have been distracted and are doing pretty much nothing to help.
"With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing, and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball," Obama said Wednesday in his speech in Galesburg, Illinois. "And I am here to say this needs to stop."
Predictably, the GOPers are coming out of the woodwork to criticize the president as he makes his arrival to the Sunshine State while praising Gov. Rick Scott for... some... reason or other.
On Wednesday, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry said, "President Obama is visiting yet another Florida port this year, providing more rhetoric on the economy. We will not allow the president to come to Jacksonville and take credit for Governor Scott's policies and economic successes just like he tried to in Miami nearly four months ago. Floridians know it's Governor Rick Scott who provides results with his laser-focused leadership on jobs."
As the president makes his speech Thursday, the Florida GOPers will be holding their own Rick Scott pep rally at the same time.
Curry will hold a media event in Jacksonville. There, he'll be joined with other GOPers most Floridians probably never heard of, including Duval County GOP Chairman Rick Hartley, Sen. John Thrasher, and Rep. Janet Adkins. That's quite the all-star lineup.
And then there was Marco Rubio, who called out Obama from the Senate floor on Tuesday to say Rubio kinda things.
"Mr. President, as you travel around the country this week, as you come to Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday, I hope you will also explain to the American people how it is that you can justify cutting hours, cutting benefits, and taking away existing health insurance and existing doctor-patient relationships," Rubio said.
Good times!
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