Obama, Cantor Tussle Over Jobs Package

President Obama today blasted the number two Republican in the House for ruling out any chance the American Jobs act may have of passing.

During a stop in Dallas, Texas today to promote the jobs bill, Obama challenged House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to “come down here to Dallas and explain what in this jobs bill he doesn’t believe in.”

Cantor yesterday told reporters that the bill has no chance of passing the GOP-controlled House. Those words apparently upset the president, who has been touring the country of late to sell the bill.

“Come tell Dallas construction workers why they should be sitting home instead of fixing our bridges and our schools,” Obama said. “Come tell the small business owners and workers in this community why you’d rather defend tax breaks for millionaires than tax cuts for the middle-class.”

“And if you won’t do that,” he added, “at least put this jobs bill up for a vote so that the entire country knows exactly where every Member of Congress stands.”

Cantor’s communications director, Brad Dayspring, responded by calling on Obama to sign House-passed legislation aimed at growing the economy.

“If House Republicans sent our plan for America’s job creators to the President, would he promise not to veto it in its entirety? Would he travel district to district and explain why he’d block such common sense ideas to create jobs? House Republicans have different ideas on how to grow the economy and create jobs, but that shouldn’t prevent us from trying to find areas of common ground with the President. That is precisely why Majority Leader Cantor has given his word to the President that the House will pass portions of his jobs bill this month. President Obama needs to understand that his ‘my way or the highway’ approach simply isn’t going to work in the House or the Democratic Senate, especially in light of his abysmal record on jobs. Serious problems deserve serious leadership, and the American people have gone without it for far too long. Republicans are trying to work together despite our disagreements - why isn’t the President?”