In his third visit to Austin in as many years, President Barack Obama made two campaign stops to raise money, one at Austin Music Hall and a second at the Four Seasons Residences.
At the Austin Music Hall, Obama spoke to a crowd of more than 1000 people, most of whom paid $250 for tickets to the event. Although the LGBT Leadership Council hosted the fundraiser, the president did not mention same-sex marriage in his 35-minute speech. When talking about his first term’s accomplishments though, he did remind the audience that he repealed the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
In his speech, Obama talked about the goals of his campaign, speaking primarily about the economy and helping the middle class.
“Our goal is to build an economy that lasts for everybody, for all people,” Obama said. “I think what we need to do is continue pursuing the strategy that says ‘let us make an investment in American people.’” He criticized the theory of trickle-down economy, saying he believes in “middle-out economics” and “bottom-up economics.”
The president also said he and Mitt Romney had fundamentally different beliefs about the direction of the country. Obama attacked Romney over his foreign investments. “Governor Romney’s main calling card is his business experience,” Obama said.
“If you’re main experience is investing in companies that are pioneers of outsourcing, then that indicates we have different visions.”
Addressing college students in attendance and the younger crowd, he referred to actions Congress took two weeks ago that prevented student loan interest rates from rising. “We got more work to do to bring down student tuition,” Obama said. “I am going to fight to get every young person in this country an education.”
Regarding immigration, the president spoke of his policy preventing the deportation of young immigrants who came to the U.S. before they turned 16.
“When you got young people in this country who have been raised in America and believe in America, then I want to give them a chance to succeed in America,” Obama said. “It is the right thing to do.”
The president reiterated several times in his speech that the government was not “going backward” on issues like health care and Wall Street reform.
Texas Governor Rick Perry released a statement today about Obama’s visit to Texas, saying the president should apologize for Attorney General Eric Holder’s reference to Texas’ voter ID law as a “poll tax.”
“Eric Holder purposefully used language designed to inflame passions and incite racial tension,” Perry said. “It was not only inappropriate, but simply incorrect on its face.”
