Vice President Joe Biden used a midday speech at Drake University yesterday (Thursday) to rap the economic policies Republicans pursue, saying the real “job creators” in America are engineers and factory line workers who are in the middle class.
Without mentioning Hillary Clinton by name or indicating he planned to run for president himself, Biden also addressed the idea that electing a Democrat in 2016 would be like giving President Obama a “third term.” Biden chastised people in his own Democratic Party who’ve tried to “distance themselves” from Obama Administration policies.
Biden did not name any of Republicans who have indicated they’re mulling a bid for the White House in 2016. Instead, Biden dropped names like Mitt Romney and Pat Ryan into his speech and lamented the growing income inequality in America. He called standing up for the middle class the “single challenge of our time” and argued the trickle down economics Republicans advocate is part of the problem.
Biden spoke to over eight-hunderd Drake University students and staff, along with a few Iowa Democratic Party leaders, like former Congressman Neal Smith. The vice president spent more than half of his speech reviewing the past six years and briefly touched on the specific proposals President Obama is asking congress to embrace this year. He touted the idea of the federal government providing two years of free community college for “responsible” students.
Biden held a roundtable discussion with students at Des Moines Area Community College yesterday afternoon (Thursday).
