With less than a month until the crucial midterm elections, President Obama on Saturday continued his relentless push for a higher minimum wage, an issue Democrats believe will help them at the ballot box in November.
In his weekly address, the president promised to “keep up this fight until we win,” saying the U.S. must hike the minimum wage to $10.10 to help lift working families out of poverty. It’s at least the fourth time in the past two months the weekly White House address has focused largely on the minimum wage.
Democratic candidates across the country also have made raising the minimum wage a key part of their campaigns.
“One of the simplest and fastest ways to start helping folks get ahead is by raising the minimum wage. Ask yourself: could you live on $14,500 a year? That’s what someone working full-time on the minimum wage makes. If they’re raising kids, that’s below the poverty line. And that’s not right. A hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay,” the president said. “We believe that in America, nobody who works full-time should ever have to raise a family in poverty. And I’m going to keep up this fight until we win. Because America deserves a raise right now. And America should forever be a place where your hard work is rewarded.”
But Republicans hit back Saturday and blasted Mr. Obama’s foreign policy, saying the White House has failed to lead amid a host of global challenges.
“So many challenges, so many threats and problems — and all at the same time. Yet the Obama administration seems only more confused as things unravel. This is what the world looks like without American leadership,” said Republican Scott Brown, who is challenging Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, in the November elections.
SEE ALSO: White House uses taxpayer-funded Dept. of Labor to push for $10.10 minimum wage
Mr. Brown also took aim at the administration’s record on border security and the health-care scandal that has rocked the VA.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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