MENOMONEE FALLS — President Obama Monday talked up his administration’s efforts to jumpstart the economy, saying while the progress made hasn’t been enough to undo damage done over the past decade, things are heading in the right direction.
He also slammed those in Washington, D.C., willing to abandon those efforts, demanding that they explain why clean energy jobs like the ones at ZBB Energy Corp. are better off in other countries than here in the United States.
Obama told workers at the Menomonee Falls manufacturer that the recession was the culmination of a decade that “fell like a sledgehammer on middle-class families” and hit manufacturing particularly hard.
Obama, who also headlined fundraisers for Dem guv hopeful Tom Barrett and the state Democratic Party, ticked off the investments his administration has made in the country’s infrastructure. They include tax cuts for small businesses, and emergency steps to prevents the layoffs of hundreds of teachers, firefighters and police officers.
He held up ZBB as an example of what those measures can do, saying they helped the manufacturer of batteries and fuel cells from renewable resources to get a loan to expand its operations.
“See, when folks lift up the hoods on the cars of the future, I want them to see engines stamped ‘Made in America.’ When new batteries to store solar power come off the line, I want to see printed on the side, ‘Made in America.’ When new technologies are developed and new industries are formed, I want them made right here in America.”
ZBB Vice President of Business Development and Marketing Dan Nordloh said the administration has been helpful in making ZBB successful and said Monday’s visit and the platform and validation it brings is an added help.
“Getting this type of platform to let the world know what we’re up to, that’s a big one for us,” Nordloh said. “They did a lot for us today by just doing that.”
While acknowledging there are already many tools in place to help companies like ZBB, Nordloh said passage of a clean energy bill would be helpful for ZBB and companies like it.
In addition to state and federal grants, the company has received a $1.3 million Recovery Act-funded loan through the state Department of Commerce and $14.6 million in federal clean energy tax credits it will use to install $49.5 million worth of equipment in a planned southeast Wisconsin facility.
Nordloh said the assistance will enable the company to add about 80 jobs, but declined to speculate how soon that would happen.
Republicans were quick to criticize the president’s visit, headlined by a new TV ad from guv candidate Scott Walker highlighting his opposition to the planned high-speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison.
In the ad, Walker accuses Obama and Barrett of trying to spending $810 million on the project — money Walker would rather use to “fix Wisconsin’s crumbling roads and bridges.”
Meanwhile, GOP guv hopeful Mark Neumann delivered a signed copy of his campaign book to Barrett’s campaign office and asked him to give it to the president.
Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Reince Priebus said the president’s visit was desperate attempt to energize a “sputtering campaign” and predicted there will be little political benefit for Barrett from the visit.
“Obama’s coattails are more like an anchor tied around a candidate’s neck,” he said.
An audience of about 100, including ZBB employees and others, was seated in white chairs before the president’s podium, which rested on a low stage about 10 feet from the front row. Behind the podium on the factory floor were large cabinets housing batteries the company makes. The audience welcomed the president with a standing ovation.
Some Dems have made national news for skipping events with the president, whose job approval numbers have been on a prolonged slide. But he was greeted at Mitchell International Airport Monday morning by Gov. Jim Doyle and his wife Jessica, along with U.S. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl.
During his remarks, Obama recognized Doyle and his wife, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, and ZBB CEO Eric Apfelbach. He also singled out Feingold, who’s fighting for his political life as polls show him neck-and-neck with GOP challenger Ron Johnson.
“We’ve got somebody who is fighting on behalf of Wisconsin families each and every day, Russ Feingold, your wonderful U.S. Senator,” said Obama, who also called Moore “a great friend.”
Prior to the speech, a few people lined the streets of the business and industrial park that houses ZBB, hoping to get a glimpse of Obama’s motorcade as it arrived.
Following the speech, Obama hit a fundraiser at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Milwaukee for fundraising events benefitting Barrett and the state party.
Both were closed to the media. But according to the pool report, Barrett told the crowd he will do “everything I can to recruit, retain and create jobs in Wisconsin.”
The mayor also said voters were looking for “adult leadership,” adding, “I have never felt in my career that I needed to make myself look big to make someone look small.”
Obama praised Barrett’s character in his remarks, according to the pool report, referencing the injuries the mayor suffered when trying to help a woman outside of the Wisconsin State Fair. He told the crowd he’d met leaders who were able to get the snow plowed or garbage picked up.
“That is some serious customer service from this mayor right here,” Obama said, prompting a standing ovation.
The president said Barrett is embarrassed when others bring up the incident.
“That’s the kind of act you don’t hear about every day. He stepped in, tried to help and sustained serious injuries. That’s what counts as a leader,” he said. “That’s a mark of real character. That’s a person who will fight for you each and every day.”
Monday’s events were the first of three stops the president has scheduled this week to help Dem gubernatorial candidates, hitting likely 2012 prez swing states Ohio and Florida as well.
Read the president’s remarks at ZBB Energy Corp.
Listen to audio of the speech.