Biden: Don't Bet Against the American People [VIDEO]

Hundreds of people gathered at the Statehouse to hear Vice President Joe Biden rally the troops for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in Concord on Sept. 21.

After being introduced by Gov. John Lynch, and his wife, Dr. Susan Lynch, Biden asked voters to give the team another four years and stated that the country faced “the starkest choice in my lifetime” when it came to the November election.

“The differences are absolutely stark,” Biden said. “The values set we proceed from are fundamentally different.”

After cracking some jokes, and commending Ann McLane Kuster for running for Congress, Biden launched a full frontal attack against the Republican ticket, insinuating that the Romney-Ryan team were lying in ads about Medicare cuts to scare seniors.

“The fact of the matter is that what we have done in the last three years has actually extended the solvency of the Medicare system to the year 2024,” he said, adding that the president's changes had been endorsed by the AMA and AARP. 

In contrast, Biden accused the Republicans of wanting to gut the program, cutting benefits for 48 million people on Medicare today, bringing it to insolvency in 2016. He alleged that the two planned on changing the program to a voucher program that would cost seniors about $6,400 more per year, out of pocket, and $60,000 more of in the lifetime of the average senior.

“Let’s be clear about something” Biden said. “Barack Obama and I will not allow the Medicare program to be turned into a voucher program.”

Biden stated that the Republicans hadn’t support any deficit reduction program while at the same time, campaigning with a debt clock, calling the issue an urgent concern. He said every proposal, including the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles program, was rejected or resisted, because they included taxes on people who earn more than $1 million. Biden said that Romney was proposing $2 trillion in continue and new tax cuts for millionaires.

“All this malarkey,” he said. “Their plan, if it were enacted, will raised taxes on middle-class families by $2,000 a year. I want to be clear about something: The president and I do not think that the middle-class has done too little. I’m trying to correct the problems that they caused over the previous eight years.”

Biden also lashed out against Romney calling his political ads about getting tough against China a joke. He said that in Romney’s book, he was critical of President Obama for standing up to China for dumping cheap tires into the American marketplace. Biden said that it was the Democrats who wanted to fix trade and bring more manufacturing jobs back to the states by lowering tax breaks on companies that export jobs and equipment.

“It’s laughable, the assertions they are making,” he said.

Biden called for more money for education and new energy jobs, as well as making sure that troops returning home from Afghanistan were taken care of. He said that a lot of folks – including the soldiers serving overseas – were part of the 47 percent of Americans who didn’t pay income taxes, who Romney recently criticized during a fundraiser that was recorded. Biden said that President Obama would work to ensure that Americans had a fighting chance to make their lives better.

“It’s never, never, never, been a safe bet to bet against the American people,” he said.