Boehner defends Republicans on jobs ahead of Obama speech

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With President Barack Obama set to take his message on the economy to John Boehner's backyard, the Republican House Speaker landed a preemptive blow Thursday with a video blaming Senate Democrats for a congressional logjam that has stalled bills meant to create jobs.

In the video, the Ohio lawmaker points to documents covering his desk, identifying them as House-passed legislation now blocked by the Democratic-held Senate.

"This isn't just our work — it's your work in progress," Boehner says.

"You see, we're going to keep adding to this pile, and we're going to keep calling on President Obama and Democrats in the Senate to give these jobs bills a vote," he says.

Boehner's message aimed to turn the tables on Obama and Democrats in general who charge that House Republicans have locked up legislation to create jobs. The White House has described the House-passed bills — one of which would repeal "Obamacare"-- as partisan non-starters.

Obama spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that unspecified independent economists have come down on the side of the president's approach and criticized the Republican proposals.

"Some of them would actually do near-term damage to the economy," he said. "Some of them might, in the out-years and down the road, have positive economic impact," Carney said. "None of them would have near-term, short-term, positive economic impact -- positive effect on growth, positive effect on job creation."

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was blunter, charging on the floor of the chamber that "today's Republicans aren't interested in passing good policy, and they aren't interested in creating jobs."

"They're too obsessed with defeating President Obama. That's their number one goal," he said.

Obama has made clear he won't shy from attacking Republicans, including Mitt Romney, over their jobs proposals or shrink from running against Congress. On Thursday, the president was to make his first major economic address of the general election cycle at a community college in Cleveland.

But Obama is expected to face an uphill battle on the economy: Official government data released a week ago showed paltry job creation and saw the unemployment rate tick up to 8.2 percent.

"Friday's unemployment report was a real punch in the gut," Boehner says in the video.

"Americans are again left asking the question 'where are the jobs?'

Republicans have pledged to listen. We've pledged to act, and we have," the speaker says.