Republican Snyder boosts Jobs Act

Of all the statements the White House has released for President Obama's American Jobs Act, this one — released early Friday morning — may be the most notable:

LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder offered the following thoughts regarding President Obama’s speech Thursday night: Advertisement “Tonight the president laid out a plan calling for many changes at the federal level that we have already made here in Michigan. ... I urge our leaders in D.C. to continue to follow Michigan’s lead by balancing the budget, paying down long-term debt and saving for the future. Putting our fiscal house in order will make for a stronger economy and a stronger America. Michigan is fortunate to have Congressmen Dave Camp and Fred Upton working on these issues through the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. “Tonight the president called for key infrastructure projects that will boost our economy. We have a huge opportunity here in Michigan to build the New International Trade Crossing - a privately funded project that is vital to Michigan’s economic future. ...Half of all jobs lost in the entire United States over the past decade were lost right here in Michigan. We are in a crisis, and cannot afford to waste time on unproductive political posturing and partisan fighting. It’s time to make the tough decisions needed to reinvent Michigan and reinvent the United States.”

Snyder is a Republican who's been engaged in many of the same fights as other GOP governors — on labor issues, education and more — since taking office this year. While he's viewed as a lower-key, less ideological person than other governors, Snyder's taking a risk by praising this bill and it will be worth watching just how actively he supports it.

UPDATE: The initial White House release with Snyder's statement said the governor "backs" the American Jobs Act. Less than an hour later, the White House sent out a "corrected" statement without that language, just spotlighting Snyder's positive words about the proposed law.