Obama says Senate defeat of jobs bill ‘by no means the end of this fight’

President Obama blasted Senate Republicans for blocking his jobs bill Tuesday night, saying the American people “won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

The president said in a statement that his administration will work with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to get votes on the individual components of the bill “as soon as possible.”

{mosads}”Tonight’s vote is by no means the end of this fight,” Obama said. “Independent economists have said that the American Jobs Act would grow the economy and lead to nearly two million jobs, which is why the majority of the American people support these bipartisan, common-sense proposals.”

The president did not mention the two Democrats who joined the entire Republican minority in opposing the bill, boasting instead that “a majority of United States Senators voted to advance the American Jobs Act.”

“But even though this bill contains the kind of proposals Republicans have supported in the past, their party obstructed the Senate from moving forward on this jobs bill,” Obama said.

Senior administration officials were unclear earlier Tuesday about when votes on the broken down parts of the bill will take place.

But Obama warned that “in the coming days, Members of Congress will have to take a stand on whether they believe we should put teachers, construction workers, police officers and firefighters back on the job.”  

“They’ll get a vote on whether they believe we should cut taxes for small business owners and middle-class Americans, or whether we should protect tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires,” the president said. 

The White House unleashed a full-court press ahead of the vote, reaching out to supporters and the media though the day. Obama joined the effort, sitting down for a beer with unemployed construction workers at a bar in Orlando. 

After the vote, Obama said that on each vote, lawmakers can “either explain to their constituents why they’re against common-sense, bipartisan proposals to create jobs, or they can listen to the overwhelming majority of American people who are crying out for action.”  

“Because with so many Americans out of work and so many families struggling, we can’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” Obama said. “Ultimately, the American people won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.  It’s time for Congress to meet their responsibility, put their party politics aside and take action on jobs right now.”