(AP) -- HOLLAND, Mich. - President Barack Obama appears to have taken a shot at Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra during his speech for the groundbreaking of a battery plant for electric cars.

Obama said Thursday that some politicians want to return to policies that led to the recession. He says they say no to some of his policies, including clean-energy projects.

Obama says the politicians still show up at ribbon cuttings.

Hoekstra was in the crowd. He says he doesn't know if the president was talking about him. But Hoekstra said he was at the groundbreaking to respect the office of the president.

Hoekstra said the U.S. government shouldn't be helping to pay for the construction of the plant, saying government shouldn't be deciding which businesses win and which lose.

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