Even Worse

September 16, 2011

State Jobs Numbers Reinforce the Failure of Democrat Economic Policies, Yet Dems Call for More Failed Stimulus Spending

After the August jobs report showing zero net job creation, the state unemployment numbers out today offer yet more abysmal news about the gloomy state of the economy—the latest painful evidence of Democrats’ failed economic policies.
Amidst this jarring economic reality, Democrats are offering more of the same failed policies that have characterized the last two and a half years: more failed stimulus spending and more job-destroying tax increases.
Democrats seem to think that by renaming their failed policies, Americans will somehow forget that their policies made a bad economy worse. After a historic repudiation in two special elections in New York and Nevada this week, will Democrats continue to make excuses and insist they’re “proud of” their economic record.

BACKGROUND

After the August jobs report showing zero net job creation, the state unemployment numbers out today offer yet more abysmal news about the gloomy state of the economy—the latest painful evidence of Democrats’ failed economic policies:

26 STATES POST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE INCREASES, 12 STAY THE SAME. (“Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/16/2011)

SEVERAL KEY STATES IN, MI, MO, NC, NH, NV, OH, PA, VA, WI ALL SEE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE INCREASES. “Seven states experienced statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate increases in August. Illinois and Pennsylvania reported the largest of these (+0.4 percentage point each), followed by North Carolina (+0.3 point); Maryland, North Dakota, and Virginia (+0.2 point each); and Georgia (+0.1 point).” (“Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/15/2011)

Amidst this jarring economic reality, Democrats are offering more of the same failed policies that have characterized the last two and a half years: more failed stimulus spending and more job-destroying tax increases:

PELOSI TRIES TO RENAME HER STIMULUS:”: “Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats have dropped the word ‘stimulus’ from their vocabulary.” (Mike Lillis, “Pelosi Drops the Word ‘Stimulus’,” The Hill, 9/6/2011)

OBAMA’S NOT USING THE “S-WORD” EITHER: (David Wessel, “Obama Tries to Rewrite Narrative on Jobs,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/7/2011)

OBAMA PROPOSES NEW TAX HIKES TO PAY FOR MORE STIMULUS, TOO: “To pay for his $447 billion jobs bill, President Obama is once again proposing an assortment of tax increases on wealthy individuals and corporations. … The bulk of the additional tax revenue under Mr. Obama’s proposal would come from the wealthiest 1.5 percent of taxpayers — individuals with adjusted gross income over $200,000, families with more than $250,000 — who would face new limits on their itemized deductions for such things as charitable contributions and state and local taxes.” (David Kocieniewski, “Tax Plan for Jobs Bill Has Familiar Ring,” The New York Times, 9/13/2011)

DEMOCRAT LEADER NANCY PELOSI: “OUR CAUCUS IS VERY UNIFIED” ABOUT OBAMA’S NEW STIMULUS AND TAX HIKES. “Dem Leaders Pelosi adds ‘Our caucus is very unified about the American Jobs Act’ responding to ?s about some Dems not liking Obama plan” (Tweet from Kelly O’Donnell, NBC News, 9/15/2011)

USA TODAY: IS THIS “JOBS PLAN DÉJÀ VU”? “SADLY YES”: (Editorial, “Jobs Plan Déjà Vu,” USA Today, 9/9/2011)

ABC NEWS’ JAKE TAPPER: “NEW, SECOND STIMULUS” BASICALLY “FOLLOWS THE SAME CONTOURS” OF THE FIRST ONE: (Jake Tapper, “President Obama Pushes $447 Billion Jobs Plan in Address to Congress,” ABC News, 9/8/2011)

DETROIT NEWS: “OBAMA OFFERS STIMULUS LITE.” (Editorial, “Obama Offers Stimulus Lite,” The Detroit News, 9/9/2011)

WHITE HOUSE CONTEMPLATED RESHUFFLING THE BUREAUCRACY AND REBRANDING WITH A NEW “DEPARTMENT OF JOBS”? REALLY?: “The administration may also merge the Department of Commerce, the Office of the United States Trade Representative and some economic divisions at the State Department into a new agency, administration officials said. Possible names include the Department of Jobs or the Department of Competitiveness.” (Binyamin Applebaum and Helene Cooper, “White House Debates Fight on Economy,” The New York Times, 8/14/2011)

Democrats seem to think that by renaming their failed policies, Americans will somehow forget that their policies made a bad economy worse. After a historic repudiation in two special elections in New York and Nevada this week, will Democrats continue to make excuses and insist they’re “proud of” their economic record?:

COOK POLITICAL REPORT: EVEN DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY ADMIT THAT THEY GOT BLOWN OUT BECAUSE OF OBAMA’S FAILED RECORD ON JOBS AND THE ECONOMY: “[V]irtually every Democrat privately admits that Obama’s unpopularity – tied to voters’ number one priority of the economy and jobs – was a necessary precondition for a competitive race in the middle of New York City.” (“Reassessing the House After NY-09 and NV-02,” Cook Political Report, 9/15/2011)

DNC CHAIR: DEMOCRATS ARE “PROUD OF” OBAMA’S RECORD: “Well, I’m proud of the President’s record as are Democrats and middle-class Americans across the country.” (Remarks from Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports”, 8/13/2011)

OBAMA IN A STATE OF DENIAL: THINKS HIS POLICIES DIDN’T FAIL, IT’S THE ECONOMY’S FAULT IT FAILED TO RESPOND TO THEM… WE’RE CONFUSED, TOO:“Obama has mused in several private settings that if he loses re-election, it won’t be because a Republican beat him: It will be because the economy was impervious to his attempts to revive it.” (Marc Ambinder, “One Small Step for Jobs, One Big Target for Republicans,” National Journal, 9/7/2011)

OBAMA: NEW ECONOMIC FEARS ARE DUE TO “BAD LUCK”: “Over the last six months, we’ve had a string of bad luck — there have been some things that we could not control.” (“Remarks by the President in a Town Hall Meeting in Cannon Falls, Minnesota,” The White House

, 8/15/2011)

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY: “UNCONTESTABLY TRUE” THAT “ECONOMY IS VASTLY IMPROVED” SINCE OBAMA TOOK OFFICE. (“Carney: Economy Has ‘Vastly Improved’ Since Obama Was Sworn In,” Real Clear Politics, 7/21/2011)

NY TIMES: WHITE HOUSE HOPING “MAYBE IT’S NOT THE ECONOMY, STUPID”: “Maybe it’s not the economy, stupid. White House officials have begun to entertain the idea that they can run for re-election without being able to point to a strengthening economy. For one thing, they may not have a choice.” (David Leonhardt, “Negotiating Election Headwinds,” The New York Times, 7/19/2011)

OBAMA CLAIMS HE WAS “LARGELY SUCCESSFUL” IN STABILIZING ECONOMY, DESPITE THE FACT THAT “STUBBORN” UNEMPLOYMENT IS FAR ABOVE HIS 8 PERCENT MARKER. (“Press Conference by the President,” The White House, 7/11/2011)

OBAMA ADVISOR DAVID PLOUFFE PRE-EMPTS JOBS REPORT, CLAIMS “VISION” MORE IMPORTANT THAN JOBS. (Julie Mason, “Plouffe: It’s About Vision, Not Jobs,” Politico, 7/8/2011)

EVEN OBAMA JOKED ABOUT HIS FAILED STIMULUS … HA HA?: “Obama smiled and interjected, ‘Shovel-ready was not as … uh .. shovel-ready as we expected.’ The Council, led by GE’s Jeffrey Immelt, erupted in laughter.” (“Obama Jokes at Jobs Council: “Shovel-Ready Was Not as Shovel-Ready as We Expected,” Fox News, 6/13/2011)