The Obama-Corzine Stimulus Slump

Democrats Double-Down on More Stimulus to Follow the Last One Jon Corzine Helped Design 

• DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz struggled Sunday to defend Democrats’ calls for a second stimulus, resorting to the implausible defense that things would have been worse without the Democrats’ stimulus spending spree.
• Perhaps one reason the stimulus did turn out to be such a failure is that according to Vice President Joe Biden the design of the $800 billion package was based on advice from then-New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, now under investigation by the FBI for the bankruptcy of his company MF Global and the disappearance of $600 million in customer money.
• Little shock, then, that polls are showing new heights of disapproval for the Democrats’ failed economic policies as Democrats double down on more of the same.

BACKGROUND

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz struggled Sunday to defend Democrats’ calls for a second stimulus, resorting to the implausible defense that things would have been worse without the Democrats’ stimulus spending spree: 

DNC CHAIR DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ STRUGGLES TO ANSWER WHETHER AMERICANS ARE BETTER OFF UNDER OBAMA: “Gregory: ‘Congresswoman, he’s had the job; these have been his policies. You concede Americans are not better off after his leadership?’

“DWS: ‘Well, what I concede is that we do have a long way to go. But we absolutely have begun to turn things around, and we have made steady, but not quick enough, progress.‘” (Ben Smith, “The Hardest Question,” Politico, 11/14/2011)

Perhaps one reason the stimulus did turn out to be such a failure is that according to Vice President Joe Biden the design of the $800 billion package was based on advice from then-New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, now under investigation by the FBI for the bankruptcy of his company MF Global and the disappearance of $600 million in customer money: 

VP JOE BIDEN: WE “LITERALLY PICKED UP THE PHONE AND CALLED JON CORZINE” ABOUT HOW TO DESIGN STIMULUS: “Ladies and gentleman; the president and I weren’t back there blaming Jon Corzine then. You know what we were doing? We were on the phone, calling Jon Corzine—literally. I literally picked up the phone and called Jon Corzine and said, ‘Jon, what do you think we should do?’ The reason why we called Jon is because we knew he knew about the economy, about world markets, about how we had to respond, unlike almost anyone we knew… We trusted his judgment. … The facts were, Jon, leading your legislature, was already moving, in New Jersey on an economic stimulus package before anybody else was. … Jon suggested, and laid out, and we talked a long time about what the elements of the recovery package nationally should be.” (Remarks from Joe Biden, YouTube, Accessed 11/14/2011)

“CORZINE RESIGNS AS HEAD OF BANKRUPT MF GLOBAL”: (“Corzine Resigns as Head of Bankrupt MF Global,” FoxNews.com, 11/4/2011)

FBI INVESTIGATING HOW CORZINE’S COMPANY LOST $600 MILLION: “A government regulator said in court Wednesday that roughly $600 million is missing from the books of bankrupt brokerage MF Global, which is headed by Corzine, a former Goldman Sachs CEO and former Democratic governor of New Jersey and U.S. senator. Corzine’s firm filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday following a panic from investors over its holdings of risky European debt.

“The FBI and federal prosecutors are now investigating how some $600 million of MF Global customers’ money went missing, CNN learned Tuesday from sources close to the probe.” (Paul Steinhauser, “RNC Calls on Obama to Return Corzine Contributions,”CNN, 11/3/2011) 

CORZINE A TOP OBAMA BUNDLER: “A recent list of top ‘bundlers’ or elite fundraisers released by Obama’s campaign listed Corzine in the highest category — reporting that he had raised more than $500,000 for the campaign.” (Michael Isikoff, “Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation,” MSNBC, 11/2/2011)

CORZINE WAS ONCE TOUTED AS A REPLACEMENT TO TREASURY SECRETARY TIM GEITHNER: “There was speculation in the financial press at the time that Corzine might be a candidate to replace Tim Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury.” (Michael Isikoff, “Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation,” MSNBC, 11/2/11)

Little shock, then, that polls are showing new heights of disapproval for the Democrats’ failed economic policies as Democrats double down on more of the same:

POLITICO/BATTLEGROUND POLL: 75% BELIEVE NATION IS ON WRONG TRACK, “RECORD HIGH IN TWO-DECADE HISTORY OF THE BATTLEGROUND POLL”: (James Hohmann, “Battleground Poll: Economy Drags on Obama,” Politico, 11/13/2011)

MORE: 62% DISAPPROVE OF HOW OBAMA IS HANDLING ECONOMY, INCLUDING 47% WHO STRONGLY DISAPPROVE: “Unsurprisingly, Obama’s struggles stem almost entirely from the struggling economy. 47 percent of Americans strongly disapprove of the job he is doing in that area, and another 15 percent somewhat disapprove. Conversely, only 35 percent of those surveyed approved of how the president was handling the economy.” (Justin Sink, “Poll: Obama Leads Top Republicans, but Voters Sour on Economy,” The Hill, 11/14/2011)

CBS NEWS POLL: “OBAMA DISAPPROVAL RATING ON ECONOMY AT RECORD HIGH”: “About 60 percent of voters said they disapprove of Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy, the highest on record. Just 34 percent approve of the job he is doing on the matter.” (Corbett B. Daly, “Poll: Obama Disapproval Rating on Economy at Record High,”CBS News, 11/11/2011)

GALLUP: OBAMA FACES SUBSTANTIAL “CONFIDENCE DEFICIT” ON CREATING JOBS: “The confidence gap has turned to a confidence deficit for Obama in 12 key swing states, however, according to a Gallup poll of the battlegrounds released last week. … Forty-nine percent of respondents in a combined survey of the the swing states said they think Republicans would do a better job solving the jobs crisis, while 42 percent favored Obama. The poll, conducted between Oct. 20-27, has a margin of error of three percentage points.” (Jake Tapper, “Obama Back to Parity With Republicans on Job Creation,” ABC News, 11/8/2011)

GALLUP: 30% APPROVE, 67% DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA ON ECONOMY: (Lydia Saad, “Obama Approves on Foreign Affairs, Struggles on Fiscal Matters,” Gallup, 11/9/2011)

MORE: 36% APPROVE, 60% DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA ON CREATING JOBS: (Lydia Saad, “Obama Approves on Foreign Affairs, Struggles on Fiscal Matters,” Gallup, 11/9/2011)