Target Dems' Trillion-Dollar Misread
FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following districts: John Adler (NJ-03); Jason Altmire (PA-04); Michael Arcuri (NY-24); John Barrow (GA-12); John Boccieri (OH-16); Chris Carney (PA-10); Travis Childers (MS-01); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Joe Donnelly (IN-02); Steve Driehaus (OH-01); Chet Edwards (TX-17); Brad Ellsworth (IN-08); Bill Foster (IL-14); Gabby Giffords (AZ-08); Alan Grayson (FL-08); Debbie Halvorson (IL-11); Martin Heinrich (NM-01); Baron Hill (IN-09); Jim Himes (CT-04); Paul Hodes (NH-02); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01); Larry Kissell (NC-08); Ron Klein (FL-22); Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24); Frank Kratovil (MD-01); Dan Maffei (NY-25); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Jim Marshall (GA-08); Eric Massa (NY-29); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Charlie Melancon (LA-03); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Dennis Moore (KS-03); Glenn Nye (VA-02); Gary Peters (MI-09); Chellie Pingree (ME-01); Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23); Loretta Sanchez (CA-47); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Kurt Schrader (OR-05); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); Zack Space (OH-18); Bart Stupak (MI-01); Harry Teague (NM-02); Dina Titus (NV-03); and Tim Walz (MN-01).
Eric Massa’s Trillion-Dollar ‘Misread’
Did Massa ‘Misread’ the Stimulus, or Just Not Read It at All?
Washington– Eric Massa’s support for the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ bill is looking worse by the day. After creating mountains of new debt for generations to come while failing to turn the tide of a worsening recession, Washington Democrats are now attributing its failure to a ‘misread.’
“‘The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy,’ [Vice President Joe] Biden told me during our exclusive ‘This Week’ interview in Iraq.”
“Biden acknowledged administration officials were too optimistic earlier this year when they predicted the unemployment rate would peak at 8 percent as part of their effort to sell the stimulus package. The national unemployment rate has ballooned to 9.5 percent in June — the worst in 26 years.” (George Stephanopoulos, “Biden: We ‘Misread the Economy,’” ABC News, 7/5/09)
“Unfortunately for Eric Massa, his best defense against charges that he misread the impact of the Democrats’ trillion-dollar spending spree may be that he didn’t read the bill at all,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “With over two million jobs lost, New York families deserve a congressman who can actually comprehend the consequences of his actions rather than someone who votes in lock-step with Nancy Pelosi and asks questions later.”
Background:
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) defended the stimulus this weekend while simultaneously admitting its failure:
“House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, on Sunday said he also was disappointed with the results of the stimulus program.
“‘I don’t think anybody can say that we’re honestly satisfied with results so far of the stimulus,’ Mr. Hoyer said on ‘Fox News Sunday.’”
“‘The stimulus package was absolutely essential,’ he said, blaming the need for its existence on the ‘tanking economy’ that Mr. Obama inherited from the Bush administration.” (Sean Lengell, “Biden: White House ‘Misread’ Economy,” Washington Times, 7/5/09)
Democrats forced a vote on the so-called ‘stimulus’ bill before a single member was able to read its pork-stuffed contents:
“As the Democrat-dominated House and Senate thoughtfully passed judgment on a 1,100-page ‘stimulus’ bill that Sen. Frank Lautenberg admitted no one would read before the vote, the media elite were positively giddy. On the ‘NewsHour’ on PBS, liberal analyst Mark Shields proclaimed ‘I think it’s a monstrous success’ for President Obama. That’s correct, with an emphasis on the ‘monstrous.’” (L. Brent Bozell, “We’re Not All Socialists,” Wall Street Journal, 2/20/09)
###