Dems Cross Their Fingers: “Maybe It’s Not the Economy”… Stupid.

July 22, 2011

As Workers Find it Hard to Get Jobs, Democrats Reach for Excuses and Try to Change the Subject

The White House continues to claim that it is “uncontestably true” that Obama “vastly improved” the economy since taking office, while his political advisors hope that they can devise a re-election campaign that distracts voters from Obama’s job-destroying record.
Unfortunately for workers and families, recent economic and jobs data—such as the state jobless numbers out this morning—show that the bad economy Obama inherited is now worse.
Amidst this gloomy economic news, all Democrats can offer is excuses and more of the same job-destroying policies.

BACKGROUND:

A revealing story in The New York Times earlier this week reported that Democrats are beginning to confront the possibility that due to their failed policies, the economy may not be “strengthening” by the time they face the voters in 2012. Naturally, they’re pushing an inventive new story line: “Maybe it’s not the economy, stupid!” Chalk it up as yet another whopper during Democrats’ “Summer of Excuses”:

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)

Despite these internal calculations, the White House continues to defiantly claim that it is “uncontestably true” that Obama “vastly improved” the economy since taking office:

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY: “UNCONTESTABLY TRUE” THAT “ECONOMY IS VASTLY IMPROVED” SINCE OBAMA TOOK OFFICE: “Well, two things remain uncontestably true. The economy is vastly improved from what it was when Barack Obama was sworn into office as president.” (“Carney: Economy Has ‘Vastly Improved’ Since Obama Was Sworn In,” Real Clear Politics, 7/21/2011)

OBAMA CLAIMS HE WAS “LARGELY SUCCESSFUL” IN STABILIZING ECONOMY, DESPITE THE FACT THAT “STUBBORN” UNEMPLOYMENT IS FAR ABOVE HIS 8 PERCENT MARKER: “Now, we took very aggressive steps when I first came into office to yank the economy out of a potential Great Depression and stabilize it. And we were largely successful in stabilizing it. But we stabilized it at a level where unemployment is still too high and the economy is not growing fast enough to make up for all the jobs that were lost before I took office and the few months after I took office. So this unemployment rate has been really stubborn.” (“Press Conference by the President,” The White House, 7/11/2011)

Recent economic and jobs-related data—not least the state jobless numbers out this morning—tell a different story. Layoffs are surging, more than a third of jobless Americans have been out of work for at least a year and the public’s economic confidence is at its lowest level since March 2009:

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE INCREASES IN 28 STATES, STAYS THE SAME IN 14:  
("Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary,"  Bureau of Labor Statistics, 7/22/2011)

UNEMPLOYMENT SKY-HIGH IN KEY STATES: NV AT 12.4%, FL AT 10.6%, MI AT 10.5%, NC AT 9.9%. (“Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 7/22/2011)

“COMPANIES ARE LAYING OFF EMPLOYEES AT A LEVEL NOT SEEN IN NEARLY A YEAR”: (Conor Dougherty, “Layoffs Deepen Gloom,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/21/2011)

“MORE THAN ONE IN THREE” JOBLESS AMERICANS OUT OF WORK FOR MORE THAN A YEAR IN SOME STATES: (Sara Murray, “Long-Term Unemployment, By State,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/21/2011)

GALLUP: AMERICANS’ ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE MARCH 2009: (Dennis Jacobe, “U.S. Economic Confidence Sinks to Lowest Level Since March ’09,” Gallup, 7/21/2011)

Amidst this gloomy economic news, all Democrats can offer is excuses and more of the same job-destroying policies:

TREASURY SEC. TIM GEITHNER SAYS “RIDICULOUS” TO COMPARE DEBT AND UNEMPLOYMENT INCREASES UNDER OBAMA. NBC’S DAVID GREGORY: “Talking about what’s good for the economy, a lot of this discussion about debt is ultimately to free up space for jobs to be created. It’s not happening. People are still out of work. Here’s the chart of the President’s economic record. This is based on government information, Treasury Department, U.S. Bureau Of Labor Stats – unemployment 7.3% on Inauguration Day, up to 9.2%. with latest report, up 26%. You see the debt figures up 35%.” SEC. GEITHNER: “David, let me just say, that’s a ridiculous table.” (NBC’s “Meet the Press”, 7/10/2011)

WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF BILL DALEY SAYS THE “POLITICAL SYSTEM” IS TO BLAME FOR WEAK ECONOMY: “I do firmly believe that one of the wet blankets on this economy and on companies, on the system right now, is a question as to whether or not our political system, whether the leaders can get together, whether they can solve big problems or they’re going to just kick the can.” (Imtiyaz Delawala, “Bill Daley: President Obama Still Wants a ‘Big Deal’ on Deficit Reduction,” ABC’s “This Week”, 7/10/2011)

OBAMA ADVISOR DAVID PLOUFFE PRE-EMPTS JOBS REPORT, CLAIMS “VISION” MORE IMPORTANT THAN JOBS: ” ‘People won’t vote based on the unemployment rate, they’re going to vote based on: ‘How do I feel about my own situation? Do I believe the president makes decisions based on me and my family?’ … Plouffe said what voters really want is ‘vision.’ ” (Julie Mason, “Plouffe: It’s About Vision, Not Jobs,”Politico, 7/8/2011)

OBAMA CLAIMED “WE’VE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT WE’D HAVE UPS AND DOWNS.” (“Remarks by the President on the Monthly Jobs Report,” The White House, 7/8/2011)

AFTER HE SAID HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT IS NOT A PROBLEM BECAUSE THERE ARE ALWAYS “BUMPS ON THE ROAD.” (“Remarks by the President to Chrysler Workers in Toledo, Ohio,” The White House, 6/3/2011)

A PHRASE ECHOED BY OBAMA’S TOP ECONOMIC ADVISOR: ” ‘There are always bumps on the road to recovery, but the overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years,’ Goolsbee said in a statement posted Friday to the White House blog.” (Alexander Bolton, “Obama’s Economic Chief Says Job Numbers Are A Bump in the Road,” The Hill, 6/3/2011