The Democrats’ Road to Failure

As Top Obama Advisor Accidentally Slams “the RoadWe’re On,” Pelosi Vows A Return to “What We Did Before”—Failed Economic Policies and Uncontrolled Spending

• Obama advisor David Axelrod recently pointed out that the American people have a choice between “the road we’re on” built by President Obama and Congressional Democrats and a path “that gives people a chance to get ahead.”
• Even as Democrats are forced to admit the failure of their agenda, they remain unapologetic about its disastrous economic effects. Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi recently vowed that the Democrats’ agenda beyond 2012 will mirror the “record of what [they] did before.”
• Yet as Democrats double down on their failed policies, “the road we’re on” remains marked by bleak economic forecasts, a new normal of high unemployment and a growth-crushing debt burden.

Obama advisor David Axelrod recently pointed out that the American people have a choice between “the road we’re on” built by President Obama and Congressional Democrats and a path “that gives people a chance to get ahead”:

AXELROD THROWS OBAMA UNDER THE BUS: CONTRASTS ECONOMY “THAT GIVES PEOPLE A CHANCE TO GET AHEAD” WITH “THE ROAD WE’RE ON”: “The choice in this election is between an economy that produces a growing middle class and that gives people a chance to get ahead, and their kids a chance to get ahead, and an economy that continues down the road we’re on.” (“David Axelrod DESTROYS President Obama on the Economy,” The Daily Caller, 4/15/2012)

Even as Democrats are forced to admit the failure of their agenda, they remain unapologetic about its disastrous economic effects. Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi recently vowed that the Democrats’ agenda beyond 2012 will mirror the “record of what [they] did before”:

FORMER MI GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM: “So if you had to tell folks, these are all political junkies and good progressives who watch, if you had to tell people what would your first piece of legislation under a second Obama term with a majority as speaker, what would you want to see happen?”

DEMOCRAT LEADER NANCY PELOSI: “Well, just a record of what we did before.” (Nancy Pelosi Interview with Jennifer Granholm, Current TV’s “The War Room”, 4/13/2012)

Yet as Democrats double down on their failed policies, “the road we’re on” remains marked by bleak economic forecasts, a new normal of high unemployment and a growth-crushing debt burden:

DEMOCRATS’ RECORD OF JOB-DESTRUCTION:

OBAMA STIMULUS PROJECTION SAID UNEMPLOYMENT AT 5.8% NOW:“Recall that back in 2009, White House economists Jared Bernstein and Christina Romer used their old-fashioned Keynesian model to predict how the $800 billion stimulus would affect employment. According to their model—as displayed in the above chart, updated—unemployment should be around 5.8% today.” (James Pethokoukis, “The Big March Jobs Miss—and Why the Real Unemployment Rate Sure Ain’t 8.2%,” American Enterprise Institute, 4/6/2012)

IN FACT, UNEMPLOYMENT IS AT 8.2%: (“Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4/6/2012)

“THE MARCH JOBS REPORT EXTENDS THE LONGEST-STREAK OF 8%+ UNEMPLOYMENT SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION”: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 4/6/2012) 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE SAYS UNEMPLOYMENT WILL RETURN TO 5.3%, BUT NOT UNTIL 2021: (Annalyn Censky, “Unemployment Rate: How Low Can It Go?”, CNN Money, 4/4/2012) 

ECONOMISTS AT GOLDMAN SACHS: NEW NORMAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE MAY  BE “6% AT BEST”: (Annalyn Censky, “Unemployment Rate: How Low Can It Go?”, CNN Money, 4/4/2012) 

44,000 MORE PEOPLE DROPPED OUT OF LABOR FORCE THAN JOBS WERE CREATED: (“Table A-1. Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Sex and Age,”Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4/6/2012) 

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION DROPS TO 63.8%: (“Table A-1. Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Sex and Age,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4/6/2012) 

12.7 MILLION AMERICANS REMAIN UNEMPLOYED: (“Table A-1. Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Sex and Age,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4/6/2012) 

AVERAGE MEAN DURATION OF UNEMPLOYMENT AT RECORD HIGH:(“Average (Mean) Duration of Unemployment,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 3/9/2012)

SKYROCKETING NATIONAL DEBT AND UNCONTROLLED SPENDING:

GOVERNMENT SPENDING IN MARCH REACHED “HIGHEST MONTHLY SPENDING EVER”: “The U.S. government spent more in March than it had in any prior month on record.

“The government spent $369.37 billion last month, about $30 billion more than it spent in March 2011.” (Eric Morath, “March 2012 Outlays Highest Monthly Spending Ever – U.S. Treasury,” Dow Jones Newswires, 4/11/2012)

“NATIONAL DEBT HAS INCREASED MORE UNDER OBAMA THAN UNDER BUSH”: (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased More Under Obama than Under Bush,” CBS News, 3/19/2012)

THREE YEARS AND TWO MONTHS OF OBAMA IS MORE DEBT THAN EIGHT YEARS OF PREDECESSOR: “The National Debt has now increased more during President Obama’s three years and two months in office than it did during 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency.

“The Debt rose $4.899 trillion during the two terms of the Bush presidency. It has now gone up $4.939 trillion since President Obama took office.” (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased More Under Obama than Under Bush,” CBS News, 3/19/2012)

POLITIFACT SAID LAST YEAR THAT OBAMA WAS THE “UNDISPUTED DEBT KING OF THE LAST FIVE PRESIDENTS”: “Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling mount to the debt.” (Louis Jacobson, “Nancy Pelosi Posts Questionable Chart on Debt Accumulation by Barack Obama, Predecessors,” Politifact, 5/19/2011) 

OBAMA RECORD “THE MOST RAPID INCREASE IN THE DEBT UNDER ANY U.S. PRESIDENT”: (Mark Knoller, “National debt has increased $4 trillion under Obama,” CBS News’ Political Hotsheet Blog, 8/22/2011)

NATIONAL DEBT STANDS AT $15.61 TRILLION, LARGER THAN THE NATION’S $15.32 TRILLION ECONOMY: (“The Daily History of the Debt Results,”TreasuryDirect.Gov, Accessed 4/16/2012; “National Economic Accounts,” Bureau of Economic Analysis, Accessed 4/16/2012)

“CBO: EXPLODING DEBT UNDER OBAMA POLICIES”: (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama Policies,” Politico, 3/16/2012) 

“OBAMA’S TAX AND SPENDING POLICIES WILL YIELD $6.4 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT DECADE”: “The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that President Barack Obama’s tax and spending policies will yield $6.4 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than double the shortfall in CBO’s own fiscal baseline — even after taking credit for reduced war costs.” (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama Policies,” Politico, 3/16/2012) 

“EVEN IF OBAMA WERE TO GET HIS WAY ON ALL FRONTS,” DEBT WOULD “NEARLY DOUBLE AGAIN” TO $18.8 TRILLION IN 2022: “That said, the picture is grim, and even if Obama were to get his way on all fronts, the federal debt held by the public would nearly double again from $10.1 trillion at the end of 2011 to $18.8 trillion at the end of 2022.” (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama Policies,” Politico, 3/16/2012) 

OBAMA’S BUDGET ENSURES DEBT “WILL CONTINUE TO RISE AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE”: (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased More Under Obama than Under Bush,” CBS News, 3/19/2012)