It was NEVER "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs"

August 4th, 2011

I can still hear it. The refrain from the GOP leading into the 2010 midterms was "jobs, jobs, jobs." That they didn't mean it or, worse, actually were going to do everything in their power to damage the economy further for traction in 2012 seemed clear to some of us at the time.

Here are some reminders and a recap of the GOP's push from PoliticsUSA:

"Earlier in the year when House Speaker John Boehner was told that the spending cuts Republicans proposed would cost one million jobs, he said, “So be it.” Apparently Mr. Boehner thought it was more important to cut essential aid programs than create jobs, and it was flippant of him to say in effect, so what. Republicans have no intention of ever creating any jobs even though they lied in 2010 and promised it would be their highest priority. Jobs are still on Boehner’s mind though because when President Obama proposed a balanced approach to addressing the nation’s deficit, Boehner accused the president of attempting to “raise taxes on the job creators.” For most Republicans, the only time jobs are important is when they can make a reference to tax increases on the filthy rich and corporations.

Last year when Democrats attempted to pass a jobs bill, Republicans in the Senate blocked the measure for no other reason than it was not their bill. The bill gave tax breaks and incentives to small businesses for new job hires, but Republicans were anxious to deny Democrats any more legislative accomplishments before the midterm elections. When President Obama and Democrats attempted to eliminate tax breaks for companies that move Americans’ jobs to Korea, India, and China, Republicans blocked the bill because it did not reward corporate outsourcing. Prior to a vote on the outsourcing bill, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce president made the rounds on news programs to tout the benefits of shipping Americans’ jobs overseas to corporations. Republicans said that removing tax breaks from companies that outsource jobs would stifle job creation. Yes, they said it and it is proof there is no sense of shame with these job-killing Republicans; why any American voted for them in 2010 is a mystery unless one figures in the racial element. It is becoming more evident every day that Republicans cannot stand the fact that there is a Black man sitting in the Oval Office and if hurting the President means eliminating more Americans’ jobs, then as John Boehner says, so be it."

How Long Until The Next One?

August 4th, 2011

Jason Linkins ponders when the next GOP hostage taking might occur:

"So where's the next hostage situation likely to take place? Could be any number of venues. Debate over the gas tax. Policy riders. Per McConnell's promise, certainly the next time there's a need to raise the debt ceiling. Anytime a government shutdown is possible."

It is just a matter of time.

Flashback... Boehner Doesn't Understand Simple Economics Edition

August 4th, 2011

While reading through some old links, I came across this from Steve Benen. He warned us before the debt deal disaster that Speaker Boehner was "economically illiterate:"

"House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appears to have made a terrible error in his speech to the Economic Club of New York on Monday. His mistake was sharing with the audience his actual beliefs, which upon even cursory examination, are so conspicuously unintelligent, it’s rather alarming.

Bloomberg News examined Boehner’s assessment of existing U.S. economic policies and found that the House Speaker “built his case on several assertions that are contradicted by market indicators and government reports.” Jonathan Chait took a closer look at Boehner’s remarks on tax policy and discovered they were “gibberish.”

Oops...

July 23rd, 2011
by F. Grey Parker

Well. Yesterday sure was an interesting day. First, we were all subjected to the worst speaker of the U.S. House in living memory refusing to take the President's phone calls. Debt limit crisis? "Phooey," said commander booze-tan. Second, we endured the spectacle of Mr. Waterworks holding a damage control press conference. It was a train wreck in which he utterly failed to explain himself.

Sabotaging America, Ctd

June 23rd, 2011

A couple of weeks ago, I commented on an article by Robert Parry and made the supposition that the GOP may well be attempting to directly sabotage our country's economy. 

Yesterday, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) had the nerve to suggest this publicly. The process continues. Ezra Klein notes that Rep. Eric Cantor's (R-VA) departure from the debt-limit talks today is not just irresponsible, it is also dangerous. Frankly, I think Klein is easy on the man, but his conclusion is clear and correct.

From WaPo:
"...if you had to write a plausible scenario for how America defaults on its debt, or at least seriously spooks the market, this is how it would start. After insisting on using the debt limit as leverage for a budget deal, the Republican leadership finds they can’t actually strike a deficit-reduction deal, but nor can they go back on their promise to vote against any increase in the debt limit that isn’t accompanied by a deficit-reduction deal. What follows is a lot of jockeying and fingerpointing, a short-term increase or two, and eventually, a market panic.

Cantor is putting personal power before country here, and in a very dangerous way. If Boehner actually does manage to cut a decent deal despite Cantor’s effort to throw him under the bus, he may not hold on as leader of his party, but unlike Cantor, he’ll deserve to. For better or worse, this is when we learn whether anyone on the Republican Party’s leadership team is actually prepared to lead."

When we look back years from now, this may be one the most important moments in our history. And one of its most devastating. No foreign enemy has ever put the United States in a position of defaulting on its obligations. The GOP now has.