After Tuesday’s stunning defeat for Democrats in New York’s 9th district, where the Democrats have held the seat for nearly a century, the Democrat spin machine kicked into gear with several different excuses to deny that it was a repudiation of Obama’s poor leadership capabilities.
I was particularly struck by the comment from DNC Chair and Florida’s Representative, Debbie Wasserman Schultz who said the race had been run under “unusual circumstances,” and she asserted the public mood will change “when we begin to focus on jobs rather than spending cuts.”
It is quite a remarkable thing to hear a Democrat say “when we begin to focus on jobs” as I am under the impression that jobs has been their primary call since losing to George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election.
Bush came to office as a recession was growing and then the nation was blind-sided with the worst terrorist attack in history, throwing the economy in uncertainty. In spite of that, a March 8, 2002 CNN Money headline informed us, Unemployment drops to 5.5%, Jobless rate falls unexpectedly as nation begins to add jobs again.
A July 3, 2003 Associated Press article then screamed, Bush’s Economy: Unemployment Soars. Sen. Jon Corzine, (D-N.J.), then chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee stated, “The verdict is in: The Republicans’ multi-trillion dollar failed economic policy is one the greatest disasters for working Americans in a decade.” In spite of the claims of the article’s writer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows actual unemployment in July 2003 was 6.2%.
November 2003 saw Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Tom Daschle send President Bush a letter saying, “American workers are weathering the effects of an economy where there is only one job for every three individuals searching for a job. And yet, the Republican leadership in Congress is refusing again this year – as it has in the past – to address this urgent problem.” Unemployment was 5.8%.
In a September 2004 interview with Don Imus, failed presidential candidate John ‘F’in Kerry (who served in Vietnam) stated, “But if you believe that we can put people back to work and stop losing all our jobs overseas and create better jobs here, be fiscally responsible,,, I think there’s a new direction.” Unemployment was at 5.4%
During the 2006 election, when Democrats swept into total control of both houses of congress, Nancy Pelosi issued a 31 page pamphlet A New Direction for America where several claims were made on how Democrats would improve and create jobs. Unemployment was 4.6% in January 2007 as they were sworn in.
In July 2007, after sweeping to power and passing their minimum wage increase, Kerry again stated, “By raising the minimum wage, we’re creating a prosperous future for our small businesses, their workers and their families.” Unemployment was 4.7%
In January 2008, after Democrats had control of both houses of congress for a year, Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer posted, “Bush Jobs Record the Worst since Presidents Herbert Hoover and George H.W. Bush” saying, “BLS Report Indicates Loss of 13,000 Private Sector Jobs and Increase in Unemployment Rate to 5 Percent. If there were ever a shot across the bow to this Administration to get off its laissez-faire boat and start helping the economy, this is it.” Unemployment was at 5%.
Campaigning for president in June 2008, Illinois Democrat junior Senator Barack Obama called for greater government investments “in a renewable energy policy that ends our addiction on foreign oil, provides real long-term relief from high fuel costs, and builds a green economy that could create up to five million well-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced.” Unemployment was 5.6%
In September 2008, Obama said, “the government needed to also take action to create jobs and help support distressed homeowners and communities.” Unemployment was at 6.2%
Obama won the presidency in November 2008 and as he was inaugurated in January 2009 unemployment had leaped to 7.8%
February 2009 saw the Democrat controlled congress approve Obama’s $787 Billion stimulus plan which was said needed to prevent unemployment from exceeding 8%. Unemployment hit 8.2% by the end of the month.
In June 2009 Obama was saying his $787 billion stimulus plan would create more than 600,000 jobs. Unemployment was 9.5%
As Democrats continued their focus on jobs, October 2009 saw unemployment exceeding 10%.
January 2010 saw Democrats again focusing on jobs as both Pelosi and Obama jointly called for a Jobs Creation Bill after a Labor Department report showed the economy lost 85,000 jobs in December 2009. Unemployment was 9.9%
Losing control of the House in the 2010 election and barely retaining the Senate, then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, reeling from the loss said, “President Obama and this Congress were job creators from Day One, saving the country from the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression. The Recovery Act created or saved more than 3 million jobs, and America is moving forward. October marks the 10th straight month of private sector job growth.” Unemployment was at 9.8%.
In his January 2011 State of the Union Address, Obama stated, “We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer.” Unemployment was at 9%
Within months, we began hearing claims from the Democrats of High Unemployment around 9% being the “New Normal” with Wasserman Schultz, who is now saying “just wait until we begin to focus on jobs” then boasting about how “Obama Turned The Economy Around.” Unemployment was 9.5%.
In just the last days we see Obama proposing yet another “new and improved” jobs stimulus bill and speaking to American voters saying, “if you love me, you’ve got to help me pass this bill!”
Given the record seen with Democrats focusing on jobs for so many years, please, STOP focusing on jobs, Democrats. Obviously, the American worker is much better off when Democrats are not focusing on jobs.
Hopefully, if they stop their focus on jobs, the economy will actually recover and Americans can go back to work.
