The President plans to campaign against former President George W. Bush again in the November mid-term elections, so says Carol Lee of Politico.
“The White House’s Mid-Term Election Strategy Is Becoming Clear – Pit The Democrats Of 2010 Against The Republicans Circa 2006, 2008 And 2009, Including Bush.” (Carol E. Lee, “Obama Campaigning Against Bush--Again,” Politico, 5/22/10)
With all due respect Mr. President, 2010 is not 2008, and if you want to talk about the past few years, I think that is a conversation Republicans would be all-too-happy to have with you. Let’s get right to the point: Democrats, not Republicans, have controlled Congress since January 2007. Democrats, not Republicans, have controlled the whole of government since January 2009.
CONTROL:
1. Democrats have been in control of Congress for more than three years. In the November 2006 Mid-Term Elections, Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress.
2. Democrats have now controlled the whole of government for more than one year. When President Barack Obama won the 2008 General Election, Democrats gained complete control of the government.
JOBS, JOBS, JOBS:
1. In 2006, the last year of Republican control of Congress, the national unemployment rate fell from a high of 4.7% in January to a low of 4.4% in December.
2. When Democrats gained control of the House and Senate in January 2007, the national unemployment rate was 4.4% (rate of unemployment in December 2006). At the end of January 2007, the unemployment rate had a slight up-tick to 4.6%
3. By the end of the first year of Democrat control of Congress, the unemployment rate rose to 5.0% (December 2007).
4. In the second year of Democrat control, the unemployment rate jumped to 7.4% (December 2008).
5. At the end of the first year of full Democrat control of government, the unemployment rate soared to 10.0% (December 2009).
6. As of April 2010, the unemployment rate was 9.9%.
7. Without calculating the fluctuations in unemployment, under Democrat control of Congress and of the whole of government, unemployment has gone from 4.4% to 9.9%, an increase of 120%.
STIMULUS:
1. In February 2009, Democrats passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the economic stimulus package, worth $787 billion. The stimulus was designed in large part to create jobs.
2. There has been widespread reporting that claims of jobs saved or created are false, including instances of stimulus money going to phantom congressional districts.
3. Since passage of the stimulus package, the national unemployment rate has gone from 8.2% in February 2009 to 9.9% in April 2010.
RESULTS:
Okay so now for some tangible results. Where do we start? Let’s begin with March 2007, a mere three months into Democrat control of Congress. The big achievement? House Democrats passed Card Check, a giveaway to Big Labor where the right to a secret ballot would be taken away in an effort to increase dwindling labor union rolls.
The Democrat controlled Congress passed “Cap and Trade,” too, or at least in the House. That’s the bill that would essentially increase taxes on American families by $1,761 per year and would result in “significant job losses,” according to the Congressional Budget Office.
And you’d think that with Cap and Trade, the Democrat controlled Congress would have addressed energy in a meaningful way. I mean, the summer travel season is just about upon us, haven’t the Democrats done anything to keep the cost of gas down? Uh, no.
What else? The Democrat controlled Congress bailed-out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, strapping trillions of dollars in potential liabilities to the backs of the American taxpayer. The Democrat controlled Congress bailed-out Wall Street and attempted to bailout the auto industry too.
• As a side note to the bailout of the GSEs, it was the Bush Administration and Republicans in Congress that tried to reform Fannie and Freddie before the implosion. Former President Bill Clinton: “I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress, or by me when I was President, to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 9/25/08)
Then there’s Obama’s $3.5 trillion budget Democrat passed in 2009. You know the one I’m talking about? It’s the one where the government broke all fiscal records with deficit spending, putting us on an unsustainable path towards fiscal insolvency.
That was so last year, you might say. Well, this year we probably won’t have a $3.5 trillion budget because Democrats don’t want to have to take a tough vote on one before the mid-terms.
Oh, how could I forget, the cherry on top of the sundae. The Democrat controlled Congress rammed ObamaCare through using parliamentary procedures, under the cloak of night, for the most expansive growth in government in modern times.
SUMMATION:
So, by all means Mr. President, let’s campaign this November about the direction of the country over the past few years. From this vantage point it is apparent that Democrats have done an abysmal job on the economy and unemployment; spent like drunken sailors on pet projects, liberal causes, and the expansion of government; and are part of the problem and not the solution when it comes to reducing the deficit and getting a handle on long-term public debt.
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