I'm not sure by whom I am more annoyed in this clip: Cryin' John Boehner, Steny "Bipartisanship Trumps All" Hoyer or Fox "Pravda" News. If it's Fox News and it's a Republican politico, I EXPECT lying and partisanship. In that sense, Boehner doesn't disappoint. But then again, I've come to expect rather milquetoast-y appearance from Dems too, and Hoyer fulfills that expectation nicely as well. So therefore, I fall to my default position that FoxNews framing is ridiculously insulting to the intelligence of any sentient being who happens to be watching.
Like the proverbial toddler deprived of a cookie, host Chris Wallace stamps his feet and whines why isn't everything better RIGHT NOW?!?! Just six months into a presidency that inherited the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression and damn it, that watered down stimulus bill--that HAD to include tax cuts demanded by the GOP that does little to nothing to stimulate--isn't giving us immediate gratification and relief? Amazing!
Never mind that Obama had to deal with governors refusing stimulus money to score cheap points with the base and that some states are using the stimulus money to shore up budget shortfalls. Never mind that economists said it would take 12-18 months to see results, the WATBs of Fox/GOP want our results NOW!!!!
Cryin' John's appearance was so full of lies and half-truths, it's hard to know where to begin:
This was supposed to be about jobs, jobs, and jobs. And the fact is it turned into nothing more than spending, spending, and more spending on a lot of big government bureaucracy.
I know you're not this obtuse, but just playing the partisan game for those of your base not capable of thinking for themselves--but let's try this again: Government projects means hiring people to do those projects.
In Ohio, the infrastructure dollars that were sent there months ago -- there hasn’t been a contract let, to my knowledge. And the fact is -- is I don’t believe it will create jobs.
Is that so? No contracts? And you don't think it will create jobs? Really? Your nose is growing, Boehner.
And, Steny, the real question is where are the jobs. You can’t spend $800 billion of taxpayer money and not create jobs when you say that’s what the goal was. We haven’t seen the jobs yet.
Of course, if you had a shred of intellectual honesty, you'd admit that the White House said we wouldn't really see job creation until 2010. It's much better to play dumb and pout about not seeing immediate results magically.
BOEHNER: If you really want to get the economy going, you have to trust small businesses and the American people to reinvest their own money. So we (inaudible) into this bill and allow them to keep more of what they earn.
HOYER: John’s plan was what they proposed in 2001. Chris, I don’t want to look back.
BOEHNER: It created 5 million new jobs.
Uh huh. Paul Krugman called it correctly:
You can offer various excuses and explanations, but how anyone can suggest that Republicans are more committed to and/or credible about job creation is a mystery
.
WALLACE: Back when the Obama team was pushing its stimulus plan, it said that it would keep unemployment below 8 percent. This week we all learned it’s now 9.5 percent, and the Republicans have put out a video about a bloodhound searching for stimulus jobs. Let’s watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Finally, the dogs tracked down something. In North Carolina, they used stimulus money to hire one new state worker. His job -- apply for more stimulus funds from the taxpayers by the way of the federal government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Congressman Hoyer, can you honestly say you’re satisfied with the stimulus?
HOYER: I don’t think anybody can honestly say that we’re satisfied with the results so far of the stimulus. But we believe the stimulus was absolutely essential. Mark Zandi, as you know, who was one of McCain’s economic advisers, says it’s going to create 2 million jobs by the end of next year, and...
WALLACE: But why hasn’t it done more faster?
HOYER: Well, we’re disappointed that it hasn’t done more faster. John and I were talking earlier about getting money out more quickly. We need to do that. We’re disappointed.
But after all, the ad’s being run by a crowd that created about 4,000 jobs per month, the worst job creation performance in 75 years, and lost 2 million jobs the three months before the Obama administration came in, so they haven’t had such a hot track record. We’re disappointed that we inherited such a tanking economy. But we’re trying to do everything we can to get it moving again.
WALLACE: I think, Congressman Boehner, he’s talking about you as he says that. President Obama defended the stimulus this week. Let’s take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The recovery act was designed to make sure that local school districts didn’t lay off teachers, and firefighters, and police officers, and it’s done its job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Congressman Boehner, the Democrats say that unemployment would be a lot higher without the stimulus package.
BOEHNER: Listen, we argued early in the year when this bill was being debated that the way to help the economy grow is to help small businesses and American families keep more of what they earn, because at the end of the day they’re the ones who can get the economy going again.
This was supposed to be about jobs, jobs, and jobs. And the fact is it turned into nothing more than spending, spending, and more spending on a lot of big government bureaucracy.
In Ohio, the infrastructure dollars that were sent there months ago -- there hasn’t been a contract let, to my knowledge. And the fact is -- is I don’t believe it will create jobs.
The president said earlier this year we’re not going to see unemployment above 8 percent if we pass this bill. And the fact is we have.
And, Steny, the real question is where are the jobs. You can’t spend $800 billion of taxpayer money and not create jobs when you say that’s what the goal was. We haven’t seen the jobs yet.
HOYER: We have obviously invested in health care. We’ve invested in education. I think the president’s absolutely right. We would have lost more jobs but for this investment, and economists agree with us.
As a matter of fact, a lot of economists on John’s side of the aisle agreed with the stimulus package. But this...
BOEHNER: No, no, no. They agreed...
HOYER: John, let me just finish.
BOEHNER: They agreed that we needed a stimulus bill.
HOYER: Let me just finish. John’s message is the same message we heard in 2001, the same message that supported an economic policy that led us to the worst economic times that we’ve...
WALLACE: Gentlemen, let’s look forward, not backwards. And I guess the question becomes -- because you say -- you both say you’re disappointed with the stimulus, and that it hasn’t created jobs, so...
HOYER: Disappointed with the results so far, Chris...
WALLACE: Right.
HOYER: ... not with the stimulus.
WALLACE: So is the answer a second stimulus? Is it to revamp the current stimulus? What are you going to do to get money out and create jobs faster?
HOYER: Well, we have to get the money that is already in the stimulus bill out, and we’re looking at that. Jim Oberstar is looking at that from the infrastructure standpoint.
We’re looking at that in all the areas, through the cabinet officers, that we need to get this money out more quickly.
John’s right. I’m disappointed, he’s disappointed, that the money hasn’t gotten out more quickly. And we’re disappointed...
WALLACE: But would you favor a second stimulus? Because some Democrats are already saying the problem with the stimulus was it wasn’t big enough.
HOYER: Well, I don’t say that at this point in time. We’ll have to see. We certainly want to see how this develops over the next few months.
But we’ve got to understand we inherited 2 million jobs being lost in the three months before we took office. The policies that were put in place were put in place about 130 days ago -- not eight years ago, but 130 days ago.
BOEHNER: Come on, Steny, you sound like the kid who showed up without his homework every day...
HOYER: Come on.
BOEHNER: ... and he wants to blame the dog for eating his homework. The president said unemployment wouldn’t get above 8 percent. We said early this year that this plan was not going to work.
WALLACE: Well, can they fix the...
BOEHNER: We agreed that we needed a stimulus plan, and our plan...
WALLACE: Looking forward...
BOEHNER: ... cost half as much and, according to the same economists, would have created twice as many jobs.
WALLACE: Congressman Boehner, looking forward, can they fix the current stimulus, the $787 billion stimulus plan that Congress passed?
BOEHNER: All it does is fund more government. If you really want to get the economy going, you have to trust small businesses and the American people to reinvest their own money. So we (inaudible) into this bill and allow them to keep more of what they earn.
HOYER: John’s plan was what they proposed in 2001. Chris, I don’t want to look back.
BOEHNER: It created 5 million new jobs.
HOYER: No, no.
BOEHNER: Five million jobs.
HOYER: No way.
BOEHNER: Yes, sir.
HOYER: No way.
BOEHNER: Five million jobs it created.
HOYER: Your figures are dead flat wrong.
WALLACE: OK.
HOYER: Less than 2 million. While Clinton -- and during the Clinton administration, we created almost 21 million jobs.
WALLACE: Gentlemen, let’s -- forgive me. Let’s move to another subject.
