Washington, May 10 - Washington Democrats are in the midst of a nervous breakdown, turning on each other publicly as Americans cope with painfully high unemployment and record debt. Desperate to avoid being held accountable for their job-killing policies, Democrats on Capitol Hill are lashing out at President Obama for failing to deliver a jobs ‘agenda’ and calling them out for their out-of-control spending. This squabbling first started late last month with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reportedly asking White House advisers to stop bashing “Washington” -- since Democrats run Washington. It’s hard to stop “anti-Washington sentiment,” of course, when Washington is spending money we don’t have on policies that kill American jobs and pile more debt on our kids and grandkids. Now, with no jobs plan and no budget in sight, Washington Democrats’ infighting has broken out into public view. Things have gotten so out of hand that Democratic lawmakers are questioning the effectiveness of their trillion-dollar ‘stimulus,’ with one lawmaker dismissing it as a “fantasy jobs” plan and another accusing the White House of timing its implementation to the 2012 election.
Roll Call reports that leading House Democrats are lamenting their lack of a jobs agenda and exposing the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ as a “fantasy jobs” plan:
“Democrats: Jobs Get Short Shrift. Members Say Obama Hasn’t Done Enough to Put Issue Atop the Priority List … Congressional Democrats started the year believing that once health care reform passed, they would quickly pivot to an agenda flush with job creation bills…. ‘We were told we would focus like a laser after December. Well, we haven’t exactly been focused like a laser on jobs and I have seen no movement, particularly on the part of the Obama administration, on the transportation bill,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said. …
“But Obama, DeFazio argued, is focusing instead on investing stimulus dollars into areas with less of an impact… ’Those are fantasy jobs. Those aren’t real jobs. …,’ DeFazio said. … ‘I think what makes us look bad is that we don’t have anything to take out there and show people,’ Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said.”
The New York Times notes that Washington Democrats are also coming apart at the seams on the issue of out-of-control spending:
Amid heightened public concern over spending, the White House disclosed that Mr. Obama wanted increased authority to strip wasteful projects from spending bills. That is, wasteful projects placed in spending bills by members of Congress — which is controlled by Democrats, who do not appreciate the suggestion that, while doing Mr. Obama’s bidding in a threatening election season, they have not been minding the fiscal store.
“‘Congress is working to try and rein in spending — how about pointing that out?’ groused Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland. Mr. Van Hollen said the political fault lines that count divided Democrats from Republicans, not the White House from Congress, and ‘the president has not done enough to draw those distinctions.’”
Republicans are focused on, and only on, better solutions to address Americans’ everyday concerns, including a no-cost jobs plan that would help put people back to work and a budget blueprint that reins in out-of-control Washington spending. As the American people continue to ask, 'where are the jobs?,’ what will it take for Democrats to work with Republicans on common-sense solutions that will actually help create jobs and restore confidence in our economy?
Roll Call reports that leading House Democrats are lamenting their lack of a jobs agenda and exposing the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ as a “fantasy jobs” plan:
“Democrats: Jobs Get Short Shrift. Members Say Obama Hasn’t Done Enough to Put Issue Atop the Priority List … Congressional Democrats started the year believing that once health care reform passed, they would quickly pivot to an agenda flush with job creation bills…. ‘We were told we would focus like a laser after December. Well, we haven’t exactly been focused like a laser on jobs and I have seen no movement, particularly on the part of the Obama administration, on the transportation bill,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said. …
“But Obama, DeFazio argued, is focusing instead on investing stimulus dollars into areas with less of an impact… ’Those are fantasy jobs. Those aren’t real jobs. …,’ DeFazio said. … ‘I think what makes us look bad is that we don’t have anything to take out there and show people,’ Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said.”
The New York Times notes that Washington Democrats are also coming apart at the seams on the issue of out-of-control spending:
Amid heightened public concern over spending, the White House disclosed that Mr. Obama wanted increased authority to strip wasteful projects from spending bills. That is, wasteful projects placed in spending bills by members of Congress — which is controlled by Democrats, who do not appreciate the suggestion that, while doing Mr. Obama’s bidding in a threatening election season, they have not been minding the fiscal store.
“‘Congress is working to try and rein in spending — how about pointing that out?’ groused Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland. Mr. Van Hollen said the political fault lines that count divided Democrats from Republicans, not the White House from Congress, and ‘the president has not done enough to draw those distinctions.’”
Republicans are focused on, and only on, better solutions to address Americans’ everyday concerns, including a no-cost jobs plan that would help put people back to work and a budget blueprint that reins in out-of-control Washington spending. As the American people continue to ask, 'where are the jobs?,’ what will it take for Democrats to work with Republicans on common-sense solutions that will actually help create jobs and restore confidence in our economy?
