“Pass this jobs bill!"
It was a big, bold speech that challenged the do-nothing Congress to action. Mr. Obama will take his message to the American people.
“The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.”
If the past 2 1/2 years have told us anything, it is that the TP-GOP will obstruct, obstruct, obstruct, and to hell with helping the American people. The TP-GOP circus has not delivered on their promise of JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! Now that Mr. Obama has challenged them, let's see what their excuses will be for not giving Mr. Obama his proposed expansion in payroll tax cuts. The TP-GOP believe in tax cuts, but the question is, do they believe in tax cuts when they're proposed by a Democratic president?
Mr. Obama ended his speech with this:
"Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the arguments we will have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. You should pass it. And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country. And I ask -- I ask every American who agrees to lift your voice: Tell the people who are gathered here tonight that you want action now. Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option. Remind us that if we act as one nation and one people, we have it within our power to meet this challenge."
I don't expect President Obama to get all he wants for America from this Congress, but the onus is clearly on Speaker Boehner for taking action and taking the proposals set out in last night's speech seriously. No longer will we take "Hell NO!" as a policy for putting Americans back to work.
Via ThinkProgress: "Top economic analysts are giving favorable estimates of just how many jobs President Obama’s new plan would create. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, predicts Obama’s “American Jobs Act” will likely add 1.9 million jobs and grow the economy by 2 percent. The nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute reported that it would boost employment by around 4.3 million jobs, with 2.6 million jobs coming from new initiatives alone.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman offered praise for President Obama’s announced jobs legislation, calling it ” significantly bolder and better” than he expected. However, he pointed out that “nothing will be done until the American people demand action,” noting that Congress will need to be persuaded to take action on jobs."
More Responses to Mr. Obama's speech here.
And the predictable assclowns of the GOP:
"While he didn’t yell “you lie,” Rep. Jeff Landry (R-LA) broke congressional decorum last night when he quietly shilled for the oil industry with a sign reading “Drilling = jobs” during President Obama’s jobs address to a joint session of Congress. Other Republican lawmakers boycotted the speech, even though Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) urged his members to appear."
"While he didn’t yell “you lie,” Rep. Jeff Landry (R-LA) broke congressional decorum last night when he quietly shilled for the oil industry with a sign reading “Drilling = jobs” during President Obama’s jobs address to a joint session of Congress. Other Republican lawmakers boycotted the speech, even though Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) urged his members to appear."
Do we need further proof of the 2-year old mentality of the TP-GOP?
