Remember the Obama Administration’s much-heralded “Recovery Summer?” Joe Biden was the Cheerleader-in-Chief, and he promised that we’d add hundreds of thousands of new jobs, each month, over this past summer. Well, rather then ADD jobs, the nation’s economy LOST 283,000 jobs over the summer months.
And no wonder. The people who would actually be doing the hiring, principally small business owners, will tell you that the Obama Administration and the Pelosi/Reid Congress’s policies have smothered any possible resurgence of the economy with their terrible policies. A health care bill which raises taxes and makes it costly to hire new workers is perhaps the biggest problem. Then there’s the threat of higher energy costs because of Cap and Trade, which passed the House and is still pending in the Senate. And the Democrats passed a budget last year which results in the so-called Bush tax cuts expiring as of January 1st – in other words taxes are going up – through the roof. (Steve Driehaus voted for all three of these job-killers by the way.) Who would hire anyone with all this hanging over their head? Virtually no one, and that’s why unemployment remains unacceptably high.
Then the August job numbers were just released this past Friday. Now the Enquirer headline the next morning read “More Jobs Added in Aug. Than Forecast.” Sounds good, right? Well, this headline must have been mailed in by Obama’s PR people or the Pelosi/Reid flacks, because in reality, there was a net job LOSS of 54,000, and unemployment nationally rose from 9.5% to 9.6%. Now perhaps that’s better than someone had forecast, but it’s still lousy. And it sure doesn’t come close to a “Recovery Summer.”
And the American people get it. They know that their current leaders in Washington have over-promised and under-delivered. They know they’ve been misled one time too many. They’re sick and tired of having legislation they oppose crammed down their throats. They’re fed up with the arrogance that passes for leadership in Washington. They’ve had enough of the “we know better than you do” mindset that’s so prevalent in the Pelosi/Reid (Driehaus) Congress.
That’s why the most recent polling is scaring Democrats to death. On the generic ballot test (if the election were held today would you vote for the Republican or the Democratic candidate for Congress?) here are the most recent results: Gallup – Rep 51% Dem 41%; and Rasmussen – Rep 48% Dem 36%. Democrats almost always have an edge on the generic ballot, and in 2008, when Democrats won big (and I lost), THEY held the generic ballot lead 53% to 41%. And back in 1994 when Republicans won the House for the first time in 40 years (Newt Gingrich, the Contract with America, I’m first elected to Congress), the Gallup generic poll was tied at 46% Republican 46% Democrat. So just think how big this year could be!
Now I want to emphasize this word – COULD. After all, not one vote has been cast yet. And despite the fact that the Democats have done such a lousy job running the country over the past two years, (and remember the Democrats took complete control of Congress back in 2006 – two years before Barack Obama became President), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has twice the war chest that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has, $34 million compared to $17 million. And we’ve already seen over the years that the Washington Democrats, their liberal allies (ACORN, AFSCME, SEIU, George Soros, etc.), and many of their candidates, have been shameless in twisting the facts and distorting their opponents’ records, in an attempt to mislead the voters, and win at any cost. Their “ends justify the means” mentality can be breathtaking at times.
So with all this being a given, we must always stay focused on what is important – and that is, what should be done to get this nation back on track, the economy moving again, and Americans back to work. And what can be done to stop the out-of-control spending spree currently holding sway in Washington, and stop the mounting debt which will bankrupt us all if it continues much longer.
That’s what I intend to focus on. And if I’m so blessed as to have the opportunity to represent the people of the First Congressional District in the United States Congress again, I’ll give every ounce of my energy to this effort. You can count on it.
