Political Ruminations

Chart of the Day

Via Ezra Klein, the growth of government during recessions.

Again via Ezra Klein, quoting Ben Polak, chairman of the economics department at Yale University, and Peter K. Schott, professor of economics at the Yale School of Management, emphasis mine:

There is something historically different about this recession and its aftermath: in the past, local government employment has been almost recession-proof. This time it’s not. Going back as long as the data have been collected (1955), with the one exception of the 1981 recession, local government employment continued to grow almost every month regardless of what the economy threw at it. But since the latest recession began, local government employment has fallen by 3 percent, and is still falling. In the equivalent period following the 1990 and 2001 recessions, local government employment grew 7.7 and 5.2 percent. Even following the 1981 recession, by this stage local government employment was up by 1.4 percent...

Without this hidden austerity program, the economy would look very different. If state and local governments had followed the pattern of the previous two recessions, they would have added 1.4 million to 1.9 million jobs and overall unemployment would be 7.0 to 7.3 percent instead of 8.2 percent.

Ezra also makes the point that Republicans are responsible for the increases after the last three  recessions:

Note that a Republican was president after the 1981, 1990 and 2000 recessions. Public-sector austerity looks a lot better to conservatives when they’re out of power than when they’re in it.

Morning Quote: Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney on President Obama’s call for aid to the states, in the interest of preventing layoffs to essential personnel such as police and firefighters (and to avoid, in the process, creating more unemployed people):

“ He wants another stimulus, he wants to hire more government workers. He says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people. ”

There was really only one message from the Wisconsin recall election, and that was that it’s all about the money.

Morning Quote: Robert Reich

Romney’s been running around babbling that unemployment should be at 4%, something that is just not gonna happen until we raise taxes on the rich. Former Secretary of Labor under Clinton, Robert Reich, responds on Twitter:

“ Rom says unemp shld be 4%. I was Sec of Lab last time it was 4%. We got there by raising taxes on rich and investing in ed and infrstructre.”

In fact, Romney’s tax plan lowers taxes on the rich.

Image credit, Think Progress.

Chart of the Day: Trajectory of Unemployment Claims 2007-2012

Steven Benen explains:

In fact, the new figures are the best since April 2008, and even exceeded positive expectations.

The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits fell by 6,000 last week to 357,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would total 360,000, seasonally adjusted, in the week ended March 31. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to

Despite last week's annual revisions, the same metrics still apply: wh363,000 from 359,000. The average of new-benefit applications over the past four weeks, meanwhile, dropped by 4,250 to 361,750.en jobless claims fall below the 400,000 threshold, it's considered evidence of an improving jobs landscape, and when the number drops below 370,000, it suggests jobs are actually being created rather quickly.

And with that, here's the chart -- which reflects the revised, seasonably-adjusted data -- showing weekly, initial unemployment claims going back to the beginning of 2007. (Remember, unlike the monthly jobs chart, a lower number is good news.) For context, I've added an arrow to show the point at which President Obama's Recovery Act began spending money.

UPDATE

More good news on the economic front from The Washington Post:

Add Mark Zandi to the growing chorus of economists who believe that the U.S. is finally headed for a real turnaround. The chief economist for Moody’s Analytics just revised his outlook for 2012, and the biggest change to his forecast involves the unemployment rate. Back in January, Zandi predicted that the rate, which is currently at 8.3 percent, would stay above 8 percent through the end of the year. Now he says it “appears set to fall below 8 percent by year’s end” and believes it will fall below 7 percent by the end of 2013, as he explains in his latest note.

Volcker Says No to More Inflation

You may have heard or seen some economists and financial bloggers pushing the idea that the Fed should allow inflation to rise “just a little bit” in order to improve the employment outlook, but today Reuters reported that  former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker put the kibosh on that, saying "that is kind of a doomsday scenario":

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is recovering "pretty well" and trying to juice it up by allowing a little extra inflation would be disastrous, Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman known for successfully reining in double-digit inflation, said on Wednesday.

"I think that is kind of a doomsday scenario," Volcker told an economic summit when asked if the Fed should foster higher inflation to stimulate faster growth.

Higher inflation would backfire by causing interest rates to rise. "You are not going to get any stimulus and you are going to make it much harder to restore price stability," Volcker told the Atlantic magazine conference.

Some economists have speculated that the Federal Reserve might allow inflation to exceed the central bank's 2 percent target in an attempt to lower the unemployment rate, still stubbornly high at 8.3 percent.

House Majority Leader Says NO to American Jobs Act Vote

Today, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) responded to President Obama’s entreaty to the House and the Senate, to vote on the American Jobs Act by the end of the month. Cantor’s response was that there will be no vote on this bill in the House. Period.

As you know, all spending bills must originate in the House, consequently, this bill is dead in the water. I intend to point this out daily. If you’re a Liberal blogger, I hope you will do the same, since it’s imperative that Cantor’s refusal to hold a vote on American jobs be common knowledge.

Washington (CNN) - House Majority Leader Eric Cantor flatly rejected President Obama's call for the House and Senate to hold a vote on his jobs bill by the end of the month, saying Monday the full bill, called the "American Jobs Act," won't get a vote in the House of Representatives. [...]

Instead Cantor announced the House will take up several measures this month that he believes House Republicans and the White House agree on, including the three pending free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

The Majority Leader also said the House would vote on a bill to permanently repeal the 3% withholding tax on businesses that hold government contracts and take up other bills that roll back regulatory barriers for businesses. Cantor said the President Obama has made comments supportive of both of these areas.

So, the anti-regulation Republican House will vote on bills that eliminate regulatory barriers for business, along with providing tax cuts for business.

But, American jobs for American workers? Pffft..........

Image courtesy of CNN
Via Bob Cesca

Quote of the Day

Mitt Romney responding to unemployed Floridians after they attempted to educate him about the challenges of finding employment:

“I should tell my story. I’m also unemployed.”

Paul Krugman Blasts Elites Who Blame Self-Serving Public

Krugman reflects on the worldwide economic apocalypse of the past three years, and asks what went wrong:

The past three years have been a disaster for most Western economies. The United States has mass long-term unemployment for the first time since the 1930s. Meanwhile, Europe’s single currency is coming apart at the seams. How did it all go so wrong?

According to elites, it’s the “self-serving public’s” fault because we wanted something for nothing.

Well, what I’ve been hearing with growing frequency from members of the policy elite — self-appointed wise men, officials, and pundits in good standing — is the claim that it’s mostly the public’s fault. The idea is that we got into this mess because voters wanted something for nothing, and weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate’s foolishness.

Yeah, right. The public is “self-serving”. Elites have wings and halos.

Krugman tells the truth:

U.S. Unemployment Rate Drops

According to the Dept. of Labor, unemployment has dropped to a 2-year low, and is now at 8.8%. Via The Washington Post:

Employers continued creating new jobs at a steady pace in March, according to new data, driving the unemployment rate down a tick and confirming that the job market recovery, while slow, remains underway.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.8 percent last month, the lowest in two years and down from 8.9 percent. That came as employers added 216,000 net jobs, higher than the revised 194,000 gain in February and above the 190,000 in new jobs that analysts had expected.

Question of the Day: Will Republicans somehow twist this up and turn it in to bad news for President Obama? Taking odds….

Via Oliver Willis

Michigan Legislative Watch

Cuts in Unemployment Benefits

On Monday, Michigan became the first state in the country to reduce the number of weeks that the unemployed can receive benefits from the state, as Snyder signed off on a bill which reduces jobless benefits, cutting the number of weeks from 26 to 20 before unemployment runs out. The Lansing State Journal:

Snyder said he signed the bill reducing state benefits from 26 to 20 weeks because it will allow people out of a job now to get up to 20 more weeks of help from a federal program for those who used up their state and most of their regular federal unemployment benefits. The change will allow them to extend unemployment benefits to 99 weeks.

Gov. Snyder issued a press release after signing the bill in private:

Cutting them off so abruptly would have jeopardized the well-being of those who are trying hard to find work,

Critics say that Snyder should have vetoed the bill:

Boehner Lies - Says Spending Cuts Will Lead to Jobs

In a tweet today, Boehner tried again to tie the House GOP’s draconian spending cuts to job creation.

Nothing could be further from the truth, because we know that the horrific cuts will lead to many jobs lost, and higher unemployment.

Adding……Boehner, the lying corporate tool, just tweeted another lie designed to prop up the one above. Bastard.

To help create a better environment for job growth, far more spending must be cut, & harmful DC regs stopped.

Also….shouldn’t he be doing some actual work?? Not to mention the fact that he would be far smarter just to shut the hell up. Sheesh……

VIDEO and Text Transcript: President Obama Addresses the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

First, a little background on the Chamber from Think Progress:

Despite bloated rhetoric about the virtues of “free enterprise,” the Chamber demanded taxpayer bailouts for its bank members (AIG, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, etc.), billions in taxpayer money for its defense contract members, taxpayer money for cleaning up BP’s oil spill, and preferential tax cuts for its millionaire executives.

As ThinkProgress has documented, the Chamber has a history of being singularly focused on boosting profits, not creating American jobs. The Chamber has pushed for unfettered free trade deals, sponsored a series of conferences to teach businesses how to outsource jobs to China, and even lobbied against legislation that would have created over 1.7 million jobs.

Watch President Obama’s address to the U.S. Chamber today. Personally, I felt he chastised them. Full transcript of the president’s remarks to the chamber after the jump

.

FULL TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S REMARKS TO THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON FEB. 7, 2011

The Plight of the 99ers

A comment posted on Krugman’s blog, points to the really terrible plight of the 99ers.

Dare we start a dialog about the less-fortunate citizens being conveniently ignored by just about everyone: the 99ers? Millions of them, in fact. Their benefits started expiring last summer. How many are being added per day to the homeless population of Los Angeles (48,000 and counting as reported recently by the New York Times)?

Their plight is the result of trickle down hiring policy, the idea that if jobs are created, employers will fill the jobs with the unemployed. Of course, the opposite is the case, with recent experience being the latest mantra of the business world, effectively barring the 99ers from a livelihood. Never mind the previous education, the years or prior experience, their work ethic - good workers are turned into bad candidates by selection practices that seek to find fault and find reasons to blame at every step in the review process. Wrong keywords on the resume, resume written by a coach. Didn't follow up soon enough, called back too soon. They don't know how to network, but they bothered their contacts too much. Didn't have a polished enough look, wore a suit when the office was casual. All capital offenses that "justify" sending honest, good workers to tent city.

And to this I suppose we can expect Conservatives and their Corporate Masters to say “Bah, humbug!”

Morning Quote – VIDEO: Rachel Maddow on Newt & Newt Gingrich on Unemployment Compensation

One of the men who would be your president, 2012 wannabe, and pretender to seriousness, Republican Asshat, Newt Gingrich weighs in on unemployment compensation during a speech to GOP activists:

I'm opposed to giving people money for doing nothing.

And Rachel Maddow strikes back at the hypocritical and pathetic, 2012 wannabe, Newt Gingrich:

Let is review for just a second how Newt Gingrich makes his money,

For starters, he hands out fake awards in exchange for cash. Newt Gingrich makes money right now running a fake awards for small businesses scam. Last year he tried to give one of his fake awards to a small business called The Lodge in Dallas, Texas. In exchange for a $5,000 donation, Gingrich offered The Lodge, a strip club, a certificate, a novelty gavel and a dinner with him. When Mr. Gingrich realized he was giving one of his fake awards -- for a $5,000 donation -- to a strip club he decided to rescind the award and the dinner invitation. In mid-December, Gingrich sent another letter to The Lodge and asked them for a $2,000 donation to his American Solutions organization. This is how Newt Gingrich makes his money but he doesn't think that you earned yours.

Newt Gingrich is a direct mail scam artist. He hires the analog equivalent of spammers to troll the Yellow Pages, looking for businesses he can fool into thinking they are winning a 'Newt award,' and then he cons money out of them for accepting it.

 

Fox Bashes Unemployed

Would they have anything to bash if their own Dear Leader, George W. Bush, had not driven the economy in to the ground, creating all those unemployed people?

Not that their bashing of the unemployed is at all righteous in any case. Assbags.

 

Via Crooks and Liars

FULL VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT: Obama Press Conference on Tax Cuts - Dec. 7, 2010

This was an amazing press conference, with an engaged, fiesty, caring president.Transcript below the video.

 

Press Conference by the President

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:25 P.M. EST

      THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Before I answer a few questions, I just wanted to say a few words about the agreement we’ve reached on tax cuts.

      My number one priority is to do what’s right for the American people, for jobs, and for economic growth.  I’m focused on making sure that tens of millions of hardworking Americans are not seeing their paychecks shrink on January 1st just because the folks here in Washington are busy trying to score political points.

VIDEO: Obama …It’s tempting not to negotiate.

He was referring to the Republican hostage takers. The hostages, were of course, the millions of people affected by the unemployment benefits extension, along with the middle class tax increase which would occur in January were this deal not made.

 

RELATED:

- TRANSCRIPT: President Obama’s Statement to the Press on Tax Cuts and Unemployment Benefits
- White House: We Wanted a Fight
- TRANSCRIPT: Details on Obama Tax Cut Plan
- VIDEO: Obama to Democrats .. This is a long game. Not a short game.
- VIDEO: Obama …It’s tempting not to negotiate.

VIDEO: Obama to Democrats .. This is a long game. Not a short game.

 

RELATED:

- TRANSCRIPT: President Obama’s Statement to the Press on Tax Cuts and Unemployment Benefits
- White House: We Wanted a Fight
- TRANSCRIPT: Details on Obama Tax Cut Plan
- VIDEO: Obama to Democrats .. This is a long game. Not a short game.
- VIDEO: Obama …It’s tempting not to negotiate.

TRANSCRIPT: Details on Obama Tax Cut Plan

TRANSCRIPT

Fact Sheet on the Framework Agreement on Middle Class Tax Cuts and Unemployment Insurance

The framework agreement announced by the President secures vital tax relief and investments in our workers that will create jobs and accelerate economic growth. The plan has three key accomplishments:

• Working families will not lose their tax cut. A typical working family faced a tax increase of over $3,000 on January 1st. That’s avoided under this framework agreement, and working families won’t see their tax cuts go away next year.
• Focused on high impact job creation measures. The framework agreement includes some of the best measures for jumpstarting growth and job creation, including a full year of emergency unemployment insurance benefits, an about $120 billion payroll tax cut for working families and a continuation of tax credits for working families. This is on top of growth generated by extension of the middle-class income tax rates.

TRANSCRIPT: President Obama’s Statement to the Press on Tax Cuts and Unemployment Benefits

6:32 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:

Hello, everybody.  Sorry to keep you waiting. 

For the past few weeks there’s been a lot of talk around Washington about taxes and there’s been a lot of political positioning between the two parties.  But around kitchen tables, Americans are asking just one question:  Are we going to allow their taxes to go up on January 1st, or will we meet our responsibilities to resolve our differences and do what’s necessary to speed up the recovery and get people back to work?

Now, there’s no doubt that the differences between the parties are real and they are profound.  Ever since I started running for this office I've said that we should only extend the tax cuts for the middle class.  These are the Americans who’ve taken the biggest hit not only from this recession but from nearly a decade of costs that have gone up while their paychecks have not.  It would be a grave injustice to let taxes increase for these Americans right now.  And it would deal a serious blow to our economic recovery.

VIDEO: The Real People Who Are Unemployed

Nice flick, but yet another example of Democratic messaging failure, since it was the Republicans who refused to extend unemployment benefits, twice, both on December 1, and on December 4, who filibustered this lifeline. Not "Congress", NOT the Democrats.

And, it is 2.5 million Americans who have been cut off. That figure does not include their family members or pets who also rely upon those benefits.

RELATED:   President Obama Calls on Republicans to End Obstruction of Unemployment Benefits, Urges Congress to Pass Critical Aid for Millions of Americans

Via Bob Cesca

Quote of the Day: Gingrich Says Let Rich People Decide How Big They Want Their Tax Cuts to Be

This would be funny if it weren’t so Godawful pathetic. Gingrich on Fox News Sunday, via Think Progress:

What Republicans ought to do is say to people who create jobs, how many years does the tax code need to be extended for you to make an investment decision? I mean, the goal’s not to have an annual extension of the current tax code, and then have every business in the country trapped saying, “I don’t know.  I want to make a 20 year investment in a factory.” … There is a number, but I would have the business leadership of the country describe the number.

Yeah, good idea, Newty. Fox in the henhouse, and all that. Yet…..Gingrich, in the same segment, suggests that unemployment be reframed as a worker training program.

No money for the unemployed, but Paris Hilton, et al, should be able to decide how much of a tax cut they want.

Watch:

 

Gingrich’s proposal, to cut off unemployment benefits while giving a massive windfall to the most fortunate, is a recipe for skyrocketing unemployment.  The economy grows by nearly two dollars for every dollar spent on unemployment benefits “because recipients typically spend all of their benefit payments quickly.” The money “ripples through the economy into supermarkets, gasoline stations, utilities, convenience stores.” Flush with the revenue provided by these new consumers, those businesses are then able to hire additional workers and diminish the ranks of the unemployed.

Full story on Think Progress.

Senate Republicans Vote to Raise Taxes on the Middle Class

And they did this because the vote did not include tax cuts for the top 2% of the wealthiest Americans. They also voted “no” on the extension of unemployment benefits for the same reason. They are holding the unemployed and the middle class hostage for their patrons, the wealthiest among us. For shame. Arthur Delaney:

Senate Republicans and a handful of Democrats Saturday defeated a bill to reauthorize unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and a plethora of tax provisions for the middle class not because of the bill's trillion-dollar deficit impact, but because it did not include tax cuts for the rich.

"In economic times like these, 9.8 percent unemployment, you should not raise taxes on anyone," Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told HuffPost.

Two bills were defeated. By a vote of 53-63, the Senate rejected a bill by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) that would have preserved Bush era tax cuts for lower- and middle-income taxpayers, but would have allowed cuts for people earning more than $200,000 a year to expire. Four Democrats and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) joined Republicans in voting against the measure. The Senate also rejected a bill by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that would have extended all the cuts, but not for anybody making more than $1 million.

The Baucus bill would have preserved Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits Programs created in 2008 as a customary response to rising unemployment. The programs provide up to 73 weeks of federally-funded benefits for when layoff victims exhaust the standard 26 weeks of state-funded aid. The programs lapsed last week, threatening a holiday cutoff for two million unemployed.

Bastards.

Unemployment Benefits vs Tax Cuts for Millionaires

From Think Progress:

As The Wonk Room pointed out, the average millionaire will receive $103,809 in tax breaks next year if the Bush tax cuts are extended. Unemployment benefits, meanwhile, average about $290 per week.

Republican priorities literally make them the enemies of the American middle class.

Republicans Hold Expired Unemployment Benefits Hostage

Yesterday, Democrats introduced a proposal to extend unemployment benefits through 2011, at a cost of $56 million, without offsets. Republican, Scott Brown [R-MA] singlehandedly shut them down with a refusal to consider the proposal unless the cost is paid for. 2.5 million unemployed Americans are left with out needed aid just in time for the holidays.

After his objection, Brown offered his own proposal for a year-long extension as long as the Office of Management and Budget finds funds from already approved appropriations to pay for it. But Democrats turned down the plan because, as Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) noted, “we have to deal with the immediate crisis” and “the families that are struggling today.” This, of course, was the governing philosophy of both parties when they passed unemployment extension seven times under the Bush Administration. In fact, before yesterday, Congress went 40 years without allowing extended unemployment benefits to expire when the unemployment rate was above 7.2 percent. The unemployment rate today stands at 9.6 percent.

And yet, Scott Brown, along with his Republican cronies in Congress, want to give millionaires a gift by extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy at a cost of $830 billion with no offsets.

But, in a video released this morning, Brown defended his opposition, saying he “disagreed” that Congress should “pay for unemployment benefits” by “putting more debt on the credit card.” A curious position considering Brown is more than happy to slap the nation with a $830 billion bill in order to extend the Bush tax cuts for the top two percent of wealthy Americans. In touting the GOP’s absurd logic, Brown and his GOP colleagues champion an extension that provides “virtually no economic stimulus,” while rebuking one that “contribute[s] powerfully to the economic growth that is vital for a healthy budget.”

Watch the faces of the unemployed.

This morning, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) called Brown’s vote against 60,000 Massachusetts workers “outrageous” and a “question of national character.” “We need Scott Brown to see and be worried about the people of the Commonwealth who are trying to get groceries on the table while they continue to look for work,” he said. But, according to his schedule, Brown is busy focusing on his Christmas-themed fundraisers this week.

Bastards.

The White House Debunks Republican Misinformation Campaign Regarding The Small Business Jobs Act

The Republicans have filibustered this act, just like they do everything else except, of course, tax breaks for the wealthy.

The White House addressed the misinformation with a strong post on the White House Blog yesterday; I've included it here in it's entirety.

America’s small businesses are essential to our nation’s economy and its recovery. They create two out or every three new jobs in the private sector. Their ability to hire and expand is crucial to putting our economy back on the right track. But in the wake of this recession, too many small businesses are struggling to find the loans they need to strengthen their companies.

And that’s why President Obama has called on the Senate to swiftly approve the Small Business Jobs Act – a set of tax breaks and lending incentives designed to spur hiring and growth at small businesses.

As we continue to fight for essential assistance to small businesses we know there will be a lot of misinformation and given what is at stake we want to provide the real facts.

Below is a point by point fact check of a story about the small business legislation the AP ran this weekend:

Did Your Senator Stand With the People or With the Banks?

Dylan Ratigan nails it in his post, “Banksters Revealed Again!”:

Doc Holliday said, "My hypocrisy knows no bounds" in the movie Tombstone. The same apparently is true for our current crop of Bankster Politicians, many of whom today voted against extending unemployment benefits even after they voted in 2008 for a bank bailout.

Yes, these Corporate Communists not only voted for billion dollar bailouts for companies that were about to fail due to their own terrible decisions, but then subsequently have done nothing to prevent the ongoing and future theft. By destroying this very tenet of capitalism -- that the losers actually lose so that new ideas, people, companies can become winners -- they have now crippled our economy and kept millions out of work.

Now when faced with giving a pittance of support to many of the same people tossed from employment by their cronyism, they have all of a sudden found ideology. Of course, considering that many of these Bankster Politicians are going to lose their jobs for this, they will try to make excuses like the following:

The following list shines the light on senators who 1) voted for TARP, and 2) voted against the extension of unemployment benefits.

These senators are for the bankers, not for the people.

BANKSTER/REPUBLICAN PARTY [yes, they are all, with the exception of Ben Nelson¹, Republicans] Is your senator on this list?

Lamar Alexander [B-TN]
Robert Bennett [B-UT]
Christopher Bond [B-MO]
Richard Burr [B-NC]
Saxby Chambliss [B-GA]
Thomas Coburn [B-OK]
Bob Corker [B-TN]
John Cornyn [B-TX]
John Ensign [B-NV]
Lindsey Graham [B-SC]
Charles Grassley [B-IA]
Judd Gregg [B-NH]
Orrin Hatch [B-UT]
Kay Hutchison [B-TX]
John Isakson [B-GA]
Jon Kyl [B-AZ]
Richard Lugar [B-IN]
John McCain [B-AZ]
Mitch McConnell [B-KY]
Lisa Murkowski [B-AK]
Ben Nelson [B-NE]
John Thune [B-SD]
George Voinovich [B-OH]

¹Nelson is a "Blue Dog" Democrat, meaning he is representing a conservative state/district

Today's Republican Witnittery in Brief

I did not make that word up, I think maybe Bob Cesca has that honor. At least he isn’t comparing himself to Shakespeare..snicker…

To the point. Having been offline most of the day, I haven’t had time to post, so for my benefit and maybe yours, I’m going to do a summary of the day’s events in Republican Nitwittery. [this might be a regular feature as I get busier with moving]

--->> Andrew Breitbart, the Republican thug who perpetrated the ACORN video hoax last year, has struck again.

A new video, a new accusation, and USDA appointee, Shirley Sherrod, is forced to resign. The White House denies any involvement, and the farmer’s wife defends Sherrod. Sherrod and Eloise Spooner [the farmer’s wife]on CNN today

It turns out to be another hoax by Breitbart.

--->> Only two Republicans voted to extend unemployment benefits for 2.5 million Americans today.

Democrats broke the filibuster, which had been ongoing since the end of May, when Carte Goodwin (D-W.Va.) was sworn in to temporarily replace Sen. Robert Byrd in the Senate. The bill passed, 60-40, with Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins joining the Democrats to vote for the bill.

--->> Would it be a good political move for House Republicans to join Bachmann’s Tea Party caucus?

The pundits weigh in.

I may be updating later.

Quote of the Week

Nebraska Democrat, Ben Nelson, and Republicans in the Senate, have prevented a final vote on the bill to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed, which lapsed at the beginning of June.

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid said on Wednesday that the intent of the Republicans is to bring down the economy, despite their claims of concern about the deficit. Harry Reid on the Senate floor:

Sharron Angle tries to walk back her comments on the unemployed aka spoiled citizenry

Previous comments regarding jobs and unemployment from Sharron Angle include the following:

“You can make more money on unemployment than you can going down and getting one of those jobs that is an honest job but it doesn't pay as much. We've put in so much entitlement into our government that we really have spoiled our citizenry.”

“As your US Senator, I'm not in the business of creating jobs.”

Pretty clearly, the wretched woman has not got a clue, nor an ounce of compassion. Oh, and by the way, she promoted herself to ‘Senator’ from ‘candidate to the Senate’. Love all that hubris.

Anyhoo, now she’s trying to walk it back, make it seem less………cold, callous, mean-spirited, and oh, stupid.

Angle on John Ralston’s show:

“I would have voted no, because the truth about it is that they keep extending these unemployment benefits to the point where people are afraid to go out and get a job because the job doesn't pay as much as the unemployment benefit does. And what we really need to do is put people back to work. So if you want to ease people back into work, what we need is an unemployment benefit that pays part. You know, you go to work, you have something of a safety net, in unemployment. But just to give them full unemployment benefits and then extend those for two years or more gets them not only out of the working class but it also depreciates their skills, so they're not actually able to go out and compete in that workforce, so what we really want, is we want something that stimulates a group of people to go back into what we know as that free market.”

Kudos to Ralston, who really goes after Angle, playing clips of her previous remarks, and refusing to give her a pass. You can watch the video here.

Pat Garafolo’s response to Angle bears repetition:

Angle’s clarification doesn’t make her position look any better, and her assertion that there a multitude of jobs available for the unemployed is simply rubbish. First, the average unemployment benefit is just $290 per week. There are nearly five workers actively searching for work for every job available, compared to 1.5 per job opening before the recession began. “That is incredibly unusual, so therefore it’s premature to give up on those emergency benefits,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com.

Reid introduces a standalone unemployment extension bill

I hope his ploy will result in the passage of the bill to continue to extend unemployment benefits until November 2010.

Reid filed for cloture last night, and is working with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to move the bill today, though Republicans have repeatedly objected to any measure that increases the deficit.

The new bill extends federal unemployment insurance benefits through Nov. 2010, and the closing period for qualification for the homebuyer tax credit to Sept. 30. It is technically a substitute amendment to the killed jobs legislation.

In the bill:

Sabotage of an economic recovery: Republicans block extension of unemployment benefits.Again.

Via Bob Cesca:

I can't recall another example of the minority party deliberately sabotaging an economic recovery like this. They're blocking jobs-creation legislation, and they're blocking unemployment benefits for the people who have lost their jobs. They're dooming the economic recovery to be sucked under by the jobless issue.

And there appears to be nothing the president or the Democrats can do about it. Nothing. Not until the conservadems stop enabling the Republicans -- not until they stop being duped by the astroturf shrieking of the tea party anti-spending zealots. Congress is balking at any new spending because the screechers have spooked them into believing that people give a flying eff about the deficit.

Via The Hill:

The House failed Tuesday afternoon to pass an unemployment benefits extension under suspension of the rules. 

The bill failed to gain the two-thirds needed — 261-155 — with 30 Republicans voting in support while 16 Democrats opposed the legislation.

The House willl try again with a simple majority vote on Wednesday, as the $33 billion six-month extension will now head to the House Rules Committee.

Rules is expected to approve a rule for consideration tonight, which would set up the legislation for floor consideration Wednesday. That vote won't require two-thirds support for passage.

Even if the House passes the measure, however, there's doubt the Senate has the votes to approve it before leaving for the July 4 break.

Personally, I wonder just how far Republicans are willing to go in order to regain power.

UPDATE: In the Senate, Republicans blocked a measure to provide additional benefits to homeless veterans.