Washington (CNN) - Trying to capitalize on comments made by a top congressional Republican, the Democratic National Committee released a new web video Tuesday that says that the GOP wants to return the country to the agenda of former President George W. Bush.
The video uses a snippet of sound from Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, who Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press said, "We need to go back to the exact same agenda that is empowering the free enterprise system rather than diminishing it."
In the web video, Sessions is seen and heard saying "we need to go back to the exact same agenda," which is then followed by a narrator adding, "The exact same agenda that cost eight million Americans their jobs."
Sessions' clip is then repeated, with the narrator saying, "The exact same agenda that put big oil, insurance companies and Wall Street ahead of main street."
That's followed by Session's again saying, "The exact same agenda," followed by the narrator adding "championed by George W. Bush."
The video ends with the narrator saying, "With no new ideas the Republicans are going," followed Sessions again saying "back to the exact same agenda," with the narrator picking up again with "that America can't afford."
The DNC's video has been posted on YouTube and the DNC says they'll have a formal release later Tuesday morning. The video appears to be part of a move by the party to try and make November's midterm elections a choice for voters between the polices of President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats or what they consider the failed policies of former President George W. Bush and congressional Republicans. The Republicans hope to make this election a referendum on what they consider the bad polices enacted the past year and a half by Obama and congressional Democrats
In his interview on "Meet the Press," Sessions never specifically said the words "Bush agenda." But elsewhere in the interview the NRCC chairman said "people had jobs when Republicans were not only in charge but George Bush was there.
Republicans argue that the Democrats strategy will backfire.
"Democrats are desperate to talk about anything other than their binge spending agenda that has resulted in nearly 10 percent unemployment and sky rocketing debt. As we saw in Virginia, New Jersey
and Massachusetts, voters want solutions that will fix our economy not tired old arguments from elections past," Republican National Committee spokeswoman Katie Wright told CNN.
Wright is referring to last year's gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and this January's special Senate election in Massachusetts to fill the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. All three contests, the only statewide elections held since the 2008 elections, were won by Republicans and in each case it resulted in a pickup for the GOP.
So, has time healed old wounds and allowed the public to now, a year and a half after he left office look back at Bush kindly?
Apparently not. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted in January, his favorable rating among Americans stood at 43 percent, with 54 percent seeing him in an unfavorable light. The numbers were an improvement from when he left office but still nothing to brag about.
And an ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted in April indicated that nearly six in ten said the former president was more to blame for the current state of the economy, with just one in four putting the blame on Obama.
–Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn
From CNN Politics
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If the shoe fits...
right.thats exactly what we need to do.go back to bushes two failed wars.WHICH WERE OFF BUDGET.time has come for truth to come out.hold these repubs accountable.
The Democrats only have one excuse for voters to consider......Bush!
Other than that excuse, they give NO ONE, reason to vote for Democrats.
That is too tired a song, Dems......it doesn't play any more.
GOP just would like a permanent feudal system , they don`t give a thought to the middle class or poor. They never have or will, it`s all about their corporate masters getting richer and keeping 99% of Americans " in their place. "
Can't afford? The ad has it all wrong. It's the incessant spending of the Democratic Congress and President the nation cannot afford.
Obama goes on a luxury vacation, comes back, first thing he does is push on the extension of unemployment benefits. Have to keep the government opium going until at least November huh Barry?
Spend, spend, spen .....the Democrats.
Extending the unemployment benefits is a clear sign the economy isn't good now and is not getting better. What, and Biden said the stimulus was is a huge success. Who is lying here?
It's odd how the Repubs (Mitch McConnel) rants on about every move Pres. Obama makes. Ex. The president took a long weekend that was dubbed ""a vacation" by McConnel, and he critized him as being "out of touch" with the fact that we had an oil spill going on. I believe GW Bush has been described as the most "vacationed" president we have ever had, and I don't recall hearing any Repub rumblings about that. When Katrina hit and all those folks were stranded, Bush got on a plane to Calif. for a fund raiser; no Repub rumblings about that. I also did not hear any rumblings about Bush's spending up the surplus that Clinton left behind; not a word about the Bush-created deficit. As a matter of fact, the Repubs rubber-stamped just about anything Bush wanted. Just a reminder to everyone.
Typical liberal chicanery, taking a speech out of context. Kind of like saying the Republicans are against unemployed receiving benefits, when they are actually saying use some of the $445 billion in unused TARP money to pay for the extension, like Obozo himself did the last time they extended these benefits. But the mean, old Republican story plays better to his dope smoking, products of the NEA dominated education system constituents. If libs didn't promote the false class warfare theme, they would have to face the facts about their own corruption and inefficiency as well as being owned by the SEIU and its corrupt affiliates, the AARP and ACORN.
Petey boy is right. "We need to go back to the exact same agenda". We rich republicans need the ability to fleece the middle class without government intervention. Why should we ever have to work or create jobs if we can live off our tax preferred dividends? Thanks for the tax cuts Bushy boy. And why should the middle class complain? They get the luxury of paying only 18% interest on their credit cards owned by companies in which we rich republicans control. They should thank us for the priviledge. Don't forget, if you miss a payment your rate goes to 27%. Your welcome.
Sounds like a good commercial.... hope they air it in Florida
Other than Fox viewers, most Americans know that tax cuts for the wealthy do not pay for themselves. Most Americans also know that republicans want to eliminate social security, and use that money to build up the military.
Back to the Civil War is closer to the truth.
Sessions and Cornyn looked like fools. Fox should have demanded to send someone else in their place.
An agenda that America can't afford?? If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black on the part of the DNC, I don't know what is.
Dems don't have much to worry about, unless people really want the same failed policies that Bush and his croonies were advocating. Repubs are the reason we have deep recession!!! if repubs are so smart and know how to run the county we WOULDN'T HAVE RECESSION!! PERIOD!! Repubs are so pathetic totally out of touch!!! Obama will get elected again and after 8yrs America will be much better shape. HE WILL BE ONE OF THE BEST PRESIDENTS EVER!! REPUBS JUST CAN'T HANDLE THE FACT THAT HE IS BLACK AND THAT HE CAN AND WILL PUT THIS COUNTRY BACK ON TRACK!
What if we make a deal?
We let the Republicans reinstitution Bush's failed policies which turned this country into a third world economy and in return, Bush/Cheney/Rove/Rice/The whole bunch of them will be arrested, tried, convicted and thrown in Leavenworth for war crimes, violating the Constitution, violating their oaths of office, invading a foreign country we weren't at war with, lying to the American people and a myriad of other crimes that led to the deaths of thousands of soldiers in an illegal war.
Great add, keep'em coming !!!!!
OH YEA-"BRING EM ON"
Who in their right mind would vote for irresponsibility in the highest form?
Let me count the ways-
Squandered a surplus and added billions to the deficit
Ignored reliable intelligence of an impending attack on our soil-
results////// 9-11 attacks
Deployed our kids to kill and be killed in a deceitful, unlawful war-
Profiteered off of dead soldiers in flag draped coffins
Passed clandestine, unfunded legislation with a tax cut to his wealthy cronies and Rx Part D benefits
Snail's response to Katrina, unlawful wiretapping, Wall ST collapse, Wall St bailouts, unpopular Patriot Act, banning the TV coverage of flag draped coffins from Dover,
BORROWING from our good friends, the Chinese, to pay for the above expenditures that EXPLODED our budget
And the idoits voted for a second term-Have we learned anything???
Maybe it would be better for officials to keep there eye's on the future instead of the past looking back only turns some people to salt stone .
Sometimes the truth hurts.
Remember, the economy didn't tank until AFTER the Democrats got control of Congress (remember, Congress controls the spending so they were the party of "No" for the last two years of the Bush Administration) so the Democrats were responsible for the 2007 economic collapse. Then the Dems get control of the White House and totally DESTROYED this economy even further the LAST two years. At this pace there will be NOTHING LEFT for the Democrats to ruin if their non-business/socialist policies ARE NOT STOPPED NOW!!
Don't take my word for it: Look at ANY STATE run on Democrat philosophy and see they are ALL in economic collapse. California, Michigan, New York, New Jersey (until a REPUBLICAN got in there and is FIXING it!!). Obama is trying to run the entire country like California has been run for the last 15 years. California is not technically "bankrupt" but the policies Obama is initiated will not take 15 years to ruin this country but will be closer to 5 years.
Congratulations: You wanted "Change" and you got it converting the United States from the most powerful economic country to now a weak country on the verge of bankruptcy.
Of course it drew fire. It's TRUE. Bush got us into the mess we're still in 18 months after he left us with a steaming pile.
even though i have no use for Bush.
would this be the same Bush where unemploymeny was at 4.6%
is this the Bush that never had (UGH) deficit spending over $485
billion in a year.
what killed Bush was those wars and then the media tyrning on him.
they found out Bush was white like them.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Cheney and dubya left this country in a horrible mess, and it won't be fixed anytime soon. The worst thing we could do would be let these traitors back into congress or the White House. Unless they "refudiate" Cheney's administration, they are not on America's side.
The Dems forget to tell you they controlled Congress for the last two years of the Bush Presidency. It was under that Cronress's watch that
the likes of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd contributed to the finamcial meldown. Look into it for yourself.
Considering the neo-socialist agenda Bozo is pushing, I for one think back to the future is a far-better scenario!