GOP deficit debate strategy: Blame Democrats
(CNN) - The Republican advice from on high on how to win the debt debate is blame President Barack Obama for the current predicament and emphasize Republicans' efforts to put the country on a road to fiscal responsibility.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus sent a memo to state party chairs and will deliver a speech at the University of Chicago Wednesday to drive home the message while the deadline for a Congressional super committee to reach a deal over deficit reduction looms.
Priebus asks state party leaders to remind voters that the "massive debt we face is a direct result of President Obama's failures to govern like he campaigned."
"Let them know that Republicans have taken the task of deficit reduction seriously," Priebus writes in the memo, according to the RNC.
Priebus paints Republicans on Capitol Hill as problem solvers, who passed plans for a balanced budget and are willing to make tough choices to ensure deficit reduction, while Democrats and the president are determined to push significant tax increases and more stimulus money.
The 12-person bipartisan super committee has until next week to find at least $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decade to avoid automatic across-the-board spending cuts starting in 2013.
"This massive debt is a result of one thing: the president's broken promise to cut the deficit," Priebus will tell an audience at the University of Chicago, according to the RNC. "Instead of slowing its growth, he accelerated it."
"… In 2012, voters in your state must also know that Republicans will offer a solution," Priebus writes in the memo.
But Brad Woodhouse, communications director for the Democratic National Committee, said the memo "doesn't even pass the laugh test" and that his party is working toward a balanced solution that "requires everyone to pay their fair share instead of piling more burdens on middle class families, small businesses and seniors like Republicans want to do."
"Middle Class Americans know well who Republicans are fighting for on Capitol Hill - and certainly it is not them," Woodhouse said.
A CNN/ORC International poll released Wednesday showed Americans are skeptical the committee will reach an agreement. According to the survey, 42% of those questioned would blame Republicans for failure while 32% would blame Democrats. Independent voters would also fault Republicans at a greater rate than Democrats, 40% to 24% respectively, with a quarter saying they would blame both parties.
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Four and The Door wrote:
Republicans have a clear focus in the work they do on the economy: Grow it for everyone. Allow private industry to have an environment supported by the federal government that allows job creation.
In any discussion of America's current financial situation, you have to acknowledge the progress made by Speaker Boehner and the Republican House of Representatives this year.
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The Republican focus has clearly been on corporations and "job creators". It has been for the past 3+ decades, especailly during the last decade that began with a Republican President and a Republican Congress. Complete Repubilcan control of DC has been proven to be a recipe for our financial collapse in 2008. Your empty rhetoric will get Obama re-elected.
You talk about what Boehner has done, cut $100B, but a few months ago you were lamenting about how Republicans were deceived by Democrats when the CBO graded the budget as only cutting $3B. Boehner's Republicans have done nothing to deliver on the "jobs, jobs, jobs" they promised the American people in 2010. Nothing, which is short for "not a thing".
@ four door – "Republicans have a clear focus in the work they do on the economy: Grow it for everyone."
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Too bad reality doesn't support your fantasy. Since the Reagan revolution in the early 1980's, the top 1% has captured 100% of the gain in income and more than 100% of the gain in wealth. The rising tide has only lifted the yachts. Then when the wheels came off the ridiculously top heavy ecomony, the reslting tidal wave swamped all the boats.
When President Obama took office, we were losing 750,000 jobs per month. The stimulus helped turn those losses into job gains. In FACT, we have seen private sector job growth for 20 straight months. Unfortunately, since the GOP took control of Congress (the Huse by numbers and the Senate by filabuster), the jobs programs and job growth progress came to a scretching halt. Also, the states, many of which are now controlled by the GOP have been laying off employees by the tens of thousands, so the private sector job growth is being offset by public sector job losses.
Russ MD is not aware that the only alleged jobs bills that Boner has passed involve taking away women's rights, reaffirming "In God We Trust," and tax cuts for the wealthy, big oil and big corporations, and eliminating environmental protections. If the republicans have their way, we will be drinking water that burns and breathing out of oxygen tanks.
Lie to the UN. Fire missiles into unarmed civilian women and children during shock and awe killing thousands while waving your flag with one hand and pleasuring your self with the other. Blame all of your actions on the opposition.
These are Republican Values.
Lie to the UN. Fire missiles into unarmed civilian women and children during shock and awe killing thousands while waving your flag with one hand and pleasuring your self with the other. Blame all of your actions on the opposition.
These are Republican Values.
KJ asked
Is this article serious? Bush got blamed for deficits so why shouldn't Obama?
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Are you serious? Our economy is on the road laid out by the Bush adminstration's policies. The final year of the Bush administration had an annual deficit of $1.5T when you include TARP. Deficits have not grown under Obama. He was sworn into office with 7.8% unemployment that was rising at a rate of -700,000 jobs per month. I would say he did pretty good just to get us to where we are today, despite the Senate Republican filibusters. (The filibuster proof majority ended with Kennedy passed. Rubio was sworn in 2010.)
Yeah, the Republican plan to hold the country hostage while they try to destroy a President is progressing as planned.
No surprise. Their strategy all along has been to blame Obama for everytning, so why should now be any different. They are willing to see our economy go down the tubes if it means they have a chance at grabbing back the white house so they can reward their rich friends even more. What a disgrace the GOP has become.
Two ten year wars . Deregulation and lack of oversight in the financial and banking industry is what caused this debit problem . Not to mention an unfair tax system .
The GOP needs to take responsibility in regards to there involvement in these maters.
GET REAL !
@ Four and the Door
What legislation was put forth by Republicans that has what you state the Rebulicans want? There is jobs bill that WILL put people back to work, who will in turn purchase goods, Who will cause demand for products to increase, hense helping these industires' bottom line, which will precipitate them hiring again. Top down or trickle down desguised as fiscal conservatism has not, and will not work. And you sir should be ashamed of yourself.....
AlaskaPalin wrote:
As the population ages have we stop to think about the economic repercussions of a generation of 'abortions'? What spending power is lost? What scientific advancements are lost? What tax revenues are lost? What entrepreneurship is lost? What negative effect it has on social security and other retirement concerns? Ideas have consequences.
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Now I've heard everything. Performing abortions hurts job creation. I not going to reply with the obvious demeaning comeback. I will simply point out that your crystal ball actually a bowling ball.
Hey !!!! The economy went to hell under Bush and the Democrats are to blame!?!?!? ...... Sorry, that just won`t stick.........
"When President Obama took office, we were losing 750,000 jobs per month. The stimulus helped turn those losses into job gains. In FACT, we have seen private sector job growth for 20 straight months. Unfortunately, since the GOP took control of Congress (the Huse by numbers and the Senate by filabuster), the jobs programs and job growth progress came to a scretching halt. Also, the states, many of which are now controlled by the GOP have been laying off employees by the tens of thousands, so the private sector job growth is being offset by public sector job losses."
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Thank you for telling the true story!
Tax has become the gold standard. The fact that it can tax, allows the government to keep printing more and more money with a good conscience. If tax is the gold standard then we the people have become slaves for the government.
No incentive for this Super Committee to come to any agreement... but every incentive for them not to reach an agreement. When it fails, automatic cuts come into effect, and both sides can then claim it was the other sides fault, when in reality both sides wanted the automatic cuts.
We are on to the right wing agenda of not letting the president do anything to help so you can say look what he's done.The soak the middleclass isn't gonna work in 2012...We are on to the Koch bros funding the tea boys...This is why you people want to lower education so you can widen your base and all the kids wind up like Perry and Cain.....not gonna happen
Repubs blame Dems, Dems blame Repubs. The truth is all of congress is to blame. Right at the moment, GOP is the most to blame, but there is plenty of blame on both sides of the aisle. Congress is incabapble of doing anything but worry about their pets and special intrests so that they can continue to line their owh pockets.
Why does the GOP still think America is stupid enough to believe their lies?
From all the posts I am reading here, it appears that folks are finally waking up to the real republican agenda: Take care of themselves, make promises they have no intention of keeping, blame Obama for the mess that was created during the 8 years of Bush, keep their rich friends close to their hearts and screw the rest of the country.
I wonder why the GOP sticks up for the top 1% ?Could it be the political contributions? Follow the $$$ and you will find Bonner
The Republicans' blah, blah, blah is really an insult to our intelligence. Lordie, they are so transparent!!! It amazes me they keep this "blame Obama" going. After both elections of GWB, I finally accepted the fact that Republicans would vote any jerk into office if there was an (R) beside the name. Come to think of it, that is just what happened and, thus, the situation we are in. I hope the rest of us are so mad and so sickened of them for keeping the economy hostage, they will be voted out when their terms are up. They are only concerned about keeping their pockets lined by the big corporations; they don't give a tinker's d – – – about the American citizens, and that's a well-proven fact!
Mikey
...Also, the states, many of which are now controlled by the GOP have been laying off employees by the tens of thousands, so the private sector job growth is being offset by public sector job losses.
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You say that like it is a bad thing. Our government has spent $14.5 trillion more than it has taken in. This is pathetic for the largest economy in the world with the highest corporate taxes in the world. The time for these changes has long passed. Our economy is being plundered by extremely out of control government spending. And right now government debt is still growing.The cost of interest alone is currently 30% of the cost of Social Security. In 20 years the interest on our debt will be equal to the cost of Social Security. Reducing government cost is not an option anymore.
Conservatives are fair they give obama high grade (credit) on foreign policy. Its now up to democrats to be fair- he is a complete failure on the domestic front; especially on the economy and immigration; isn't he?
The Republican party have become obstructionists to recovery because they want to gain power. I ask every Republican the same questions. Can you name one person Republicans helped get or keep a job? Can you name a small business that Republicans help keep open or get started? Can you name an industry that you prevented from collapsing? Name a community that Republicans help rebuild after one of the many disasters around the country? Republicans are not willing to do anything to stimulate jobs in America. If they were they would have already worked out a deal. You play the obstructionist game, as in the story the “Boy who cried wolf” nobody believes you.
"As the population ages have we stop to think about the economic repercussions of a generation of 'abortions'?"
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You can't be serious! First of all, how many abortions do you think have occurred and how in the world does this impact our economy when, and apparently you haven't noticed, the US is overpopulated and there aren't enough jobs to go around. Jobs is the problem, not abortions!