Republican looking weak in response to Democratic Jobs Bill push

by David Safier

I don't want to read too much into this, because Republicans have a gift for finding just the right turn of phrase and just the right hotbutton issue to turn all the media attention to their perspective, but right now, the Republicans are looking weak and confused. They haven't figured out a way to combat Democratic momentum over the Jobs Bill.

Look at two articles in today's Star.

First, there's Senate GOP unveils competing jobs plan. Here are snippets of what the article says about the "plan."

The new bill was outlined by a cross section of lawmakers and was notable not for its fresh policy approach, but for its clear admission that the party feared losing the rhetorical fight over job creation.

[snip]

"We just thought it was time to put this all into a package. I will freely admit to you that part of it is in response to the president saying we don't have a proposal," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

[snip]

"From the Republican point of view this is a breakthrough," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., another supporter of the bill. "We have to be for something."

[snip]

[Rand] Paul said the bill would create 5 million new jobs - although he did not offer a specific time frame.

[snip]

On Thursday, the Republican senators sought to distinguish their approach from the president's, saying it would create jobs by addressing structural problems in the economy, rather than aiming for immediate job growth through government spending.

It all sounds weak and defensive. The Republicans are using the kind of approach and language we've been hearing more from back-on-their-heels Democrats for the past few years. This new "jobs plan" hasn't landed a kitten's paw, let alone a glove, on the Democrat's plan.

Then there's another article, Supercommittee gets earful of advice on beating back debt. The Democrats appear to be the more forceful, aggressive party.

Most of the suggestions [to the supercommittee] came from Democrats on 16 Republican-run House committees who sent letters to the special debt-cutting panel. Generally, their advice was to create jobs, raise revenue and avoid damaging cuts to public works, health care and other programs they said are crucial to an economic recovery.

House Democrats are "firmly committed to a deficit-reduction plan that is big, bold and balanced," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in her own letter to the supercommittee. She said significant revenues must be part of the recipe and added, "Creating jobs is the most effective way to reduce the deficit."

[snip]

Generally, Republicans have said the supercommittee should focus more directly on shrinking the debt than on creating jobs. But with the relentlessly high unemployment rate a top national concern, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., acknowledged this week that the panel will likely consider some ideas for creating jobs.

For this rare moment, the Republicans seem to be suffering from a bad case of malaise and confusion. Will it last? I don't know. Will they come up with a jobs/economy equivalent of the health care "Death Panels" to use as a bludgeon against the Democrats? They'll certainly try. Meanwhile, I sense a bit of a shift in the winds in Democrats' favor.

?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlogForArizona/~3/Bp5TD-khFOo/republican-looking-weak-in-response-to-democratic-jobs-bill-push.html

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