Unemployed? Tell The GOP That NO Is NOT Acceptable!

We're about to see benefits for the jobless expire in a period of high unemployment -- for the first time in 50 years. And Republicans are the only ones to blame.

It isn't just wrong -- it's wrong-headed.

Conservatives in the Senate have been at this for weeks -- abusing the rules to block Democrats from passing legislation. Their filibuster means millions of people lose their unemployment checks, and the entire economy suffers because of it.

All the polling suggests that the American people overwhelmingly support extending benefits and doing it now. But the conservatives aren't getting the message. So I've written a letter that calls for them to stop their obstruction and let the Senate vote on benefits for the jobless -- will you sign with me?

If thousands of us stand together and issue the same call, we'll focus attention on this issue -- in D.C. and across the country. Reporters will take notice, and more voters will rightly point to the GOP as the cause for this nightmare. In other words, we'll send a message that can't be ignored.

And movement on these benefits can't come a moment too soon. Almost half of our jobless have been out of work for more than 26 weeks -- that's the highest level we've seen for long-term unemployment since the Great Depression. And because of the Republicans, about 33 people lose their benefits every minute.

Just about every expert will tell you the same thing: Unemployment benefits help the entire economy. In order to collect benefits, you have to demonstrate that you have been looking for work. While you look, they keep bills paid, put fuel in the car, and ensure that families don't suffer when there aren't enough jobs to go around -- things that keep the economy from shrinking even more. And at a time when there are five unemployed workers for every job opening, that's something we just can't afford.

So let's all stand together to send a very loud and pointed message to Republicans. Sign this open letter and help us create the kind of national outcry it will take to shame the GOP into letting us vote on unemployment benefits:

http://my.democrats.org/unemployment

Those Dang Ol' FACTS just keep getting in the way....

Wallace Presses Pence On How He Can Call The Stimulus A ‘Failure’ In The Face Of Job Growth

July 18th, 2010 by Amanda Terkel

Republicans continue to rail against the stimulus, even though economists agree that the program has created a significant number of jobs. Last week, the White House Council of Economic Advisers said the Recovery Act has saved or created 3.6 million jobs. A recent report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also found that the stimulus “has increased the number of workers by between 1.2 million and 2.8 million” and projects that “3.7 million jobs could be attributed to the stimulus by the end of September.”

Today, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace presented Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) with the CBO number and asked him how he could still say that the Recovery Act has “failed” in the face of this nonpartisan evidence:

WALLACE: These are numbers from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It estimates the stimulus has boosted growth between 1.7 and 4.2 percent, and it’s increased the number of people unemployed by 2-2.8 million. Congressman Pence, is that failure?

PENCE: Look, the reality is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that is that part of our government that tracks the economy when people are hired and fired, says that since the stimulus was passed, we’ve lost 3 million jobs overall. About 2.5 million jobs net. The reality is unemployment today over 14 million Americans are unemployed; that’s exactly what it was a year ago. The American people know. We can’t borrow and spend and bail our way back to a growing economy.

WALLACE: But what about the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office just in effect saying, it would have been worse, and the fact is that it has boosted growth, it has gotten millions of people employed?

PENCE: Well, our economy is beginning to grow in a tepid way on the margins, I would argue in spite of the prescriptions of the physicians in Washington, DC. The American people know what’s necessary to get this economy moving again. It’s fiscal discipline in Washington, DC, and across-the-board tax relief for working families, small businesses, and family farms.

Basically, Pence seems to be saying that because unemployment hasn’t been completely eradicated, the stimulus must be a failure. But it’s important to remember the hole the country had to dig itself out of from the Bush administration, and the fact that unemployment would be even higher without the stimulus:

Many Republicans continue to go around and pretend that the stimulus hasn’t created any new jobs, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Last week, ThinkProgress attended a job fair hosted by Rep. Eric Cantor where the businesses in attendance had received more than $52 million in federal stimulus funds. Other Republicans who voted against the stimulus have similarly had no problem taking credit for its success.

Watch The Weekly Address

Good afternoon,

Right now many Americans are still feeling the effects of the recession. Small business owners are having a hard time getting the credit they need to hire and grow, and millions of our friends and neighbors are still looking for work.

In his Weekly Address, President Obama calls on Congress to stop their procedural maneuvers and allow for a simple up or down vote on expanded unemployment insurance and additional tax cuts and lending for small businesses. These are two much-needed measures that will provide a boost to our economy and relief to our friends and neighbors who can’t find jobs.

Take a moment to hear what he has to say:

For the past 18 months, President Obama has been fighting to help small business owners because he understands that small businesses are key to getting the American people back to work. He has been fighting for expanded unemployment insurance because he understands that putting money in the pockets of the people who are most likely to spend it is a cost-effective way of boosting local economies and creating jobs.

Unemployment insurance is a vital lifeline for many families struggling to find work in these tough times. Over the past few weeks, that lifeline has disappeared for more than 2 million Americans, and if Congress doesn’t act, that number will grow to 3.2 million people by the end of this month.

Getting our economy back on track hasn’t been easy, but passing important legislation to support small businesses and Americans looking for work has proved nearly impossible. Repeatedly, Republicans have used procedural maneuvers to deny this legislation an up or down vote.

There may be a lot of controversial topics out there, but support for small businesses and unemployment insurance shouldn’t be among them.

It’s time for an up or down vote on these important measures. It’s time for Congress to act.

Sincerely,

David Axelrod
Senior Advisor to the President

Obama Slams GOP for Obstructing Progress

(AP) President Barack Obama is taking aim at Senate Republicans, accusing them of playing politics with measures that would extend benefits to the unemployed and increase lending to small businesses.

Striking a deeply partisan tone in his weekly Saturday radio and online address, President Obama said the GOP leadership has chosen to "filibuster our recovery and obstruct our progress" by blocking votes on agenda items the president says would breath life into the economic recovery.

"These steps aren't just the right thing to do for those hardest hit by the recession," Mr. Obama said. "They're the right thing to do for all of us."

The address was recorded at the White House before President Obama flew to Maine on Friday for a weekend family vacation.

Lawmakers have been battling for weeks over extending unemployment benefits to workers who have been out of a job for long stretches of time. The last extension ran out at the end of May, leaving about 2.5 million people without benefits.

The House has already passed a bill to extend the benefits through November, but with the death of Sen. Robert Byrd, Senate Democrats don't have the 60 votes they need to overcome a GOP filibuster. The Senate plans to take up the measure again on Tuesday.

President Obama said lawmakers' obligation to extend benefits is both moral and practical, citing some read more...

It's Unanimous! GOP Says No To Unemployment Benefits, Yes To Tax Cuts For The Rich

If you are a republican or teabagger and you complain about having NO jobs or NO unemployment check and you blame Obama for this, then I am going to stuff this article down your throat! I am sick to death of your justifications, lies and excuses you give for YOUR party of NO! They don't give a CRAP about YOU! You were okay with Bush/Cheney tax cut for the rich and they want you to be okay with it again. They are okay with adding seven hundred billion dollars to our debt to give wealthy taxpayers a tax cut without even pretending to pay for it. BUT you HOWL when Democrats try to keep millions of out-of-work Americans from financial ruin for a FRACTION of the same price? You have no more to say to me about this! Don't blame Obama because here it is...the facts, the truth...YOUR PARTY told you to go get SCREWED! Spin it how you will! ~Mem

For weeks, Senate Republicans have filibustered an extension of unemployment benefits on the grounds that Democrats aren't willing to cut spending or raise taxes to pay for them. At the same time, the Bush tax cuts are set to expire, and Republicans want them to be renewed. For two days, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl has raised eyebrows by insisting that emergency aid to unemployed people -- what he called a "necessary evil" -- be paid for through either tax hikes or spending cuts, while the tax cuts (which mostly benefit wealthy people) not be offset in any way. Yesterday claimed that this view is shared by "most of the people in my party."

He was correct.

"That's been the majority Republican view for some time," Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told TPMDC this afternoon after the weekly Read More....

Republicans Betray Americans by Killing Jobless Aid for Political Gain

Republicans just killed unemployment benefit extensions for Americans out of pettiness and with an eye toward political gain. They know that if the Democrats can’t help the economy by this fall, the Democrats will suffer at the polls.
GOP kills jobs bill for political gain

The AP reports:

“Republicans in the Senate have defeated an election-year bill to continue weekly jobless benefits for millions of long-term unemployed workers. The 57-41 loss was a major blow for President Barack Obama and Democrats. They needed three more votes — for a total of 60 — to stop a GOP filibuster.

Read More...