Election – How We Got Here
November 04, 2010, 4:00am

The Progress Report.

President Obama took office facing more challenges than any president in three generations. In the midst of two stalemated wars, the worst economy since the Great Depression and a hemorrhaging job market, the American people desperately needed a government that could take the bold action needed to halt foreclosures, end the recession, and get employers hiring again. Yet, while the new president buckled down to solve these catastrophic challenges, the GOP embraced a simple four word mantra: “I hope Obama fails.” Two years later, unemployment remains tragically high, the President’s signature accomplishment is widely misunderstood by voters, and Republicans rode a wave of discontent back into power. Simply put, this did not happen by accident; it was part of a concerted strategy to undermine the President’s agenda and blame him for its failure.

A CAMPAIGN OF OBSTRUCTION: When the economy was spiraling out of control, Republicans filibustered the recovery. When out-of-control health premiums threatened to sink the entire federal budget, Republicans conspired to make health reform Obama’s “Waterloo.” When persistent unemployment cried out for a more aggressive Federal Reserve, Republicans blocked Obama’s Nobel Prize winning Fed nominee. Even something as basic as regulating the same Wall Street banks that nearly destroyed the American economy nearly fell before a GOP filibuster. This campaign of obstruction was not limited to big ticket items. As of last August, fully 372 bills had passed the House — many of them unanimously — but few of them are likely to every receive a vote in the obstructionist-laden Senate. Meanwhile, Obama’s judges are being confirmed at only half the rate of President Bush’s, and Republicans even stalled key economic policy makers in the midst of a recession. As this campaign of obstruction began to undercut the economic recovery, the GOP doubled down. Republicans repeatedly blocked job-creating and small business-promoting legislation, often killing essential measures or requiring ambitious plans to be pared down into nearly nothing. And this obstructionism helped keep in the economy in the doldrums, the obstructionists’ standing in the polls steadily grew.

FLOODING THE AIRWAVES: Republicans did far more than simply blocking Obama’s agenda, they also waged a multi-billion dollar disinformation campaign to poison the electorate on this agenda. Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s egregious Citizens United decision, the right-wing U.S. Chamber of Commerce waged a $32 million campaign to defeat the President’s allies in Congress, and this campaign was just the tip of a massive iceberg of disinformation. Right-wing front groups like 60 Plus and future Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) Conservatives for Patients’ Rights waged a multi-million dollar campaign to tarnish health reform — often making outlandish claims that the Affordable Care Act would slash Medicare benefits or outlaw private coverage or euthanize grandma. This disinformation campaign was not limited to health reform. Republicans blanketed the airwaves with attacks on President Obama’s successful program to save the auto industry — a program which saved more than one million jobs. The Recovery Act saved approximately 1.2 million jobs and even right-wing economists believe that it boosted the economy by 4 percent, but Republicans have done everything in their power to ensure that no one knows about these successes. Republicans have manufactured economists who deny the effectiveness of the stimulus. They falsely claim that it has not created a single job, and they repeatedly label it a “failed stimulus” — even if they also have no compunctions about stealing credit for the law’s success whenever it benefits them politically to do so. Two years of disinformation has taken its toll. Although only one-quarter of voters oppose the actual provisions of the Affordable Care Act, pluralities have been so convinced that the law is poison that they now embrace repeal. Likewise, two-thirds of voters share the false belief that the Recovery Act either hurt or did not affect the economy.

OBAMA’S UNFORCED ERRORS: To be clear, Obama’s presidency has not been error-free. Obama’s own economic advisor, Christina Romer, determined that $1.2 trillion in stimulus spending was necessary to spark a robust economic recovery. While such a large proposal may not have survived Congress without being cut down, Obama himself now suggests that he did not bargain hard enough with the legislature. Rather than proposing a stimulus package laden with tax cuts, the President says he should have “‘let the Republicans insist on the tax cuts’ so it could be seen as a bipartisan compromise.” Similarly, Obama could have done more to modify his signature anti-foreclosure program in order to ease the anxieties of voters caught in the housing crisis. To date, just $600 million of the program’s $50 billion has been spent. Additionally, yesterday’s announcement that the Federal Reserve will launch a $600 billion effort to invigorate the economy is a reminder of the role monetary policy can play in rescuing a weak economy. One can only speculate on whether this effort would have been launched sooner if several Fed Board seats hadn’t remained vacant for most of Obama’s presidency, but the Obama administration’s failure to fill these vacancies early in Obama’s presidency certainly did not help the economy. Yet, while Obama did not always pursue the robust progressive policies needed to lift the economy from its knees, it’s important to acknowledge what he has accomplished. The Recovery Act did grow the economy and rescue hundreds of thousands of jobs. The Affordable Care Act will slow the unsustainable growth of health costs and drive down long term deficits. Credit card companies, sexist employers and Wall Street banks are much less able to exploit ordinary Americans because Barack Obama is president. These accomplishments were not enough to save the Democrats’ majorities, but they moved the country in the right direction — something that will not continue if Obama embraces the GOP’s call to reembrace the failed policies of George W. Bush.

Think Fast

After securing historic state level victories on Nov. 2, Republicans will have control of about 190 congressional districts and “will dominate the redrawing of congressional districts that begins next year.” Because of this “commanding advantage in the redistricting process,” 15 to 25 seats in the House are more likely to remain or switch to Republican.

Bloomberg reports that Republican-leaning outside groups — like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — spent $167 million on the U.S. midterm elections and came out on the winning side of almost twice as many races as they lost. The New York Times notes that these outside groups helped offset cash advantages held by Democratic incumbents.

In his post-election news conference yesterday, President Obama outlined his commitment to some issues and a willingness to compromise on others. He said he is “absolutely” ready to negotiate with the GOP on the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, but also signaled he will push ahead on reducing greenhouse gases even if Congress refuses to act.

Voters in Iowa chose not to retain three Iowa Supreme Court justices who were part of the unanimous decision to legalize same-sex marriage in the state last year. “I think it will send a message across the country that the power resides with the people,” said Bob Vander Plaats, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor who led the campaign to oust the justices.

In a post-defeat email to supporters yesterday, Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) said that “real change does not happen with one election night victory or end with one loss. We shouldn’t have expected nirvana after our win in 2008 and we shouldn’t expect Armageddon now.” Outlining the 111th Congress successes, he said he was proud to stand “with the problem solvers over the political game players any day.”

In his new memoir, former President Bush “makes clear that he personally approved” the use of waterboarding against 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, an admission “human rights experts say could one day have legal consequences for him.” When asked by the CIA if they could proceed with waterboarding Mohammed, Bush writes that his reply was “Damn right.”

“Under pressure from American and British officials, YouTube on Wednesday removed from its site some of the hundreds of videos featuring calls to jihad by Anwar al-Awlaki,” an American-born cleric under fire for inspiring violence against the West. Just last week, British government officials and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) lodged formal protests with YouTube.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the Senate to move quickly on a lame-duck vote to ratify the START treaty, an arms control deal with Russia. Speaking in the capital of New Zealand early today, Clinton said the votes for passage existed and it was her “preference” that a vote take place this year.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) “pledged on Wednesday to investigate both Barack Obama and George W. Bush with his newfound subpoena power,” focusing on the two administration’s policies with respect to the mortgage market. “I’m hoping to bridge the multiple administrations in as many places as possible,” he said. “The enemy is the bureaucracy, not necessarily the current occupant of the White House.”

The Federal Reserve “moved Wednesday to jolt the economy into recovery with a bold but risky plan to pump $600 billion into the banking system.” The Fed plans to buy government bonds to increase demand for them and push long-term interest rates down. “Easier financial conditions will promote economic growth,” Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said.

And finally: Among the fallout from Tuesday’s elections, voters in Pittsfield, MA rejected a ballot measure that would have pushed for women to be allowed to “walk around town topless.” The nonbinding question would have urged that area’s state representative to “introduce legislation amending the state’s nudity definition,” but the measure failed by a large majority.

Blog Watch

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Americans like progressive policies.

Giuliani calls on Republicans to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Aetna insurance profits rise sharply.

People really don’t care about the deficit.

Daily Grill

“I was a dissenting voice. I didn’t want to use force [in Iraq].”
— President Bush, 11/02/10

VERSUS

“F___ Saddam. we’re taking him out.”
— Bush, March, 2002

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