The Republicans are doubling down on their desire to destroy the Ameircan economy in their effort to defeat President Obama. They want the economy to tank and are doing all they can do ensure that. Some might call it economic treason.
Even though the financial markets have been counting on the Federal Reserve to take action, Republican Congressional leadership sent a letter to the Federal Reserve chairman on Tuesday evening urging it not to engage in further stimulus.
The letter was sent in the midst of a two-day meeting in which Fed officials are widely expected to undertake policies to lower long-term interest rates. That move would be intended to loosen up credit in hopes of promoting growth. The meeting ends Wednesday, and the Fed is expected to release a statement Wednesday at 2:15 p.m.
“We have serious concerns that further intervention by the Federal Reserve could exacerbate current problems or further harm the U.S. economy,” said the letter, signed by four of the top Republicans in Congress: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader; Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Senate Republican whip; House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia.
NY Times: G.O.P. Urges No Further Fed Stimulus
They fear the Fed may take actions that help the economy and are trying to intimidate Bernanke and other voting Fed governors. Their aim is clear: to make sure the economy does not recover before 11/12. That has been their aim since 1/09.
Steve Benen at Washington Monthly:
If this seems at all familiar, it’s because Republican leaders also wrote a letter to Bernanke last November, expressing “concerns” about the Fed’s efforts to boost economic growth.
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More pressing is the fact that the leaders of a major political party appear eager, if not desperate, to prevent steps that may improve the economy. The top four GOP members of Congress, including the Speaker of the House, practically demanded yesterday that no steps be taken at all as our anemic growth stalls and the job crisis intensifies.
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As things stand, Republican leaders, some of whom have admitted that defeating President Obama is their single highest priority, now want the Fed to sit on its hands, want to strip the American Jobs Act of its most effective measures, and want to raise middle-class taxes. Oh, and they’re threatening to shut down the government, too. These are just the positions they’ve talked up over the last week.
Matt Yglesias:
Are people seriously talking about stories other than GOP congressional leaders urging the Fed to keep unemployment high? Why?
Republicans want unemployment to be high, the economy to fail. Economic sabotage has been their tactic all along. Hence, neo-Hooverism and the debt ceiling fight.
Spread the word: Republicans are killing jobs.