As we approach the final week of the campaign I am still hearing "47%" ads on the radio and am only seeing Obama's Closing Argument videos on YouTube despite the fact that some of the most impressive achievements of the last four years have been the creation of economic growth and jobs while reducing the deficit despite the mess the last Republican President left us and current House Republicans want to risk causing again.
So, WE need to make the "Closing Argument" go viral to make sure we spread the word.
Here is a Crash Course on President Obama's record and plan vs. Mitt Romney to share with friends to inspire them or persuade them by Election Day!
http://www.networkforprogress.com/...
(with graphs included)
FULL TEXT BELOW (WITHOUT GRAPHS IN WEB SITE VERSION):
The choice we have in this presidential election is very simple but in recent weeks Mitt Romney has used the debates to fudge his newly right-wing agenda in such dramatic fashion that it’s time for a reminder of where we have been and where we need to go in terms of economic growth and much more.
Here is a 15-Minute Crash Course on WHY WE SHOULD RE-ELECT OBAMA!
OVERVIEW
President Obama has overcome nearly 100% Republican obstruction of almost ALL of his policies and despite only a few months in office with a filibuster-proof Congress (i.e. 60 Democrats in Senate that can simply approve a VOTE for a bill) that could pass his modern Middle Class-focused agenda has fought to save us from a Great Recession and bring our country into the 21st Century.
Mitt Romney wants us to DOUBLE DOWN on Bush-era economic (tax cuts for the rich who mostly provide investment “supply” not consumer “demand” that can motivate supply), social (anti-gay rights, anti-immigrant) and foreign (macho diplomacy & wars) policies that only set us backward and in many cases has adopted more extreme “Tea Party” ideas that would cut Medicare and other critical programs while eliminating women’s reproductive choices even in cases of rape until the next financial crisis when the crony capitalists want the government to bail them out again.
Our future is at stake. We need to move FORWARD not backward....and here’s why!
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PART I: PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
http://www.whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com
VIDEO: A Quick Look at President Obama's First Term
http://www.youtube.com/...
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PART II: OBAMA'S PLAN VS. ROMNEY’S PLAN
http://www.barackobama.com/...
VIDEO: His “Economic Patriotism” Vision
http://www.youtube.com/...
VIDEO: Obama Explains Why Growing The Economy From "The Middle Out" Works and From "The Top Down" Fails
http://whyobamanow.org
(speech excerpt from 4/3/12 AP Luncheon)
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COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS: New York Times Endorsement
http://www.nytimes.com/...
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but let me take the liberty of emphasizing the most important point of all....
PART III: IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID!
Because it is the #1 issue on the mind of Americans and least understood, let’s review Obama’s HISTORIC turnaround of our economy that has led to PROGRESS that even his campaign hasn’t effectively explained while House Republicans (who took power in 2010 because his record was distorted) now block further growth as Mitt Romney and blowhard pundits blame our President for the mess of unemployment and deficits their party created IMMEDIATELY before he was inaugurated on January 20, 2009.
5 Reasons Why Obama’s Economic Recovery might be the most over-looked Closing Argument in History:
#5 U.S. DEFICIT DECREASED BY 18% IN 2012 ($200 BILLION)
Despite the need for the $787 Billion Recovery Act due to increased need for safety net programs as well as bank and auto rescues while the government collected vastly less revenue during the Great Recession partly because we forfeited hundreds of billions in revenue from Bush tax cuts for individuals making OVER $250,000 annually, the U.S. government slowed its growth to the smallest rate since Dwight Eisenhower:
Republicans in Congress wouldn't consider ANY tax hikes on the rich so President Obama's offer of a $4 Trillion deficit reduction plan fell through last year. House Republicans threatened to not pay our bills and caused an S&P 500 credit downgrade because of it but Obama was still able to reduce our deficit by 18% this past year as the “bailout” loans have largely been re-paid (2011: 1.3 Trillion v 2012: $1.1 Trillion).
Source: Congressional Budget Office
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#4 U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HAS DROPPED 27% SINCE 2009 (but it could have been 43%):
Despite the need for the economy to create 100,000+ jobs/month to keep up with the growing U.S. workforce and 569,000 public sector layoffs, after the first year of stimulus the economy started creating jobs again and the Unemployment Rate has been reduced by 27% since peaking in 2009 versus October 2012 (7.8%).
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Despite this progress, if Republicans didn't starve government in unprecedented fashion and public sector employment were at its 1980-2012 average of about 9.6% there would be about 1.4 million more public sector jobs and the unemployment rate would be around 6.9%:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
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#3 U.S. STOCK MARKET HAS DOUBLED IN VALUE SINCE 1Q 2009
Despite the need for Wall Street Reform to avoid another financial crisis, the Dow Jones Average has nearly DOUBLED in value since 1Q 2009 in a near complete recovery for millions of Americans who relied on stock investments for their retirement. (1Q 2009: 6626 v 10/26/12: 13107)
Source: Kiplingers (see below)
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#2 U.S. ECONOMIC GROWTH IS UP 11% SINCE 2008
Despite the weakened world economy especially among european nations like Spain and Greece, with the help of Obama’s Middle Class tax cuts the U.S. Gross Domestic Product growth rate has increased by nearly 11% since 2008. (4Q 2008: -8.9% v 3Q 2012: 2.0%)
Source: Kiplinger’s (see below)
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#1 OBAMA IS CREATING NEARLY ONE MILLION MORE JOBS A MONTH THAN THE LAST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT
Despite the expiration of stimulus programs that support long-term economic growth through infrastructure and clean energy projects due to GOP obstruction of Stimulus #2 (2011 American Jobs Act) the U.S. economy has created 5.2 Million private sector jobs in the last 31 months at an average of over 160,000 per month compared to 820,000 job losses in January 2009.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Sources:
http://www.politifact.com/...
http://www.kiplinger.com/...
So, contrary to the spin, regardless of whether you want the Middle Class or the Rich to make money you should vote for President Obama and a Democratic Congress.
We have a stalemate in Washington so there's a lot more to do but it's time for us to understand who got us into this mess AND WILL DO IT AGAIN for the short-term benefit of special interest buddies.
Let's choose HOPE over FEAR and move FORWARD not BACKWARD!
NOW EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!!!