It's been years now that Boehner has been broadcasting his Cover your ass Story about having a whole slew of Jobs Bills just waiting that have been stalled in the senate by Dems.
My mistake is that I never actually checked these Bills out. I knew what to expect coming from republicans but thought that surely there must be something there that could be mocked up to look like a Jobs Bill with its own specifics beyond the usual boiler plate cover story even the freshman republicans know they must parrot in case anyone has some questions asking for a few details and such
Nope; Unless calling clear cut logging the 'Healthy Forest Act' (pdf) qualifies as a detail
It's also probably why we never heard a single republicans give any specifics in all this time. These Bills have zero to do with job creation . They are exactly what a house full of right wing nut jobs would copy and paste from a "conservative" extraction industry think tank.
These Bills spell out handing over more wealth to a tiny minority of those most wealthy while putting the squeeze on everyone else - and for the environment - a complete disaster. Essentially zeroing out the Environmental Protection Agency and other ancillaries and it gets worse from there.
Let me start with an apology. After reading and looking over the list of Bills that Boehner and republicans are once again claiming to be "Jobs Bills"; they are an environmental nightmare and no fun to read through - I was stunned by how reckless these GOP goals were then and still are
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Since the midterms House majority leader John Boehner and future Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell are not only trying to slough off one of their proudest achievements of the last 6 years - the 'Proud Guardian of Gridlock' - but are now attempting to Con their way into a position of being considered members of a party of "job creators" going so far as claiming they are American job creators. Never mind that McConnell himself in a rare moment of transparency forgot to hide the actual "conservative" agenda of "unregulated markets" admitting that Job creation was "Not my job" which backfired on him prompting an appearance in a TV commercial where he promised just the opposite(video)
The other catchphrase we've been hearing from McConnell again, a lot, is "rebuilding trust", which also seems to be a belligerent attempt to lay blame on Dems for his own years long declared agenda of obstruction he was so proud of up until the day of the elections. In fact it could be argued that fomenting racial discord helped him and many other republicans win.
We also see a regurgitating of the same "Jobs Bill" deception they used before in fabricating their cover story blaming Democrats for "stalling" the environmental disaster masquerading as the many so-called "Jobs Bills" disguised with green-washing that would do Frank Luntz proud. Nothing has changed. Not even a little bit. Zero investment in infrastructure that would create Jobs. Tax expenditures to the already most profitable and wealthy private "interests" in the world. The identical and exhaustively de-bunked trickle down "Job creator theory". Deregulation across the board. Zero penalties for polluting and destroying the environment
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In the past few days since the midterms I've noticed a real hard focus from Boehner and republicans to bring back this Cover Story and wondered why. Why was it so important to fabricate this cover story that it was Dems holding up "Jobs" Bills in the senate?
This is my thinking on it, where the GOP is very vulnerable, and what we can do about it.
With the main steam media profiting from framing Climate Change and the denial of it as a "controversy" requiring equal weight given in a 'both sides do it' standard of "balanced" reporting, it must have caught the republicans off guard when the MSM turned on them and began reporting that people had had it. Not just in the US, but around the world. People had seen too much rwnj idiocy for the media world to ignore as the republicans angrily announced their 30th something attempt to repeal the Health care law PPACA aka "Obamacare", while completely ignoring an issue the vast majority of people were actually concerned about - Jobs with a living wage
The republican solution to this unexpected desertion by the MSM ?
Simple; Create a cya story by labeling all legislation written by their corporate donors a "Jobs Bill" - easy - just make shit up.
Rubber stamp some pre-written Corpo Bills and Fox "news" will sell it - just don't forget to hide the ALEC mission statement
Today Boehner is again ramping up his false "Jobs Bills" cover story of the past that he and republicans whipped up when the GOP was being hammered for wasting time and $millions of tax payer dollars spent on what turned out to be over 50 failed attempts (and still counting) to repeal Health care and the knee jerk notion that suing the President (in lieu of impeachment the non-imbecile republicans knew was a really stupid idea) to disguise their actual agenda.
Job creation was the last thing on any republicans mind then and it remains exactly as important to them today. Job creation doesn't mean shit to the GOP. In fact the opposite is the "conservative" goal. The same priority obtains today - obstruction - the GOP do not want a tight labor market. They want what their corporate donors/sponsors demand - an "excess labor pool" as an asset to keep wages as low as possible.
Here is a discussion using republican claims on 'private market forces' and 'unregulated markets', two of the most prominent "conservative" arguments, that demonstrate exactly how republican policies not only create, but demand a loose labor market or an 'excess labor pool' - iow's joblessness as a required asset and the result of GOP policies
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Here is Boehner's Cover Story | and what's inside:
From a Boehner blog 2011:
..The next time President Obama delivers a speech on the economy I hope he will avoid the campaign rhetoric and instead urge Senate Democrats to immediately vote on the 25 bipartisan jobs bills before them.”
From Boehner's Press office December 2011: 25 House-Passed Jobs Bills Stuck in the Democratic-Run Senate
Since then the GOP ALEC has written a few more non-job bills adding to around 46 or so.
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Fast Forward to Boehner's latest rendition of the Jobs Bills Con
Here is Boehner delivering the weekly republican address (video @ link | November, 2014). Boehner is repeating the same cover story accusing Dems of blocking "Jobs Bills" in the Senate. It was a lie then as it is today
For a closer look at those "Jobs Bills" the republicans are touting (today November 2014) as the solutions that will help middle class people is this investigation by karoli @ Crooks & Liars - it is very thorough and worth a look see - imo
GOP's Claim That House Passed 30 Jobs Bills? - Bogus. By karoli January 23, 2012 (video of Boehner)
I keep hearing this ridiculous canard in Republican debates and now from John Boehner about the alleged jobs bills the Republicans have passed that the "Democrat Senate" refuses to act upon. Since I watched the better part of their activity in real time, I know this is a lie. But most people aren't obsessive-compulsive about government and politics and might not realize just how much of a lie it is. So without further ado, let me debunk this claim made by the disingenuous Speaker of the House.
[From the video]
BOEHNER: Chris, 30 jobs bills passed over the last year in a Republican House of Representatives that are sitting in the United States Senate -- thirty.
Our focus over the last 12 months has been on jobs. Our focus over the course of the next 12 months is going to be on jobs.
To make sure they back up their public claims with what might appear to be "fact", they've built a page on the House of Representatives site with a list of their so-called jobs bills, which number 27 and not 30 as the Speaker claims. What follows is a list and a brief explanation of why they are not jobs bills. Feel free to share it widely with your friends who might be inclined to believe Mr. Tobacco Lobbyist Check Distributor without questioning it.
- karoli
The GOP Bills:
Note: all of the links to the republican legislation from 2011 era are duds. They redirect to this GOP website here The legislation is essentially the same but re-written. Or as Reince Priebus fondly calls it "re-branding". In some cases the later versions are worse as they are a reaction to clean renewal energy advancements posing a greater threat to the fossil fuel industries with expected monopolistic reaction. I thought to provide the old legislation numbers as these are the non-Job Bills that Boehner was referring to as "Jobs Bills" that were blocked and that he and the GOP continue to promulgate today as the cover story to mask the numerous Bills actual purpose of deregulating the pollution industry and many more destructive measures
HR 3630 - The Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act of 2011 - This bill does indeed extend the "docfix" and unemployment insurance for a year, but with a hefty price.
• freezes Federal workers pay; requires issuance of a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline in advance of the proposed routing by Nebraska; suspends the newly-issued mercury regulations: 100% expensing of business equipment (including private jets); Another so-called "jobs bill", HR 1938, was passed giving a November 1, 2011 deadline for the Keystone pipeline.
• cuts unemployment insurance benefits from 99-week maximum down to a 59-week maximum; drug-test UI recipients; cuts funding for key provisions of the Affordable Care Act ; means-tests unemployment insurance benefits and food stamp programs and increases Federal employees' contributions to their retirement system by 1.5% while freezing pay, so their pensions take a double-whammy.
• repeals the new timing rules for estimated corporate tax payments for companies with assets of $1 billion or more
HR 1633 - Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011
• This bill prevents the EPA from issuing or finalizing regulations revising air quality standards under the Clean Air Act
HR 10 - Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2011
• Guts the regulation process; Call this one the Carte Blanche For Congress To Kill All Regulatory Authority Bill.
HR 3010 - Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011
• somewhat less onerous version of HR 10;
HR 527 - Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011
• limit EPA, OSHA and CFPB regulations while presumably protecting "small" closely-held Subchapter S corporations like Koch Industries.
HR 3012 - Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011
• eliminating employment-based immigrant visa caps and raising the percentage of total visas granted to 15% from 7%. For this one, I'll say it IS a jobs bill, but not a jobs bill for American workers. It is the "Elite Immigration Jobs Bill of 2011".
HR 3094 - Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act
• redefines collective bargaining units; union busting
HR 2930 - Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act
• exempts startups raising less than $1 million in venture capital from small investors from SEC registration and oversight. - anti-regulatory for large corpo to splinter up and avoid oversight regulation
HR 2940 - Access to Capital for Job Creators Act
• anti-oversight - Let's call this and its evil twins HR 2930 and HR 1965 the: "Ponzi Scheme Coverup Acts of 2011"
HR 1965 - Securities Laws Amendment
• It's a "hide from the SEC" bill. Its companion, HR 1970, would exempt SEC registration of public offerings under $50 million rather than the current $5 million threshold.
Then there is Gutting of the EPA - deregulation of the pollution industries - elimination of environmental standards section
• HR 2273 removes coal ash regulation from the EPA and hands it to the states. States like North Carolina where Governor McCrory is powed by Duke energy
• HR 2681 guts cement manufacturing emission standards
• HR 2250 guts on EPA boiler MACT rules.
• HR 2401 would require analysis of all EPA regulations relating to air, waste, water and climate change. [allows republicans another lever to stop regulation]
• HR 2018 would restrict EPA from issuing any revisions to existing water standards..
• HR 2021 amends the Clean Air Act to open oil and gas exploration off the Alaska coast.
• HR 910 strips the EPA of authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act
• HR 872 expands the use of pesticides, fungicides and rodent without EPA approval.
Catering to Big Petrochemical corporations
• HR 1231 actually brute force legislation requiring the Administration (President) to allow offshore Oil & Gas drilling
• HR 1229 another brute force legislation bill
• HR 1230 And more brute force legislation from Big Oil; forces sales of oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico and Outer Continental Shelf of Virginia.
And on to Special Interests and General Pandering Legislation section
• HR 1904 Resolution Copper, LLC can mine copper on what is now part of the Tonto National Forest.
• HJ Res 37 GOP disapprovee of Net neutrality
• HR 2587 anti union Bil - gutting of NLRB authority to have any say in whether union jobs can be outsourced to a non-union (right to work for less) state
Since then the GOP has added more to the list of Non-job "Jobs Bills" (these links work)
The GOP more recent use of the stalled "Jobs Bill" ruse: At least 46 Bills #Stuck in the Senate March of 2013
Bills ranging from drug testing recipients of various Social programs. HR 890: drug testing and slashing social programs. More Oil and Gas tax expenditure giveaways, fighting Net Neutrality; HR 10: sucking money out of public education or ending it altogether; More EPA gutting (HR 3826: EPA green house gas rule repealed) ; HR 2824: deregulation of mining pollution of streams etc.; bypassing the Clean Water Act (HR 5078); HR 3094: union busting; HR 4453: massive corpo tax cuts; HR 4: the GOP's so-called American Jobs Act amounts to a potpourri of pollution, deregulation, privatizing public lands all in one; HR 3: Keystone XL pipeline bypassing all restrictions; HR 1406: lower pay for workers (good video) | with republicans calling it "flexibility"; HR 1613: ocean drilling expansion; more trickle down bullshit with the same goal unchanged - profit above all else
With many more Bills that have been "rebranded" from the earlier list of Bills. Vitually identical but with a new greener washyer name (probably group tested - who knows how Frank Luntz does his spin jobs)
An awful set of priorities all around for people and most disastrously for the environment.
Here a statement from Representative Henry A. Waxman (D) | Ranking member | committee on Energy & Commerce (pdf): It is a very informative look at the inner workings of the republican vote and pin points without any doubt exactly what the priorities are. Lots of "Jobs" language with zero jobs legislation
The Anti-Environment Record of the U.S. House of Representatives
113th Congress (1st Session)
December 2013
The House of Representatives in the 112th Congress was the most anti-environment House in the history of the institution. In 2011 and 2012, the House voted 317 times to undermine protection of the environment. During the first half of the 113th Congress, the Republican-led House continued its anti-environment record, voting repeatedly to roll back environmental laws.
In 2013, the Republican-led House voted for the anti-environment position 109 times. House Republicans voted to block actions to improve air quality and cut carbon pollution; to expedite oil and gas drilling off America’s coasts and on onshore federal lands; to slash funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs; to block federal efforts to improve water quality; and to allow more logging and mining on federal lands with limited environmental review.
with a detailed accounting of the votes taken that Boehner and republicans have been and are still claiming to be "Jobs" Bills in their latest effort at "rebranding"
And ZERO Jobs Bills except for HR 3012 which allows for more high end work visas which cannot be counted as a jobs bill for American workers and offers nothing when it come to a path to citizenship
So whenever Speaker Boehner parrots his "Where are the Jobs" one liner followed with the next one-liner: "democrats have stopped 25 or 30 or 40 "jobs Bills", he is flat out lying about what the US house of representatives under his "leadership" has been up to
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With one last thing over the orange gerrymander if you have time and the inclination; about what I believe of bullies who issue threats.
It is a sign of weakness not strength
The Good news is we Dems have many good things we should continue moving forward with despite losses. Continue speaking out, starting with another very wise move to take action on and we have the strength if we stand together -> Immigration reform and a timely path to citizenship
A chance was missed and that was a mistake - imo - I believe that the lesson has been learned.
I posted a Diary with what I now believe even more strongly about the importance of helping the millions of people and their families by taking bold steps moving forward on solving immigration reform and a path to timely citizenship.
This - imo - is Boehner issuing an adolescent level threat which, because it is based on misrepresenting facts, does present some hope that the GOP will not get away with convincing the country that they mean to do good things for the country and its people when Boehner doesn't even sound convinced of it himself, resorting to lies and threats like these (video @ minute 00:43)...
"I've made clear to the President, uh, that if he acts unilaterally on his own, outside of his authority, he will poison the well, and there will be no chance for immigration reform moving in this congress"
- Boehner Nov. 2014
"..if he acts unilaterally on his own, outside of his authority.."
Two things stand out:
1) Boehner knows that nothing has ever been proposed "outside of his authority" on immigration
2) Blatant Hostage taking threat: "he will poison the well" - I've heard this statement from many republicans in the last few days, and "poisoning the well" was not limited to immigration reform. It means, simply:
'We republicans will continue to obstruct, insert poison pill riders in spending Bills (link to excellent video of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D) RI speaking on climate change and GOP denial), and hold all legislation hostage if the President doesn't do exactly as we demand on every issue'
Immigration reform that provides a timely path to citizenship is very important. If the republican won't act, and continue to obstruct and hold hostage the Presidents agenda, the President has the executive authority to help all the many people who have been waiting so long and make their lives a bit more whole
And the naked privilege from Boehner: "I've made clear to the President" - when is that language acceptable in addressing the President of the US especially when delivered with a bare assed lie? ugly; and weak. Holding any issue hostage (not just immigration reform is the threat we've been hearing) if the President dares to do the good thing
So I take this as some good news despite Boehner's ugly threats. Boehner would rather lie, in fear of directly stating an outright real challenge to Presidential executive authority, than to 'stand his ground' - so to rwnj speak.
And as for McConnell's plan to slough off the obstructionist mantel while selling the pretense of "bipartisan cooperation" to avoid blame with people ?
This: Boehner's kind of 'cowardice', so far, is all it takes to further animate a reactionary fanatic like a Ted Cruz type into needling McConnell with demands for impeachment hearings. Ted Cruz's opportunistic weakness makes him vulnerable big time as he proved last year spending time causing trouble whipping up the House nut-jobs with his dreams of impeachment, then slinking away back to the Senate. when the SHTF
Impeachment, one of the worst things for the GOP and a real threat to McConnell whose latest narrative fabrication session and pseudo attempt at "fixing the Senate" he and his rwnj wrecking crew spent years dismantling
And it didn't take long to now know that the; 'if I don't get my way' on one issue 'I'll take my ball and go home' and hold hostage any other issue, is the real game plan we'll be seeing from the GOP. The "let's work together" - "rebuilding trust" narrative?..more con job words best seen for the cya projection they are, sooner, freeing up time that'd otherwise be wasted on the pretense
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We Dems may not control what Bills get taken up, but that leaves plenty of time and other avenues to reach real people, the majority of whom have chosen in most all polls that they want the economic and social populist platform Dems represent by a wide margin on the majority of important issues; stagnant wages, women's reproductive rights, contraception, sensible fire arm background checks, the huge wealth disparity, for the most wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes including capital gains. the list is long that Dems can sound off on.
No amount of GOP obstruction can stop that.
And I'm convinced that our refusal to step back and our rejection of the notion that the republican have a "mandate" will cause the GOP to lose control and expose themselves for the fraudulent shell corporation they are. The GOP may have lied their way into office like a bully does. It's our job to make sure they don't succeed in intimidating us into silence. Bullies are cowards in the end. let's make that end happen
Thx for stopping by - and sorry for the long windedness and if I doubled up some of the links too. I got caught in the weeds on these republican Bills. Half-way stunned reading them most of the time, I lost track a bit :)
time to turn in - be back later this morning