Republicans are finally admitting what they want to do if they get returned to power -- not that anybody will be surprised by their agenda. Greg Sargent:
A day after calling for repeal of the new financial regulatory reform bill, John Boehner is going even further: He's calling for a moratorium on all new Federal regulations -- in the name of job creation.
Here's what he told reporters moments ago, per a transcript that was sent my way:
"I think having a moratorium on new federal regulations is a great idea it sends a wonderful signal to the private sector that they're going to have some breathing room."
Gee, that makes a whole lot of sense, doesn't it? Think of all the jobs we'd create if there were another couple dozen oil spills to clean up in the Gulf of Mexico. And if we could just have another financial calamity or two, the employment opportunities in TARPS 2, 3, and 4 would be just great for the American people.
Whatever we do, we shouldn't do something like extend unemployment benefits* to people who can't find jobs. And we certainly shouldn't even consider aid to states to keep police officers and teachers on the job. And only an idiot would ever consider additional resources for things clean energy projects to rebuild our energy grid.
*To be clear, the fact that we can't afford unemployment benefits for the jobless does not mean we can't afford to cut taxes for people earning more than $250,000 a year. Of course we can!
Update: In an update by Sargent, Boehner's spokesman once again tries to dig his boss out of trouble, claiming that Boehner didn't mean for his moratorium to apply to emergency regulations that might be necessary for oil safety. But given Boehner's complete opposition to the deepwater drilling moratorium, that seems like a pretty clear case of ass-covering.
Update 2: Boehner's views are firmly at odds with those of the public. The public wants more regulation. Boehner doesn't.