Maybe it's because they spend more time out of the Beltway and in their districts to
hear this kind of public sentiment up close and personal, or maybe it's because they've been around long enough to understand what matters in elections. At any rate, senior Senate Dems are
pushing President Obama to focus on jobs.
Senior Senate Democrats are growing frustrated by what they see as President Obama’s passivity on the economy, and are beginning to discuss a large infrastructure package funded by tax increases.
Some Democrats, such as Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who serves as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, think such a package could lower the unemployment rate by as much as two percentage points....
“I am concerned about the Obama administration’s approach on this,” Harkin said. “It always has been about jobs. I think the administration kind of got snookered talking about the deficit and the debt after the last election.
“The last election was about jobs and the economy, and now we’re in a position where we really do need some economic pump-priming by the federal government,” he said.....
Even if Democrats can move a significant infrastructure-spending package paid for by closing tax subsidies through the Senate, pushing it through the House would be much tougher.
“It would never get through the House of Representatives,” [Sen. Kent] Conrad said.
But it might have a better chance if it were added to a massive deficit-reduction package that saves $4 trillion or more over the next decade.
Obviously something has to be done about job creation, and sooner rather than later. But if they can't actually get a jobs program passed through the Republican House, they sure as hell better have gone on record as trying.
There's no lack of a mandate from the public to do so, all that seems to be lacking is political will, which Conrad aptly demonstrates with his excuse that the House Republicans won't let them do it. But what an issue would Democrats have in 2012 to show all of the effort they made on a jobs program, only to have it blocked by Republicans? Democrats, and the Democrat in charge—Barack Obama—need to pivot back to jobs, jobs, jobs. Oh, and a little bit of Medicare, since that's working, too.
