Setting realistic expectations is one thing. Shooting your own party in the foot is quite another, and it sure seems like in trying to do the former, Sen. Claire McCaskill
achieves the latter.
Congress is unlikely to pass a jobs bill this year because of opposition to spending, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said Monday.
Democrats have sought to put the legislative focus back on job creation in the aftermath of the debt-limit agreement, but McCaskill said that will be a hard sell given continued worries about the public debt.
"I think it's very doubtful [Congress] will do anything that spends money,” McCaskill said in comments published in the Southeast Missourian.
McCaskill, who emphasized job creation while touring three companies in her home state, said Congress might instead look at patent reform, trade agreements and regulations that are getting in the way of business growth.
Wow, how's that for inspiring? McCaskill seems to be working the wrong crowd as she eyes reelection next year. Yes, the Very Serious People (and the GOP) have "continued worries about the public debt." The rest of the nation wants a job. This is perfectly emblematic of the trap Democrats fell into when accepting the right's narrative that the deficit rules all in an economy that has been carrying high unemployment for far too long.
Patent reform, trade agreements and (really?) further deregulation isn't what the American people have in mind when they hear "pivot to jobs." They also don't really want to hear about the deficit any more. They want a real jobs plan. Coming up with one, and pushing it hard against Republican intransigence, would be a lot more effective for Democrats in 2012.