Steve Benen rightly mocks the GOP's selective amnesia on jobs report data. Earlier this year they were taking credit for job growth. For example:
Indeed, job growth wasn't bad in the first four months of 2011,
averaging about 178,500 jobs per month.
But that was before any of the GOP's economic policies had taken effect. Over the last four months, we've seen the impact of April's budget deal compounded by a summer of hostage-taking over the debt ceiling, culminating in a deal that in their own words gave them 98 percent of what they wanted.
And ever since the GOP started getting its way, job growth has declined sharply, averaging just 39,500 jobs over the last four months, a drop of 139,000 jobs per month from the first four months of the year.
So whatever they're doing isn't working. No wonder they've stopped taking credit.