With the great news this month that we’re officially in a "red-hot hiring spree," with 292,000 jobs added in December, and 2.65 million jobs added throughout 2015, let’s remember that the Republicans said Obama would never get the unemployment rate down below 8%.
Hey, it’s been at just 5% since October 2015. Thanks Obama!
It’s worth reminding everyone that during the last presidential race, Republican MItt Romney promised that if he were elected president, he would achieve an unemployment rate of 6% by the end of his first term, in January 2017. Here’s what Romney told Time magazine in May 2012, when the unemployment rate was 8.2%:
"I can tell you that over a period of four years, by virtue of the policies that we put in place, we get the unemployment rate down to 6 percent, or perhaps a little lower." — Mitt Romney, 05/23/12
Good thing we didn’t elect him, look how badly he promised to do in restoring jobs! We’re a year ahead of Romney’s deadline and already a full percentage point better than he promised.
So what’s the current Republican strategy for talking about Obama's success in job creation? Faced with the fact that employment has improved throughout his presidency, the GOP candidates argue against the facts:
“The unemployment rate is probably 20 percent, but I will tell you, you have some great economists that will tell you it's a 30, 32. And the highest I've heard so far is 42 percent." - Donald Trump, 9/28/15
"Why are jobs and economic growth so dismal? We’ve got the lowest labor force participation in over three decades, since 1978. And if President Obama wants to give an honest, candid State of the Union address this week, he’ll address the fact that his economic policies are not working."
— Ted Cruz on “Face the Nation," 1/26/14
“Big government is responsible for today's unemployment situation. More of the same won't help.” — Rand Paul in USA Today, 1/9/14
Just wanted to remind everyone in advance of tonight’s State of the Union just how wrong the Republicans have been about jobs. Thanks again Obama!