DWS to GOP: “Stop Rooting for the Economy’s Failure”

Ariela Fleisig — November 3, 2011 – 10:56 am | Democrats | Economy | Election 2012 | Republicans Comments (1) Add a comment

Democratic National Committee Chair Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) wrote in Politico this week that while President Barack Obama continues to present bipartisan suggestions to improve the nation’s economy, the “dysfunctional and hyperpartisan” Republican Party offers only obstructionist rhetoric and failed policies.

Wasserman Schultz praised the administration’s “bold steps” to combat the ailing economy, including plans to make mortgage refinancing easier for homeowners and new measures to help students pay their tuition, and wrote:

The President has been clear: These actions are not a replacement for the American Jobs Act. Congress must take action to alleviate the constant pressure middle-class families are feeling and work together to create jobs and grow the economy. The stakes are too high and the consequences too dire if Congress continues to do nothing.

If we break down the numbers and look at the four early states, we can see the impact the American Jobs Act will have on small-business owners and the middle class. The American Jobs Act is a mix of tax breaks for middle-class families and small businesses and targeted aid to help keep teachers in the classroom and police and firefighters on the beat and to get construction workers on the job rebuilding our bridges and roads.

She specifically criticized Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his complete disregard for the average American’s financial stability:

Indeed, while the president is focused on saving homeowners thousands of dollars each year by helping them refinance their mortgages, Mitt Romney went to Nevada and told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that we should not ‘try to stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom.’ He went on to say that it would be better to have families lose their homes so investors could swoop in, buy foreclosed homes and turn a profit, literally leaving the average American homeowner out in the cold….

What is Romney’s prescription for curing this ailment? He wants to kick those same people who have been suffering out of their homes, allow bankers and investors to make a quick buck and then rewrite the laws to allow bankers to write their own rules. Romney doesn’t just want to return to the same policies that brought our economy to its knees; he wants to double down on them.

But he doesn’t just stack the deck against hard-working American homeowners; he also undermines America’s middle class through tax policy. His tax plan slashes taxes for the wealthiest and corporations but does nothing to help middle-class families. In a telling moment at a Republican debate just a couple of weeks ago, he called payroll tax cuts in the American Jobs Act ‘little Band-Aids.’

She concluded:

While the Republicans may be getting more attention in the early states right now, there’s no denying that voters will face a very stark choice next year. Obama continues working to find sensible solutions to get more Americans back to work and to rebuild the economy through a strong middle class. Meanwhile, Republicans continue advocating tax breaks for the wealthiest and corporations while shifting more burdens onto seniors and the middle class.

Americans can’t wait. They need action now to get the economy moving again. The president continues to work hard to turn the economy around. Republicans need to get off the sidelines and join him and stop rooting for the economy’s failure in order to win an election.

Click here to read Wasserman Schultz’s full piece.

Comments