Does He Still Believe $787 Billion “Stimulus” Was A “Big Victory For Middle-Class Folks In Montana”???

As President Obama plans to deliver yet another “major speech” on the economy in an effort to jumpstart the worst approval ratings of his Presidency, the White House is signaling that he will call for another round of borrowed “stimulus” funding.  And as ABC News reports this morning, “[m]any Democrats say they want to hear a forceful presidential push for new stimulus spending and middle-class tax cuts, with less emphasis on deficit reduction and government spending cuts they say could stunt job creation and hamper economic recovery.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) today called on Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) to step forward and make clear whether or not he agrees with President Obama and fellow liberal Democrats that more government spending is needed to jumpstart the economy.

“Given Senator Tester’s strong support for the Obama agenda and his past failed stimulus policies, Montanans deserve to know if he intends to rubber-stamp yet another round of government spending that is borrowed on the backs of taxpayers,” NRSC spokesman Chris Bond said today. 

Background:

Sound Familiar?

THEN:  September 15, 2009: Obama Said His Stimulus Was Putting Americans To Work And Was “The Largest Investment In Our Infrastructure Since Eisenhower Created The Interstate Highway System In The 1950s.” “We’re putting Americans to work across this country rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges and waterways with the largest investment in our infrastructuresince Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s. All in all, many middle class families will see their incomes go up by about $3,000 because of the Recovery Act, helping them get back much of what they’ve lost due to this recession.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By The President At AFL-CIO Convention, 9/15/09) 

Tester Said The Stimulus Would Create “Millions Of New Jobs” And Cut Taxes “By Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars.” “Both of Montana’s U.S. Senators today voted in favor of a plan to rebuild America’s struggling economy by creating millions of new jobs, investing in long-term infrastructure, and cutting taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester voted to pass the Jobs Bill, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” (Senator Jon Tester, “Baucus, Tester Vote For Final Jobs Bill, At Least $626 Million For Montana,” Press Release, 2/13/09) 

Tester Called The Stimulus A “Jobs Bill,” And Said It Was A “Big Victory For Middle-Class Folks In Montana.” “‘This Jobs Bill is a big victory for middle-class folks in Montana who are paying a tough price after years of failed economic policies,’ Tester said. ‘This Jobs Bill will rebuild our economy from the ground up by putting folks to work and investing in people. We won’t get out of this mess overnight, but passing the Jobs Bill is an important first step, and it will pay us back for generations to come.’” (Senator Jon Tester, “Baucus, Tester Vote For Final Jobs Bill, At Least $626 Million For Montana,” Press Release, 2/13/09) 

“‘The Word “Stimulus” Is A Washington, D.C., Word That Doesn’t Mean Much In My Book,’ Tester Said.  ‘That’s Why—From Day One—I Have Called This The Jobs Bill.  Because That’s Exactly What It Is.  You’re Either For Jobs. Or You’re Against Jobs . . . .’” (Senator Jon Tester, “Tester To Congress: ‘You’re Either For Jobs Or Against Jobs,’” Press Release, 2/11/09)  

Tester Said He Looked At The Stimulus As A “Jobs Bill,” And Said “We Needed Something To Really Put People Back To Work. I Think This Bill Does That.” MADDOW: “First of all, I know you were a big supporter of the stimulus bill. So, congratulations to you on that legislation passing the Senate today. I have to ask you if you expect to see big changes in the conference committee before the president signs it?” TESTER: “Well, I really don’t. And I really look at it as a jobs bill, Rachel. I think that, you know, when you have the unemployment rates like we’ve had over the last three months, we needed something to really put people back to work. I think this bill does that.” (MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” 2/10/09) 

NOW:  “President Barack Obama Said Monday He Would Unveil Proposals Next Week Aimed At Spurring Job Growth In Part Through Infrastructure Improvements.” (“Obama Says Will Unveil Jobs Plan Next Week,” Reuters, 8/29/11)

• In His Speech, “The President Is Likely To Discuss Items He Has Pitched Before.” “The president is likely to discuss items he has pitched before, including an extension of payroll tax cuts, a string of free-trade deals and new infrastructure projects — items he said Republicans and Democrats should agree on.” (David Jackson, “Obama: Jobs Are Our ‘Urgent Mission,” USA Today’s “The Oval,” 8/29/11)

Obama’s Economic Advisors and Senate Democrats Predicted That The Stimulus Would Keep The Unemployment Rate Below 8 Percent With Stimulus. (The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan, 1/9/09)

Last Week, CBO Said Unemployment Will Remain Above The Administration’s Projection Of 8% Until At Least 2014.  That means a lousy job market for years to come. CBO expects the unemployment rate to fall from today’s 9.1 to 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012—and then to remain above 8% until 2014.  (The Wall Street Journal, 8/24/11)

Under President Obama, Long-Term Unemployment Has Reached An Unprecedented Level. On average, 44 percent of workers who were unemployed in the first half of 2011 had been jobless for more than six months. Moreover, in mid-2011, 31 percent of unemployed workers had been jobless for at least a year. Those rates of long-term unemployment are unprecedented in the post–World War II era. (By comparison, workers who had been jobless for more than six months accounted for about 25 percent of all unemployed workers shortly after the 1981–1982 recession.) (CBO, 8/24/11)

There Are 2.5 Million Fewer Jobs Today Than When President Obama Took Office.  The nation has 2.5 million fewer jobs today than the day Obama took office.  (Politico, 8/4/11)