Will Loyal Obama Ally Again Support Tax-Spend-And-Borrow Agenda?
As President Barack Obama prepares to call tonight, in a nationwide address, for a reported $400 billion in new “stimulus” spending – to be paid for later with new debt and job-killing tax hikes – where does his loyal ally, Senator Ben Nelson, stand?
Notably, Nebraskans have heard this same jobs rhetoric from Obama and Nelson for the last several years. Exactly a year ago, Obama promised a “plan that would start putting Americans to work right away.”
As a reminder, Nelson delivered some of the final votes for Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus that was supposed to ‘create or save’ 3.5 million jobs.
- President Obama: “Without Ben, I’m Not Sure We Get Other Votes [For The Stimulus Package]. … I Think He’s Been A Very Constructive Partner In This Process.” (Joseph Morton, “President Praises Nelson’s Role In Bill,” Omaha World-Herald, 2/12/09)
But in reality, the United States has lost 2.4 million jobs since Obama took office, and the country is now in its 31st consecutive month of above-8-percent unemployment.
Now, The New York Times reports that Obama’s latest “stimulus” plan will cost “hundreds of billions of dollars,” and Bloomberg reports that the Obama White House says they “will call on Congress to offset the cost of the short-term jobs measures by raising tax revenue in later years” – in other words, spend the money now, but make Americans pay later with job-killing tax hikes.
“According to President Obama, Ben Nelson was a constructive partner in ramming through his failed $787 billion stimulus that was supposed to ‘create or save’ 3.5 million jobs,” said NRSC spokesman Jahan Wilcox. “It’s painfully clear that Obama and Nelson’s tax-spend-and-borrow economic agenda has failed to create the jobs they promised while driving our national debt to $14.6 trillion, and Nelson will continue to have a very difficult time explaining his failed jobs record, along with his vote for government-run healthcare, to Nebraska voters.”
Background Information:
Ben Nelson Claimed His $787 Billion Stimulus Would Create Jobs
Nelson Said The Stimulus Was “A Jobs Bill” Needed To Prevent The Deepening Economic Crisis From Turning Into A Depression. “‘It’s a jobs bill,’ [Nelson] said, one that is needed immediately to prevent the deepening economic crisis from sliding into a catastrophe.” (Don Walton, “Nelson: Dems Tried To Work With GOP On Bill,” Lincoln Journal Star, 2/12/09)
- Nelson: “We Think We Can Help Blunt Some Of The Impact Nebraskans Would Otherwise Feel.” (Don Walton, “Nelson: Dems Tried To Work With GOP On Bill,” Lincoln Journal Star, 2/12/09)
- Nelson: “Today We Threw A Lifeline To Millions Of American Families, Business Owners And Workers Being Dragged Down By This Sinking Economy.” (Joseph Morton, “President Praises Nelson’s Role In Bill,” Omaha World-Herald, 2/12/09)
The Obama Administration Promised The Stimulus Would “Save Or Create” 3.5 Million Jobs And Keep The National Unemployment Rate Under 8 Percent
“The Obama administration is defending its claim that the $787 billion economic stimulus plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs before 2011 even while conceding that unemployment will likely continue to rise beyond its earlier predictions.” (Stimulus plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs, White House says, Associated Press, 05/11/09)
President Obama’s Economic Advisors Christina Romer And Jared Bernstein Predicted Unemployment Would Not Rise Above 8 Percent If The Stimulus Was Passed. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,”1/9/09)
