Will Loyal Obama Ally Again Rubber-Stamp Tax-Spend-And-Borrow Agenda?
As President Barack Obama prepares to call, in a nationwide address tonight, 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 U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) stand?
Notably, Montanans have heard this same jobs rhetoric from Obama and Tester for the last several years. Exactly a year ago, Obama promised a “plan that would start putting Americans to work right away.”
And as he helped Obama ram the original $787 billion stimulus debacle into law, Tester and Obama claimed it would create millions of new jobs, and Tester called it “a big victory for middle-class folks in Montana.” Tester’s bosses in the Obama Administration even claimed their spending spree would hold unemployment below 8 percent.
But instead, 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 “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.
“When it comes to jobs, Montanans have been listening to the same empty promises from Jon Tester and President Obama for the last several years,” said NRSC spokesman Chris Bond. “It’s painfully clear that Obama and Tester’s liberal tax-spend-and-borrow economic agenda has failed to create the jobs they promised while driving our national debt to $14.6 trillion, and Tester will continue to have a very difficult time explaining his failed jobs record to Montana voters.”
Background Information:
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)
