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Those Six Million Jobs Biden Added? Republicans Say That's 'A Disaster'

Those Six Million Jobs Biden Added? Republicans Say That's 'A Disaster'

The economy added 210,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate dropped significantly, according to the federal jobs report released on Friday.

But House Republicans who cheered comparable numbers as a "booming economy" under the last administration claim these were a "disaster" for President Joe Biden.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate dropped from 4.6 percent in October to just 4.2 percent last month — one of the lowest rates recorded in modern history. The bureau also noted that its job growth estimates for the previous two months have been off, undercounting the number of jobs created by 86,000.

Noting that the preliminary November job growth was below what some economists had been predicting, House Republicans seized on the report to suggest it was a great failure for the Biden administration.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called it "another massive miss," tweeting that "Joe Biden's economic policies can be described the same as his presidency—a total disappointment."

"Joe Biden's economy is a DISASTER. And Democrats are doubling down on their failed tax and spend policies," House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik wrote.

"Disappointing, but unsurprising," opined Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern called the "dismal November jobs report" proof that "Joe Biden's economy is in shambles."

"Anyone surprised?" mocked Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs.

But just a few years ago, House Republicans cheered similar and even smaller job growth under then-President Donald Trump as "strong numbers."

A May 2018 tweet by Emmer hailed "164k jobs created" as showing "the U.S. economy continues to grow!"

Biggs, who ridiculed the November jobs report, pointed to 250,000 new jobs in October 2018 as showing "that the U.S Economy is booming!"

Indeed the official House GOP Twitter feed used the hashtag "#BetterOffNow" in 2018 to credit those jobs to Trump's "booming economy that's built for long-term growth."

That did not pan out. Thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump's response, the nation lost about three million jobs over his single term in office.

Since taking over in January, Biden has reversed that and added close to six million jobs. He has significantly reduced the unemployment rate from 6.3 percent in January.

Biden has attributed much of this progress to his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which every congressional Republican voted against.

In November, House Republicans unanimously opposed passing Biden's $1.75 trillion Build Back Better jobs package, even though experts say it will create and support hundreds of thousands of clean energy and climate jobs over the next decade.

On Friday, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) — the top GOP member on the House Ways and Means Committee — suggested that because of Biden's "miserable jobs report," the Senate "ought to suspend $5T [sic] BBB until @POTUS demonstrates he can heal economy, lower inflation, get Americans back to work."

But House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth disagreed. The Kentucky Democrat wrote Friday:

6 million jobs created since the start of the Biden administration. Unemployment down to 4.2%. The #AmericanRescuePlan and hardworking Americans are fueling our steady economic recovery. Looking forward to passing the #BuildBackBetter Act to kick things into an even higher gear.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

GOP Legislators Silent On Contributions From Arrested Child Sex Trafficker

GOP Legislators Silent On Contributions From Arrested Child Sex Trafficker

A number of Republicans have been largely silent so far about donations they received from a Minnesota Republican operative and major GOP donor who was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges Thursday.

According to the Justice Department, Anton Lazzaro was arrested by FBI agents on charges of conspiring with others to recruit and solicit six minor victims to engage in commercial sex acts. An attorney for Lazzaro, a former Republican campaign manager who has donated nearly $200,000 to Republicans, denied the charges against him.

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President Joe Biden

CNN Poll: GOP Efforts To Discredit Biden Are Failing

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

Republicans have been adamant that President Joe Biden's popularity will fall as they vilify his policy proposals, including the coronavirus relief package Congress passed in March and the infrastructure bill congressional Democrats are currently trying to pass.

Yet a new CNN poll released Wednesday found that their strategy has not worked, as Biden — and his policies — remain popular nearly 100 days into his tenure, despite the GOP's best efforts.

According to the CNN poll, 53 percent of Americans approve of the job Biden has done in his first 100 days in office. That approval rating tracks with Biden's approval rating average from FiveThirtyEight, which has hovered around 53 percent since he was sworn in on January 20 — a level he has maintained despite GOP criticism.

Other polls show that despite Republicans' attacks on his policies, both the coronavirus relief package and the infrastructure bill are even more popular than Biden is.

A CBS News/YouGov poll taken between April 21 to April 24 found 58 percent of adults in the United States approve of Biden's infrastructure plan, even though Republicans have been attacking it by saying it is not about infrastructure.

And that same poll found that 66 percent of adults believe the coronavirus relief package — which extended unemployment payments, authorized another round of direct checks, and made a child tax credit more generous to help alleviate childhood poverty — has been "helpful to the economy."

In all, that's a bad sign for Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who toldPolitico that Biden's "policies are going to be our road to comeback."

Polls show the GOP's strategy of attacking Biden's infrastructure plan because it includes things they argue aren't infrastructure while simultaneously attempting to vilify it because it raises taxes on corporations and the rich is also rife with peril.

A Morning Consult poll from April found that voters believe things like care for the elderly, internet access, and water pipes are infrastructure, despite GOP claims that they aren't.

And voters support raising taxes on those groups. A Monmouth University pollfrom Monday found that 64 percent of Americans support raising taxes on corporations, while 65 percent support raising taxes on those earning more than $400,000 annually.

The fact that Republicans can't seem to make a dent in Biden's popularity appears to be pushing them toward a strategy of running against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the 2022 midterms.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee that seeks to elect Republicans to the House, released a memo this week saying Pelosi is unpopular and that tying her to Democratic candidates could help in the quest to win back the House.

But it's unclear that will be the political winner that Republicans think it is.

Stu Rothenberg, a nonpartisan political handicapper, told the American Independent Foundation that, at this stage, he doubts running against Pelosi would be what changed GOP fortunes in the midterms.

"They've got Nancy Pelosi on the brain here, but the reality is that 2022 midterms is likely to be about Joe Biden," Rothenberg said, referring to Republicans. "And, I'd have to see some numbers that would really blow my mind to think that running against Nancy Pelosi would be more effective than running against Joe Biden."

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

GOP Legislators Complain About Drug Prices But Voted Against Reducing Cost

GOP Legislators Complain About Drug Prices But Voted Against Reducing Cost

At least two dozen House Republicans have called on Congress to address the rising costs of prescription drugs after voting against legislation to rein in the rising costs of prescription drugs.

The most recent to do so was Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), who went on Fox Business Monday morning demanding the House address the issue — which was addressed in December.

“Here’s the problem: We’ve got to get back to actually governing,” Collins said.

“The American people want to see us put a budget together. They want to see drug pricing taken care of,” he added.

In December 2019, a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. The bill would allow the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices and put in provisions to prevent prescription drug cost spikes.

Since Jan. 1, the costs of more than 630 prescription drugs have increased. The legislation opposed by these Republicans would reduce the cost of medication to treat breast cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and other medical conditions by as much as 96%.

For example, the cost of Humira, a drug to help with arthritis, would drop by by 81 percent, from $34,411 per year to $8,276 per year. Premarin, a drug to fight breast cancer, would drop in price by 96 percent, from $568 to just $21 per year, according to an analysis by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Collins, along with 190 other Republicans, voted against the bill.

Since that Dec. 12 vote, at least 24 Republicans have written on Facebook or Twitter about the high cost of prescription drugs.

On Jan. 27, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) tweeted he had heard from “countless folks” in his district that “prescription drugs cost too much.”

“They’re right,” Upton added, not mentioning that he voted against a bill to lower the cost of prescription drugs. 

“The cost of health care and prescription drugs is too high,” Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) wrote on Feb. 4. “Republicans are committed to lowering costs,” she added, despite her vote against H.R. 3.

“Congress should now act with the President on issues such as the high cost of prescription drugs, the high cost of health care, border security, and keeping our very strong economy going,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) wrote on Facebook on Feb. 4, two months after voting against a bill to lower the high cost of prescription drugs.

In late January, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that House Democrats’ ignoring the issue of prescription drugs “is gonna cost them” in November’s election.

Republican after Republican has taken to social media to lament the high cost of prescription drugs, yet only two Republicans voted for legislation to lower their cost in the House.

IMAGE: EpiPen auto-injection epinephrine pens manufactured by Mylan NV pharmaceutical company for use by severe allergy sufferers are seen in Washington, U.S. August 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.