Remember when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) infamously stated back in 2009: “[E]very month we do not have an economic recovery package, 500 million Americans lose their jobs”? At the time, a few critics dared to point out that Pelosi’s numbers were, at best, questionable. If her calculations were correct, and taking into consideration the time she made this claim, America stood to lose 6 billion jobs in 2009 alone. Obviously, this is impossible. Pelosi’s dire prediction was swiftly disproved. It’s no secret that, last time the U.S. Census Bureau checked, the U.S. has a population of about 312 million people (and of course not all of them have jobs). Now, it looks as if the House Minority Leaders’ calculations might be off-base again. An issues statement from Pelosi’s office went after House Republicans for passing legislation that would “allegedly ‘destroy 2 million jobs,’” and claimed that “the Obamacare repeal bill alone would ‘destroy more than 300,000 jobs,’” reports Joel Gehrke of the Washington Examiner . The statement reads: Republicans have held the House majority for more than 230 days and here is their record: Have failed to pass a single piece of legislation to create jobs. Have actually voted to pass legislation that would destroy nearly 2 million jobs , including: Passed the “So Be It” spending bill to slash investments in our economic future like education, college aid, life-saving medical research, infrastructure, and clean energy, and cut 700,000 jobs. Passed a budget that would cost Americans 1.7 million jobs by 2014, with 900,000 jobs lost next year, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. Passed GOP Patients’ Rights Repeal bill puts insurance companies back in charge of health care and repeals the Affordable Care Act, thereby destroying more than 300,000 jobs. Have voted 10 times against Democratic initiatives or efforts to consider Democratic initiatives to create jobs, including: The China Currency bill that could help create about 1 million American manufacturing jobs. An American jobs effort to end government contracts rewarding corporations that ship American jobs overseas. A Build America Bonds proposal that leverages public dollars to strengthen the private sector, growing our economy by rebuilding America’s schools, hospitals, and transit projects. But let’s go back to the “300,000″ jobs claim. There are a few points that should be made. First, her claim that jobs would be destroyed assumes that “Obamacare” would create jobs — something that flies directly in the face of what CBO director Douglas Elmendorf said during a 2010 House Budget Committee hearing: Second, even if “Obamacare” is the jobs creator she claims it is, the jobs that would stem from the bill would go to the public sector. Public sector growth and private sector growth are two very different things. Third, maybe Pelosi should hedge her bets and let House Republicans have their way on this one. Although it would mean axing “Obamacare,” Democrats could still claim to have created at least 100,000 new jobs. How so? The Minority Leader herself said that the passage of “Obamacare” would “immediately” create “at least 400,000 jobs”: Therefore, if Republicans repeal the act, and it cuts a little over 300,000 non-existent jobs, Democrats can still claim that they created at least 100,000 non-existent jobs. Pelosi’s criticisms continued. “One year ago the Republican majority was sworn into office,” she said during a press brief . ”Since that time we have seen no major job agenda put forward. We have seen a budget that would break the Medicare guarantee. This is just in opposition to everything this country needs.” She also took the opportunity to call on House Republicans to end their adjournment and return to Congress, adding that House Republicans should be “right here in this Capitol” working on legislation such as the payroll tax cut extension. Click here to see the entire press briefing:
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Pelosi Claims Repeal of ‘Obamacare’ Would ‘Destroy 300,000 Jobs’
AP – House Republicans on Thursday caved to demands by President Barack Obama, congressional Democrats and fellow Republicans for a short-term renewal of payroll tax cuts for all workers. The breakthrough almost certainly spares workers an average $20 a week tax increase Jan. 1.
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Payroll tax deadlock ends as House caves
(AP)
**Written by Doug Powers In a recent interview, Nancy Pelosi implied that being on an ethics committee that investigated Newt Gingrich in the 1990′s put her in a position to know secrets about him that she just might be willing to spill at some point. After being called on it , Pelosi’s office now says she didn’t imply that — it’s just that everybody misunderstood what she was saying: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi now says she is not sitting on a trove of opposition research on former House Speaker-turned-GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. In an interview conducted Friday and published Monday, Pelosi hinted that once the time is right she has some juicy stories to tell about her former colleague. “One of these days we’ll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told Talking Points Memo. “I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him. Four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff.” But this afternoon, Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, suggested that her comments have been misconstrued beyond the leader’s intent. “Leader Pelosi was clearly referring to the extensive amount of information that is in the public record, including the comprehensive committee report with which the public may not be fully aware,” Hammill wrote in a statement. The Gingrich dirt with which Pelosi was tantalizing Talking Points Memo is stuff from a 1997 report everybody’s had access to? I haven’t seen backpedaling like that since Lance Armstrong’s brake cables snapped while careening down Filbert Street . For those of you keeping score at home, here’s the latest sports update: Newt – 1 Nancy – 0 (h/t Red State ) **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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Pelosi Backs Off Gingrich Dirt
Good afternoon and happy Monday! Photo bombing Speaker John Boehner . Barney Frank once gave a really good fashion tip to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi . OBITUARY: Herman Cain ‘s campaign jazz hands . Matt Lauer wants to know if Donald Trump will do the most talking during debate moderated by Donald Trump. Dancing with the Stars’ J.R Martinez thinks General David Patraeus should do the show next. Tweet of the day ( sour grapes , if you ask me):
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Midday snacks 12.05.11
**Written by Doug Powers In a recent interview, Nancy Pelosi lobbed a “nice campaign ya got there — shame if something were to happen to it” unveiled threat toward Newt Gingrich : House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is holding back some information on Republican Newt Gingrich that could detract from his presidential campaign, according to a report published Monday. “One of these days we’ll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich,” Pelosi told Talking Points Memo . “When the time is right. … I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff.” That’s stupefying. Can you believe it? Nancy Pelosi was on an ethics committee ? Hey Nancy, if you’re talking about this … we already know: **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
Rick Perry says debating isn’t one of his strongest attributes , but he’s challenging House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to one anyway. He sent her a letter detailing his frustrations with Washington along with an invitation to publicly debate Pelosi next Monday. From the letter: I think it would be a tremendous service to the American public to see a public airing of those differences. Let the people decide. If Monday doesn’t work, perhaps we could find a time in Iowa over the course of the next month to discuss these issues in front of the people of America’s heartland. Should you choose not to respond or engage in such a healthy discussion, I will take it to mean you will continue your obstructionist ways in the face of much needed Washington reform. XOXO Rick Perry h/t The Hill
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Perry wants to debate Princess Nancy
It’s a drastic step, but these are drastic times, and the establishment is making no progress toward spending restraint. Whether this is the right solution or not, perhaps continued pressure toward an amendment will help official Washington get a grip on our fiscal nightmare. At Los Angeles Times : The House of Representatives voted down a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution on Friday, failing to revive a long-held and perpetually-elusive goal for the GOP. The vote came 16 years after an amendment failed to pass Congress by just one vote in the Senate, but the intervening years have put the amendment even farther out of reach. In a 261-165 vote, the measure fell well short of the two-thirds of members needed to pass. The White House has said it opposes the amendment. The Senate, which is required to vote on it as part of the August debt deal, is not expected to pass it. The bipartisan cooperation needed to round of a two-thirds vote on any fiscal measure seems something of a pipedream in today’s political climate. The divided Congress has locked horns all year on the best way to reduce the deficit and revive the sluggish economy. A so-called super committee charged reducing the deficit appears deadlock. Friday’s vote indicated few signs of hope. Republicans watched several Democrats turn away from amendment — even those who have voted for it in the past. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, (D-Md.), noted that when he voted for the amendment in 1995 he had some confidence that Congress could come together to vote for spending increases in an emergency as allowed. “Regrettably over the 16 years, I’ve lost that confidence,” Hoyer said. The amendment was essentially identical to the one voted on in 1995. It would have required the government to balance its books within two years of ratification, but no sooner than 2017. A three-fifths vote of each chamber would be required before Congress could add to the debt or raise taxes. The president would be required to submit a balanced budget and the restrictions could be waived in wartime. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the amendment’s sponsor, said the measure would take the country off the path that’s led to a $15 trillion debt and force Congress to do the right thing. “We need the discipline that a balance budget amendment provides,” Goodlatte said. The Wall Street Journal , in an editorial from July, lays out the reasons why an amendment might not work: ” GOP Balancing Act .” I’ll have more on this later.
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Balanced Budget Amendment Fails in House Vote
**Written by Doug Powers Tuesday, as Michelle noted , C-Span asked the Supreme Court to allow their cameras to televise oral arguments when the Court hears the Obamacare law case next spring. Nancy Pelosi agrees : House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that Supreme Court arguments over President Obama’s healthcare law should be televised. “When the Affordable Care Act is placed before the highest court in our country, all Americans will have a stake in the debate; therefore, all Americans should have access to it,” Pelosi said in a news release. Back when all Americans should have had a stake in the debate — which was when it was being written — all they got was closed door meetings and “you have to pass it to find out what’s in it.” Now that it’s in the Supreme Court, where the opinion of anybody who isn’t wearing a SCOTUS robe or in the room arguing the case doesn’t really matter, transparency should be the order of the day. Something’s making me suspicious enough to be against the idea now that Nancy Pelosi is for it. I can already picture her watching the Supreme Court proceedings with her stock broker on the line and adjusting investments based on how the debate is going: “Dump Cigna, exercise the call options on GE, and if Ruth Bader Ginsburg scratches her nose one more time go short on Medtronic.” This seems like only yesterday… **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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Nancy Pelosi: The Obamacare SCOTUS Arguments Should Be Transparent (Now That the Bill Has Been Written, Passed and Implemented)
