For 2010 Election Strategy Dems Decide To Blame Bush For Their Failed Economic Policies
Posted by Jim Hoft on Sunday, January 24, 2010, 1:09 AM
After tripling the US national deficit in one year and watching the unemployment rate soar above 10 percent the democrats have decided on a plan for the midterm elections.
They’re going to bash Bush.
During the Bush years, despite the 2000 Recession, the attacks on 9-11, the stock market scandals, Hurricane Katrina, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush Administration was able to reduce the budget deficit from 412 billion dollars in 2004 to 162 billion dollars in 2007, a sixty percent drop. In 2004 the federal budget deficit was 412 billion dollars. In 2005 it dropped to 318 billion dollars. In 2006 the deficit dipped to 248 billion dollars. And, in 2007 it fell below 200 billion to 162 billion dollars. During the Bush years the average unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, the economy saw the strongest productivity growth in four decades and there was robust GDP growth. These were amazing accomplishments considering the unexpected challenges. You certainly didn’t read much about this in the press.
But, things changed in 2007. Democrats took over Congress, gas prices started to rise, and at the end of the year and into 2008 several financial institutions started to crumble as the housing bubble began to burst. Of course, it should be noted that President Bush publicly called for the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 17 times in 2008 alone before Congress acted. Democrats, on the other hand, blocked reform numerous times. It was later reported after the 2008 election that Bush had nothing to do with the financial crisis. Hoover Institution visiting fellow Scott S. Powell wrote in Barron’s in February of 2009 that the present crisis began in the 1970s, during the Carter administration, with passage of the Community Reinvestment Act to stem bank redlining and liberalize lending in order to extend home ownership in lower-income communities. This risk was acknowledged in the Bush administration’s first fiscal-year budget, released in April 2001. Sadly these warnings were ignored by Congress.
But, the facts won’t stop democrats from blaming Bush for their failed policies. In fact, democrats have decided to target George Bush in the 2010 midterm elections:
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who chairs his party’s House campaign team, did not mention health care in his statement following Brown’s win in Massachusetts. He focused on a favorite target that some colleagues fear is losing its potency: George W. Bush.
In the midterm elections, Van Hollen said, Democrats will resist “the same failed Bush-Cheney policies that brought our economy to the brink of collapse.”
Let’s hope a few Republicans decide to stand up to this awful slander against Bush.
It’s getting old.
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Published May 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm - 51 Comments
Andrew X commented:
Not to even begin to discourage anyone from fighting back against these slanders, I have to think that this is one more example of an absolutely stunning virus of “tin-ear-itus” ravaging the Democratic Party.
I cannot think that this will resonate with anyone other than the Kool-Aid crowd, and for every middle-of-the-roader it might appeal to, surely there will be more than one of the same who sees it for utter lack of anything better to offer that it in fact represents.
Meanwhile, if is is a significant venue of attack later this year, I would heartily endorse flanking it by going on the offensive against the meta-memes of what David Brooks outlined as the “educated class”, whom in all their wisdom, not only sold us this line about Mr. Bush but also….
… told us that “Global Warming” was “settled science”, not to be questioned…
…. that Barack Obama was a genius politician of the ages, and they basically said, “trust us”, in not looking to closely at him. We did, and here we are.
Hammer at these two themes….. HARD! I like the slogan “What else have they lied to us about?”
Do that, and the answer to this lame-a$$ Bush attack will fall into place, and the attackers will find themselves under seige from their flanks in short order.
spayandneuter commented:
That’s the best campaign strategy they can come up with? I thought the message that Scott Brown’s election sent was “we don’t want to hear the same old BS”. But sure, go ahead and play the Bush card. Good Luck. ByeBye.
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jonyjoe101 commented:
weak people always blame others for there deficiencies. Obama is very weak, always talking about inheriting a bunch of problems.
He needs to be a man and fix the problems, or resign and let someone else deal with the problems.
His days of voting “present” are over. Even Michelle is becoming unhinged at all the incompetence in the whitehouse.
http://twitpic.com/ytrbx
Just_Saying commented:
Obummer is not only weak, but he’s stupid. (So much for intelligent…)
.
Peoples Front of Judea commented:
Hey, it worked in 2006 and 2008! They never heard of going to the well once too often.
Liz commented:
Please correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t the FY2009 budget funded in two phases? The fiscal year would have been Oct 1, 2008 to Sept 30 2009 and would have been Bush’s last budget. Didn’t he submit one, but it was not fully funded by Congress. They approved spending for 6 months and then waited for Obama to take office to get the second half funded. Of course, that was one of the bills that had mega earmarks.
And, when Obama was questioned about the level of earmarks and his promise of a line by line review of the budget, he dismissed the criticisms by saying it wasn’t his budget, but Bush’s?
anonymous commented:
It is getting old. It is not Bush’s fault! Blame on Obama. It is the job stimulus bill that Obama introduced the bill to the Democratic Congress and they voted for it last January, 2009. The Democratic Congress didn’t know what it is on the bill and didn’t have time to read it. If Mr. Obama don’t know how fix the economy, he will lose the election in 2012. The job stimulus bill does not work. We are spending too much government money for people to work and it give out money. We need to stop spending the money before it goes bankupt. That why the Americans don’t want the government take control of health care. They wanted the economy to be fix. We need to cut taxes and create new jobs. The Democratic Congress won’t do it. They keep raised taxes high.
The Democratic Congress will lose big in November, 2010.
squeaky commented:
Liz
January 24th, 2010 | 4:55 am | #6
so many bills so little time to wrap one’s brain around it……Bush approved part of the fy2009
budget. the rest he didn’t sign but sent back
to congress for a re-do [too much pork]. they inturn decided to wait for obama. if i remember correctly, obama declared it Bush’s bill and acted like he was approving it reluctently. has anyone ever told him he could just say no? just another “Bush’s fault” get out of jail free card moment i guess signing off on bills and blaming the last guy – a febble feign of concern
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031002653.html
helen commented:
Watch and enjoy:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDkyMzFiNTg5NjI2MWM5Y2MyOWVlMmY3YjdiMmM5MGM=
Joe DeVet commented:
It’s right to point out that the Bush Admin. didn’t CREATE the financial bubble that burst. However, I think it’s not quite right to say Bush had nothing to do with it. He was President, for goodness sake, and he didn’t need to allow the Dems to block reform of Fannie & Freddie. After all, it was a Republican Congress till the last 2 years, and the problems with Fan & Fred were well-known to any WSJ op-ed reader years before that.
Warthog commented:
They have had congressional control for 3 years and executive control for one year and they have nothing to show for it?
Governing is hard? We’ve got problems and we haven’t changed the trends (nevermind reversing them)? But it’s all Bush’s fault?
In short, the dog ate their homework?
Not only FAIL but EPIC FAIL!
AubreyD commented:
“I think it’s not quite right to say Bush had nothing to do with it. He was President…he didn’t need to allow the Dems to block reform of Fannie & Freddie…After all, it was a Republican Congress till the last 2 years”
If it weren’t for the fact that the Reps did not have enough votes (60) to overcome a filibuster of Fannie/Freddie reform efforts, you would have a point.
Andreas K. commented:
Campaign for POTUS 2020: “it’s Bush’s fault.”
Corporal Vere commented:
Typical liberalism. They try their ideas and policies. They fail. They blame the opposition.
Look out! Bombs away! Here goes:
Their ideas and policies are best described as “Slick as spit-shined dog turds.” Once you get past the shinola, what do you have?
Wake up, America. They will completely destroy the economy.
Agent 99 commented:
Mentioned this yesterday but found the “platform” …a short read but worth it. BHO has called in his “wise men” for the Elections. One named thus far which is David Plouffe and Plouffe has written the ”winning” strategy or so he thinks. It’s called the PLOUFFE PLAN http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/8081 LOL!!
CDR M commented:
I think the only time Democrats will stop blaming Bush is when the economy recovers. Ironically, the Democrat agenda will prevent that from happening so we will see blame Bush for at least 10 years.
leslie commented:
Yes I think he was talking about HillBuzz.
Will commented:
Don’t underestimate the Dem’s audacity!! There is plenty of information just in the main stream media to make a very good case that the Dems deliberately damaged the economy to win the 2008 election. You can read in the Washington Post (3/25/07) that what the candidates Obama and Clinton had in common was hero-worship of Saul Alinsky. In Rules for Radicals Alinsky wrote “The third rule of ethics of means and ends is that in war the end justifies almost any means….;and “The tenth rule… do what you can with what you have and clothe it with moral garments
Alinsky in turn got his ideas from the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, who promoted gradual infiltration and damage to the West. Like Alinsky, Professors Cloward and Priven developed their Gramsci-inspired strategy for damaging American institutions related to welfare, elections, immigration, and economics. The late professors had clout as implied by the photograph of them standing right behind President Clinton at the White House signing of the Motor Voter Registration Act. Remember Obama was part of the legal team that, with help from the Clinton Justice Dept, successfully sued Illinois after its Republican Governor resisted implementing the Act. Obama’s Motor Voter Project in Illinois was affiliated with ACORN (even shared the same Chicago mailing address), which was specifically founded to damage American institutions. Economic institutions were damaged using the Community Reinvestment Act as leverage for ACORN’s housing affiliates to promote those risky mortgages. They exploded like millions of little remote control bombs within the financial institutions just before the presidential election. Investors Business Daily had a piece in May 2008, about 4 months before the meltdown, about how odd it was that Obama had taken his money out of the stock market. With control of Congress and the White House, the Democrat leadership’s emphasis on power grabs and absence of serious measures to tackle economic problems just reinforces the impression that they were quite happy to damage the economy to win the election.
Perhaps Bush should have done more to protect the economy, but he may not have realized his enemies were actually intent on sabotage. So now it we have the candidate who appears to have intentionally promoted damage to the economy passing the blame. Audacious, but typically Marxist.
Spider-Man commented:
I loved Bush. My 401k was flush, my job was secure, I felt safe, I believed my kid’s future was bright.
Now its all turned to s**t.
daryl commented:
Great info Will.
But the difference in making the idiot voters who elected him aware of all of his and his handlers transgressions toward the country and making them believe all of them are true is a tall order.
Dell commented:
Personally, I hope the Dems run with that “blame Bush” mantra…and do so for several years. Because America is long since wise to that BS and it should insure that at least 41 seats in the House and another 6-8 in the Senate turn Republican in November.
If “Blame Bush” is the best they have, Democrats are in very serious dog poop.
Alan commented:
Joe DeVet,
Maybe this will help…
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html?pagewanted=all
JenBee commented:
Wow, Jim, what an EXCELLENT post filled with very important stats and facts. And I LOVE that you back up everything with links and citations. This makes it much easier when I’m presenting this sort of thing to my lib friends. Thank you for this post! This needs to GET OUT and be read by everyone!
Agent 99 commented:
Will and others …. speaking of Gramsci! “”Below the portals is a quote from Italian Communist Party co-founder Antonio Gramsci. While Obama’s associates seem to have written their memoirs at the end of their lives, Gramsci sums up Obama’s likely motivation in writing two memoirs before living his life (emphasis added):
“[T]he consciousness of what one really is … is “knowing thyself” as a product of the historical process to date which has deposited in you an infinity of traces, without leaving an inventory. It is therefore imperative at the outset to compile such an inventory” Yet Another Radical pal of BHO’s http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/01/hey_obama_whos_freddy_1.htm
Chisum commented:
Scary Times in Obama High
Frankly, I’m worried for our country because this man doesn’t really understand what the public is telling him. He just thinks we’re “angry.” He’s wrong – we’re furious and we’re furious because he blames everyone but himself and seems psychologically incapable of taking responsibility.
…I am deeply afraid of that because Barack Obama has never had to deal with any personal adversity in his adult life. He has lived a completely privileged existence. This is a first for him. There’s no telling how he will behave. Watch out, buckle up and hold on to your seats.
http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2010/01/21/scary-times-in-obama-high/
Agent 99 commented:
A true Marxists. BHO will have the Election Committee huddled in the West Wing where HE will oversee the upcoming elections. He has “Central Planning and Control” as the NYTs calls it with Plouffe and Jim Messina “recalled” to the WH!
Melvin Winter commented:
Obama Blames Bush for Saddling Him with “Massive Gum Litter Problem” http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/10/obama-blames-bush-for-saddling-him-with.html
Moright commented:
The lack of any sort of leadership is stunning. How tired are we of GWB hate? This admin and their minions seem capable only of personal Alinsky-brand attacks. There is just no there, there.
down with dems commented:
They can’t even blame Bush effectively. Just days ago Obama said the problem was “the last 8 years”, which includes the first year of his own presidency (2009) and the last 7 of Bush’s. At least he’s subconsciously owning up to his own failure.
Major Kong commented:
Oh yeah, that oughta work just fine.
spayandneuter commented:
“Chisum
January 24th, 2010 | 9:47 am | #28
Scary Times in Obama High
Frankly, I’m worried for our country because this man doesn’t really understand what the public is telling him. He just thinks we’re “angry.” He’s wrong – we’re furious and we’re furious because he blames everyone but himself and seems psychologically incapable of taking responsibility.
…I am deeply afraid of that because Barack Obama has never had to deal with any personal adversity in his adult life. He has lived a completely privileged existence. This is a first for him. There’s no telling how he will behave. Watch out, buckle up and hold on to your seats.”
http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2010/01/21/scary-times-in-obama-high/
“One can imagine a ninety-year old Obama stumbling around in some rest home shaking his walking stick at George Bush.”
That’s a riot! And the title is priceless! Thanks for sharing.
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Greg commented:
Note to White House,
The truth is getting out and playing dumb is not going to fly anymore.
* On March 14, 2008, then Sen. Obama voted in favor of the 2009 budget which authorized $3.1 trillion in federal outlays along with a projected $400 billion deficit. The 51-44 vote that morning was strongly along party lines with only two Republicans saying “Yes.”
* When the final conference report was presented to the House on June 5, not one Republican voted for it.
* This means the 2009 budget was almost exclusively approved by Democrats, with “Yeas” coming from Obama, his Vice President Joe Biden, his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
* On October 1, 2008, Obama, Biden, and Clinton voted in favor of the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program designed to prevent teetering financial institutions from completely destroying the economy.
* In February, 2009, a $787 billion stimulus bill was passed with just three Republican votes, and later signed by Obama.
* Weeks later, Congress approved and Obama signed $410 billion of additional spending.
Add it all up, and Obama approved every penny spent in fiscal 2009 either via his votes in the Senate or his signature as President.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2010/01/24/abcs-moran-lets-dem-guests-blame-budget-deficit-bush#ixzz0dYvb2Rge
sandy commented:
When we put someone in charge of our country the buck stops with him. To blame the former President for all his failures tells us he’s just a kid and the job is too big for him. He knew what the stakes were when he spent $650 Million to get the job. The Dog Ate My Homework defence will not cut it. If Obama cannot handle this job he can always resign.
James commented:
obama couldn’t carry President George W. Bush’s jock strap. God bless you President George W. Bush, the greatest president in american history.
j. mattson commented:
Actually, the deficit during the Bush years came to $4.9 trillion. The CBO estimated the 2009 deficit at $1.2 trillion, excluding the stimulus package. The $1.2 trillion, however, is primarily Bush’s since most of it goes for the Iraq War and Bush tax cuts that Obama decided not to retire because of the economic situation. Exaggerated rants like this reduce your following but you will be with a handful of fellow screechers who agree with you 100 percent. Blogs like this last about as long as a marriage between two people who habitually lie to each other.
Chisum commented:
Lies…lies…lies
Based on the Monthly Treasury Statement for September
and the Daily Treasury Statements for October November 6, 2009
The federal government recorded a total budget deficit of $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2009, about $960 billion more
than the deficit incurred in 2008. The federal deficit rose as a share of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)
from 3.1 percent in 2008 to 9.9 percent in 2009—the highest deficit as a share of GDP since 1945.
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10708/11-9-09MBR.pdf
Chisum commented:
Yes we can…smear Bush at every opportunity, that is.
The Sullied Savior Blames Bush
In a NY Times interview, Obama, responded to controversial questions about his leftist ideology by deflecting his own socialistic proclivity onto the former Executive. He skirted inquiries by bringing up, “large-scale government intervention …and the expansion of social welfare programs begun under … George W. Bush.” Not stopping there, Obama cited his own extraordinary measures were “…not indications of ideological preference, but of … lax regulation and extravagant risk taking precipitating the crisis.”
Persistently faulting Bush for leaving behind what he calls a “fiscal disaster,” Obama blames the ex-president for the record $1.75 trillion budget deficit for which he, not Bush, is largely responsible. In an extremely clever attempt to exonerate his legacy from future “blame” Obama, said, “… our investments to rescue the nation’s economy will add to that deficit.” After spending about $1 trillion in nine months Obama presents a laughable spin on economic accountability saying, “We cannot simply spend as we please and defer the consequences to the next budget, the next administration or the next generation.” It will be interesting to see whom Obama blames for the $9 trillion deficit increase even his own administration officials predict will accrue over the next ten years.
Obama “absolves” himself from his own failed stimulus package and direct contributions to a dismal +2% increase in double-digit unemployment. Before audiences Obama ardently adheres to the belief that we should never, “absolve ourselves of responsibility for our choices and actions.” But after leaving the lectern, he continues to attempt to bolster lagging poll numbers by shifting fault onto Bush for the historic decline in US employment. University of Minnesota political scientist, Lawrence Jacobs believes that, “What the administration is involved in now is the politics of attribution…Each week that goes by with falling job numbers and Republican criticism of the administration’s flaws means falling approval ratings. What’s the antidote? That the guilty party is George Bush.”
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/the_sullied_savior_blames_bush.html
Liz commented:
Thanks to Squeaky (#10) and Greg (#35) for providing references concerning the FY 2009 budget process.