Obama rocks Cleveland
by Tom Sullivan
We know Cleveland rocks. But on Wednesday, President Obama visited Cleveland to rock back.
For an infuriatingly long time, he's been loathe to toot his own horn and play offense when that's just what fellow Democrats needed him to do in 2010 and 2014. Where've you been Barack? [news quote extended, bolded]:
"It was one thing for them to argue against Obamacare before it was put in place," Obama, using the nickname for his signature Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, said during an afternoon address to the City Club of Cleveland.
"Every prediction they made about it turned out to be wrong. It's working better than even I expected. But it doesn't matter. Evidence be damned. It's still a disaster. Well, why?"
"The truth is, the budget they're putting forward and the theories they're putting forward are a path to prosperity for those who have already prospered."
Good line. Obama ticked off a number of things his opponents got wrong. Got in Republicans' faces about it even. And with a smile on his. That probably ticked off them too. It's the sort of thing Democrats are way to reluctant to do. As Drew Westen says (okay, I'm paraphrasing), if the message isn't pissing off your opponents, you're not doing it right. They'll be on the Sunday bobblehead shows any minute to wag their fingers and wring their hands over the president's "angry" words and inappropriate swagger.
It's not as if there isn't a wealth of material to work from. Perhaps the only sour note in Cleveland was Obama's continued support for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact opposed by critics in his own party. We'll leave that for another time.
Anyway, I sourced some of the president's Cleveland material, maybe improved on it, and added a few peeves of my own. It's the sort of thing I open carry on my smart phone for those "close encounters."
Republicans said Barack Obama’s policies would produce “trillion dollar deficits for as far as the eye can see.”
(Speaker John Boehner 04-18-09; NH Sen. Judd Gregg 03-17-10)
People believed them.
Instead, while the national debt did increase as it has every year since the Clinton budget surpluses, budget deficits shrank from $1.4 trillion when Obama took office to $483 billion in 2014.
(Washington Post 10-15-14)
Republicans said Obama's "socialist policies" would increase the size "of our already bloated government," lead us towards "national socialism," and “the country’s economy is going to collapse.”
(NC Rep. Robert Pittenger 01-21-15; Kansas Sen. Pat Robert 09-24-14; Rush Limbaugh 09-10-12)
People believed them.
Instead, federal government employment has shrunk since January 2009, "corporate profits have nearly tripled" and the stock market doubled in six years.
(BLS 03-21-15; New Republic 08-04-14; FactCheck.org 01-09-15; Google Finance)
Republicans said if Barack Obama was reelected, “gas prices will be up at around $6.60 per gallon."
(Utah Sen. Mike Lee 03-07-12)
People believed them.
Gas prices dropped below $2 per gallon in early 2015.
(Time 01-21-15)
Republicans said Obama's policies would destroy “nearly 6 million jobs over the next decade” and lead to "diminishment of employment in America.”
(John McCain campaign 10-31-08; Texas Rep. Pete Sessions 11-07-09)
People believed them.
Instead, 12 million new jobs created, more under 6 years of Obama than under 12 years of two Bushes, "the best private sector jobs creation performance in American history [that] outperformed President Reagan’s in all commonly watched categories" according to Forbes.
(ElectaBlog 10-03-14; Forbes 09-05-14)
Meanwhile, "small-government, pro-business” George W. Bush presided over "the biggest federal budget expansion since Franklin Delano Roosevelt" and saw only 1.3 million net jobs created in 8 years (7 million net for Obama in 6 years). The Wall Street Journal called Bush's "the worst track record on record."
(Washington Times 10-19-08; ElectaBlog 10-03-14; Wall Street Journal 01-09-09)
Finally, for those with short memories:
Republicans said we had to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. We even knew where they were. We'd be out in six months, it would cost at most $60 billion, "We do not torture,” etc.
People believed them.
How much longer will people believe these guys?