Democratic House Leader: Democratic Party "responded like Herbert Hoover" to unemployment crisis

[Better Believe It]

"We had a Roosevelt moment and responded like Herbert Hoover"



Dem leader: Party 'responded like Hoover' to unemployment crisis
By Jordan Fabian
November 16, 2010

The Democratic Party's Herbert Hoover-like response to high unemployment cost them their majority, a member of the House Democratic leadership team said Tuesday.

Rep. John Larson (Conn.), the House Democratic Caucus chairman who is expected to keep his position in a vote on Wednesday, said that his party did not do enough in the eyes of voters to help bring down the nation's 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

"We never did enough in terms of that area for us to have the kind of success we would have," he said on MSNBC. "We had a Roosevelt moment and responded like Hoover."

Larson's comments are a stinging assessment of his party's efforts to help create jobs during the 111th Congress. Voters, who swept Democrats out of power in the House two weeks ago, consistently named the economy and jobs as the top two issues during the midterm campaign.

Read the full article at:

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/129365-dem-leader-party-responded-like-hoover-to-unemployment-crisis

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Were any of these voices screaming at the President when something could have been done??

[Winterblues]

2. Actually many in the House were indeed doing just that

It is the Senate where all "good" legislation goes to die..

[Dragonfli]

3. Yes

[leveymg]

4. It's not too late to pass some good legislation during lame duck. Keep shouting!

Put some fire and smoke under the rest of the leadership's asses.

[Better Believe It]

5. Most went along with the "puny" stimulus plan. They let three Senate Republicans write the bill.

And they wrote it and weakened it considerable so that it would fail to jump start the economy and pull us out of the recession.

When the Senate stimulus proposal went to House/Senate conference, the House leadership caved-in and agreed to every proposal made by the three Senate Republicans who wrote the bill.

You say, a bill had to be approved by at least two Senate Republican otherwise the Republicans might have engaged in a pretend "procedural" filibuster!

That the rational, actually excuse, given for surrendering to Republican demands in the unending quest for peace, love and bi-partisanship with Republican obstructionists.

And look at what that policy of capitulation and "outreach" to Republicans on the economy accomplished.

A Republican election victory, the growth of the right-wing "tea party" faction, an austerity plan that will pass Congress and mass joblessness.

Chess anyone?

[BrklynLiberal]

6. Then I guess the REAL question is "Why the hell didn't the President listen to them?"

[Better Believe It]

7. He did. But President Obama preferred the tune his Wall Street/corporate advisors sang .....

and the proposals advocated by "blue dog, centrist" Democrats and a few Republican Senate "moderates".

[dreamnightwind]

8. K & R