WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama took aim at Republican lawmakers Monday, accusing them of holding the public hostage to Washington politics by blocking extended unemployment benefits for millions of out of work Americans.
President Barack Obama stands with, from left to right: Denise Gibson from Brooklyn, N.Y., Jim Chukalas from Fredon Township, N.J., and Leslie Macko from Charlottesville, Va., all unemployed, as he speaks about the unemployment insurance and the economy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 19.
"It's time to do what's right, not for the next election, but for the middle class," Obama said in a presidential jawboning statement in the Rose Garden Monday morning.
Lawmakers have battled for weeks over legislation extending unemployment benefits to workers who have been out of a job for long stretches of time. The last such extension expired at the end of May, leaving some 2.5 million people without benefits, with hundreds of thousands more losing benefits each week.
The Senate is set to take up the measure again Tuesday, immediately following the swearing in of a replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd. Filling that seat will give Democrats the 60 votes they need to block a Republican filibuster.
Obama's argument has become a familiar one, as Democrats try to use the Republican blockade of unemployment benefits as a wedge issue heading into the November midterm elections.
On Monday, he sought to cast his Republican opponents as hypocritical for having voted for extensions of unemployment benefits when his Republican predecessor, President George W. Bush, was in the White House, but not now. He accused Republican leaders of subscribing to what he called a misguided notion that providing unemployment aid to people lowers their incentive to look hard for a job.
"That attitude, I think, reflects a lack of faith in the American people," Obama said.
The president said that the out-of-work people he hears from are "not looking for a handout. They desperately want to work. Just right now, they can't find a job."
"These are honest, decent, hardworking folks who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own."
The $34 billion needed to extend benefits would be borrowed, adding to the nation's mounting debt. Republicans have tapped into the public's anger and concern over the national debt, saying they would support extending jobless benefits only if the bill was paid for.
"Everyone agrees on extending the additional unemployment insurance, but the Democrat way is to insist we add it to the national debt at the same time, while blocking Republican efforts to pass the same extension without the debt," said Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
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By the way:
Get our soilders the hell out of IRAQ and Afghanastan! If you spent as much effort defending us FROM home by boosting the economy and improving forign relations as you do dumping money into killing poor people who do not know any better we would not need to fight this war any longer. If we spent half the war money on satelite missile defense and airport security, no one would have to worry about terrorists and at the same time- you would be CREATING MORE JOBS! You should not be able to claim to be patriotic. It's money-hungry war-mongering. Why don't you help out and put some US security into forign airports or somthing. Bring or troops home. All of them. And we need to put China on OUR SIDE before we piss them off.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Still not addressing the problem here O-Bummer!
If you spent money on bringing jobs back to the areas that need them the most, you wouldn't have to cry to the GOP for extended benifits. Frankly if I were the GOP, I would tell you NO. Get a job sir, like your parents did! The bums will always loose O-Bummer. Why should they bail us out? Why should we bail out GMC? They sucked at making cars. They wanted to build crap. That's what happens when you do not manage your resources. It's time to stop robbing Peter (GOP) and start managing resources to pay Pau. Hate to rub your nose in it but, if you morons had legalized marijuana and taxed it, you wouldn't be crying about money now. Think about how many jobs you would create. Christ, more people smoke pot in this country than turned out to vote for you. A SMART PERSON would use this to their ADVANTAGE! It is sad to see the opression of the American people's way of life because a few prudes in power(you know who you are) cannot accept the smoking of a plant. You don't mind watching the most powerful country in the world dry up and die because you won't legalize one plant. You'd rather spend the money on jailing innocent people and watching families starve, loose their jobs and homes, and resort to crime to survive. Nice job. Why did I vote for you again?
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One thing that would help everyone is to STOP THE WAR and help the UNITED STATES PEOPLE OUT ??????? ( ONLY ) LEGAL >>>>>
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.geez and I thought his
geez and I thought his stimulus plan was going to create lots of jobs and get the economy rolling....yeppers how'd that all work out for you....the plan is a failure so instead of admitting he didn't create the job growth he'll attack for not extending unemployment benefits. We now own an auto company and China owns us, somehow I'm thinking hope and change is now sounding like a rallying cry the conservative movement culd take advantage of.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Republican debts need to be reduced, but when?
When the Chamber of Commerce corporations start spending some of the $1.8 tillion slush fund they so far have refused to spend because it would help democratic prospects in November.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Interesting
"Republicans have tapped into the public's anger and concern over the national debt, saying they would support extending jobless benefits only if the bill was paid for." I wonder if they republicans would favor extending Bush's tax cuts for the rich only IF they were paid for and not add to the debt, which of course, they already have.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Republican Debts needs to be reduced, but when?
Republican presidents have generated 12 of the $13+ trillion national debt largely to prevent Democratic Presidents from meeting the nation's needs. $6 trillion by George Bush alone. Now Republican legislators are playing Russian roullete with the national recovery all so a confused and inattentive public will give them a few more seats in the House so they can wreck the economy again.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Republicans Do Not Care About Majority of Americans
The only President to reduce America's dependence on foreigh oil was Carter, from $9 million barrels a day to $5 million. He also created the most far reaching energy policy and told Americans what they NEEDED to hear, as opposed to Reagan's worthless fantasies. Carter left zero debt, and he was the last U.S. President to do so. Reagan left a massive debt and left America more addicted to foreign oil than ever.
Reagan trashed Carter's far reach energy policy and merely helped to see the problems of today, because any rational American ought to know that Brave Republican Fantasies only create long-term problems. We're in this oil mess thanks to Republicans.
We are in this economic mess thanks to Republicans.
Republicans who can't grasp what their "party" has done to America are the ones living in a FANTASY! We need to realize that Bush succeeded in many of the things it wanted to do...including cutting taxes for the wealthy and big business, shifting the tax burden to the working class and to the local levels. The economy was nearly destroyed by their tactics and they want to keep it going...they created huge deficits, rewarded job outsourcing, cut regulations and enforcement capabilities that allowed the disasterous economic situation we are still working hard to recover from...and they want to do more of it...!!! This was not accidental but calculated. While that seems difficult to understand, think about the globalization of our businesses and how it provides benefits to the big businesses that compete in the world markets. it is to their benefit and Bush and the Republicans are trying to protect that without regard for the US economy, as a needed viable entity.
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You will never get a republican to read this objectively however. Their brains are incapable of objectivity they are either totally subjective and stand to gain from GOP initiatives or are dumb enough to believe they are as rich as the very few who actually benefit from GOP bull crap. Unless your as wealthy as the top 100 people in the country. YOU ARE AS LOW DOWN AS THE REST OF US. Yes even you rich kids. And you homophobes, religelous people, anti abortionist voters etc. You are the problem even to your own cause. The answer does not lie with liars please watch the wizard of ozz. Pay attention to the man behind the curtain, he could be your next leader just like the last ten GOP leaders. Nixon anyone, how bout W, Reagon was a good presidential actor when not behind the curtain. Jimmy Carter is the only real human to be president in my lifetime. I admit he had a hard time with the idiots he had to work agains but his intentions were good/real. unfortunately no one worked with Carter as I said he was the only human involved in federal politics in the last 30years. It must have been difficult to try that job by yourself.
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Apparently someone has begun their medical marijuana treatments...Voisine...are you serious? I thought such fiction was limited to Hollywood but they have nothing on you and the story you weave. I'm thinking voisine, SSDD and tron are all the same person because there can't be that many people out there with such an absence of reality.
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