The June jobs numbers were not something to brag about. They have raised concerns about the stimulus. Some say that there should be another one, while others are saying that the law authorizing it should be repealed. The Republicans are banking on its failure. So much so that they are this moment test messaging for 2010 electionsSo much so that they are this moment test messaging:
The return of the stimulus as a political weapon for Republicans as members in both houses of Congress have pre-emptively pushed back against the unpopular idea of a second crack at an economic rescue bill. It also comes as the party and its candidates grow increasingly confident that the stimulus, by failing so far to meet the projections of President Obama and congressional Democrats, is the key to a midterm election argument that the majority party is making matters worse by spending so much money.
They also want to blur the lines between the stimulus and TARP:
According to Republican pollster John McLaughlin, Republicans are benefiting from an "evolution" in the way voters view the stimulus, and the way that it has become blurred with banking industry bailouts, foreclosure prevention plans, and other Democratic plans as a wave of spending that has failed to stem rising unemployment. "Initially," said McLaughlin, "in February, if you asked people if they were against a stimulus program, it was like asking: Are you against stimulating the economy? Since then there’s been more of a consensus that the level of spending is too high." Voters aren’t grateful for the small tax cut included in the stimulus, said McLaughlin, because "very few people will say they got it, and it’s been overwhelmed by the state taxes they pay, which have been going up."
Seeing that there are some on this website who are confused about the difference between stimulus and bailout, I think that this tactic could be successful. I also see that even on this website and others like Americablog already want to claim Obama is a failure, which play into rightwing hands.
We need to be aware of these things so that we don't give the rightwing anything to run with. For example, Paul Krugman loses points when he says:
It was disturbing when President Obama walked back Mr. Biden’s admission that the administration "misread" the economy, declaring that "there’s nothing we would have done differently." There was a whiff of the Bush infallibility complex in that remark, a hint that the current administration might share some of its predecessor’s inability to admit mistakes. And that’s an attitude neither Mr. Obama nor the country can afford.
Talk about inadvertently playing into the Republican hands. They would love to blur the lines between Bush and Obama. This is not to say that Obama is above criticism but we need to be cognizant of when a topic is being manufactured. Look at that hit piece by USA Today where the headline insinuates that counties that went to Obama received more stimulus money. This coincided with all this talk about the stimulus.
While I still believe a second stimulus in the form of a WPA style program, I still think we need to be smarter in how we frame things.. I also think that the Transportation bill will help as well. All these things can operate as a stimulus without appearing to be one.