So it's come to this. Conservatives have gotten their way for so long that they're actually (and quite vocally) running against their own policies -- because, well they have no choice. Nothing really liberal has been enacted recently. let's examine the recent rhetoric:
Ryan blamed Obama for the closing of a GM plant in his district (even though this happened under GWB's term)
Ryan blamed Obama for scuttling the debt commission's recommendations (a commission which didn't come to finalized recommendations, due largely to the scuttling efforts by Ryan himself)...
Ryan and others in the GOP continually blame Obama for 'cutting' Medicare... when this is precisely what they are now calling for... but they're making Obama out to be the heartless conservative on this issue...
The GOP is up in arms to repeal Obamacare, basically a more conservative version of Romneycare, which in turn was modeled after conservative proposals from the 1990's for market-oriented healthcare reform.
And of course they blame Obama for the deficit and recession, born of a time of record-low tax burden as a %age of the economy -- a situation that is every supply-sider's dream, and according to conservative ideology should be resulting in epoch-shattering growth.
Is it Opposite Day?
Good points on the first three. I found out from a fact checker.
ReplyDeleteThe one on Obamacare is too simplistic and leaves out crucial details on policy differences.
The final one is a mixed bag. Which deficit? The one this year? Or the one of the previous two years? All Obama's. Or are you confusing the debt with the deficit? As for blaming Obama for the recession, I guess I will take your word for that, But I've seen so much blaming of Obama... but not that particular one.
My goodness..even FoxNews is highly critical of
ReplyDeleteMr. Ryan...
Yes, I had seen this earlier and stood with my mouth open for a considerable length of time.
DeleteMe too. If even Fox News is starting to sit up and take notice, wow, just... wow.
DeleteWell... turns out "Ryan blamed Obama for the closing of a GM plant in his district (even though this happened under GWB's term)" is actually a pants-on-fire.
ReplyDeleteI checked the dates. The plant closed in April of 2009. Obama took control of General Motors the month before. Ryan told the truth.
The factcheckers do indeed need factchecking. I will trust them less and less now.
Looks a gnat's eyebrow argument to me. I don't believe the Janesville GM plant is officially closed just not operating. But you have a date point, which may in itself be misleading.
DeleteFrom the Washington Post/Wonk piece
Last night Paul Ryan said that Obama failed to save a GM plant in Janesville, Wis. Many outlets — including Wonkblog — said that was a lie. But some conservatives have tried to salvage the claim. Jonathan Adler of the National Review asks, “What was ‘false’ in Ryan’s statement? Was Janesvile ‘about to lose’ the factory at the time of the election? Yes. Did Obama fail to prevent this as he had promised? Yes.”
Let’s break down, then, the exact chronology of the Janesville plant closing; Conn Carroll of the Washington Examiner has helpfully posted one here, which I add to below. The basic takeaway, however, is this: by December 2008, the plant had reached a point of no return where the plant would be shut down regardless of federal action. Ryan was faulting Obama for an that was event that was inevitable over a month before he took office.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/30/obama-could-not-have-saved-janesville-gm-plant-it-closed-before-he-took-office/
This additional information from Wikipidea:
2008
Fuel prices, the related slow sales of SUVs, and the economy affected the Janesville plant. In April 2008, GM announced that the plant would cut back full-time production to a single shift. Combined with an ongoing employee buy-out program, layoffs totaled around 750 jobs in July 2008.[9]
During GM's 2008 annual shareholder meeting on June 3, 2008, CEO Rick Wagoner announced that the Janesville assembly plant would close by 2010, along with three other GM factories, and could close sooner if the market dictated.[10] The cutbacks announced, along with other changes, were expected to save the North American division $1 billion per year starting in 2010.[11]
GM extended its annual summer shutdown an additional two weeks and planned another ten weeks of shutdown for the remainder of 2008 because of excess inventories of SUVs made at the plant.[12]
On February 13, 2008, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama stated, "This can be America’s future. I know that General Motors received some bad news yesterday, and I know how hard your Governor has fought to keep jobs in this plant. But I also know how much progress you’ve made – how many hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles you’re churning out. And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years. The question is not whether a clean energy economy is in our future, it’s where it will thrive. I want it to thrive right here in the United States of America; right here in Wisconsin; and that’s the future I’ll fight for as your President.
In June 2008, a study by Steven Deller, a University of Wisconsin-Extension professor, indicated that the plant's closure could result in a ripple effect for the county. Based on a number of estimates and 2007 employment data, his worst case scenario was the loss of 9,000 jobs and nearly half a billion dollars of labor income in Rock County.[13]
External images
"Last day at GM" Janesville Gazette Photos of December 23,2008
In October 2008, GM announced Janesville Assembly would be largely idled December 23, 2008 when production of SUVs would end.[14] On December 23, workers gathered at a ceremony to take photos with a banner reading "Last Vehicle off the Janesville Assembly Line". The last vehicle was sold in a raffle benefiting the United Way.[15]
From GM, the notice that places the plant closer in May 2009, AFTER Obama had taken control of the corporation:
ReplyDelete"Janesville was placed on standby capacity in May 2009 and will remain in that status. "