Republicans Bash Obama's Bus Tour

As President Obama completes his bus tour through the Midwest Wednesday, Republicans charged that Obama diverted his focus on the economic crisis and dragged in politics. 

“This bus tour is nothing but another campaign jaunt for this president,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told reporters today. 

“I think he should spend a little bit more time in the White House doing his job as opposed to running around on Canadian busses and planning his next vacation in Martha’s vineyard,” Priebus added. 

Priebus mentioned that the bus tour is being paid for by taxpayers, which he felt was “outrageous” due to the level of political commentary from the President.

Priebus continued to criticize Obama for allowing the economy to fail by not producing a job creation plan. 

“We have no plan from the president. We have no engagement from the president. But what we do have are forensic winning speeches that he likes to give with no plans at all for our country to get it back to work. Obama’s economy has failed,” Priebus said. 

Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady concurred with Priebus and explained how lagging economic growth has affected Illinois in particular. 

“Citizens in the state of Illinois, since Obama has taken office, pay more taxes, they pay more for groceries, they pay twice as much per gallon for a gallon of gas, and we have one of the highest sales taxes in the country,” Brady explained to reporters. 

“We have the worst deficit and debt in the country,” Brady continued. “President Obama: your buddies in Illinois have done a miserable job handling the economy in this state.” 

President Obama’s three day bus tour spans Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.

Pelosi: Dems Focused On Jobs, GOP Is Not

In an op-ed published in USA Today, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) previewed the message Democrats will be pushing this month: They are focused on jobs, while the GOP is not.

According to Pelosi, the former House Speaker, Republicans have caused the threat of a first-ever default on the nation’s debt by not passing legislation to create jobs.

“During more than 200 days in the majority, House Republicans have put our economy at risk by threatening a first-ever default on our debt and refusing to propose legislation to create jobs. Instead, they’ve passed bills that would destroy up to 2 million jobs — nearly 10,000 jobs per day. And every time Democrats have brought a jobs initiative to the floor — 10 times so far — Republicans voted “no.”

With the creation of the bipartisan “super-committee” focused on reducing the deficit, Pelosi said that any plan the committee releases “must put job creation and economic growth front and center.”

“There’s no better way to reduce the deficit than by creating jobs,” she added. “We must focus squarely on getting our economy back on track, strengthening our middle class, and addressing the American people’s kitchen-table concerns.”

The “Make It In America” initiative proposed by Democrats is the way to provide jobs and boost the economy, she argued. The plan focuses on boosting investment in broadband techonology, transportation infrastructure, clean energy and other emerging innovative technologies.

“This is not a partisan agenda or cause; it is an American priority,” Pelosi wrote.

Pelosi pointed to a joint statement put out by the presidents of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO, who said that infrastructure spending would enable the U.S. to better compete in the global economy.

“On behalf of our workers, our entrepreneurs, and our small businesses, we can, and must, pass this legislation again,” Pelosi wrote. 

Senators urge passage of Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Today the Brookings Institution held a discussion on “The Economic and National Security Implications of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement,” featuring addresses by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Kit Bond (R-Mo.). Both senators advocated passage of the agreement, with Grassley emphasizing that there was “no downside.” He supported his claim by stating that 39 of the top 50 U.S. newspapers have published editorials in favor of the agreement, while the other 11 have not expressed opinions and none have said that Congress’s refusal to vote on the issue and put it in “cold storage” was favorable.

Grassley said that with U.S. exports accounting for 40 percent of economic growth last year, the nation should do everything in its power to increase exports--especially in the face of a declining economy. Bond displayed a chart that demonstrated that the U.S. pays 5 to 35 percent in duties on all exports to Colombia, while Colombia pays zero to 4 percent on its exports to the U.S. If the agreement were passed, Bond said, the U.S. would no longer pay any tariffs on items like automobiles, furniture, fuel and coal, cotton, metal products, and computer products.

The senators addressed concerns about violence in Colombia, especially towards union members, that some opponents of the agreement have cited as a reason to delay its passage. Grassley said that President Uribe has made “massive strides” towards decreasing violence, and Bond said that murders have decreased by 40 percent from 2001 to 2007, and 80 percent among union members. Grassley said that there is “no reason” that striking down the agreement would reduce violence, and that it might do the opposite by creating more job opportunities.

When asked about the possibility of waiting for a broader free trade agreement negotiated by the World Trade Organization, Bond said that “ultimately we’d love to see the WTO function,” but the current bilateral agreement is “the best we’ve got.” Grassley added, “if you’re for free trade, you take it wherever you can get it.”