Boehner Says Obama Doesn't Get It

By AJ Swartwood

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) continued to criticize President Barack Obama over his economic proposals on Thursday.

“I don’t think the President and his economic team get it,” Boehner said. “Our economy is struggling to create jobs, and all the spending is one of the reasons why.”

Since the White House announced earlier this month a $50 billion infrastructure plan aimed at immediately creating jobs, Boehner has been on the attack, blasting the administration for proposing more investments. The Republican leader countered last week with a proposal of his own to extend tax cuts on all Americans for at least two years, and to return spending to pre-2008 levels.

“If the President wants to talk about new ideas for creating jobs, lets start with this one, lets try cutting spending instead of clinging to the worn out notion that we can spend our way back to prosperity,” Boehner said.

Boehner, who has backtracked on comments he made last Sunday suggesting he may be open to supporting tax cuts for only the middle class, reiterated his party’s pledge to support tax cuts for all.

“That’s our big focus,” he said.

Poll Reveals Good News For GOP

A new survey out today shows that voters, by a nine point margin, think Republicans will win back the majority in both the House and Senate this November.

According to the Politico/George Washington University battleground poll, 45% of voters believe the House will switch hands, compared to 36% who think Democrats will hold on to the majority. Moreover, 46% of those surveyed said they believe the Senate will turn red, while only 37% of voters said it will remain blue.

The poll was conducted last week with 1,000 registered “likely” voters. Its margin of error was 3.1%.

Republican pollster Ed Goeas, who participated in a panel discussion on the poll’s results Thursday, said the x-factor this November could be a boost in voter intensity on the part of Republicans and swing voters who went for Obama in 2008.

“This intensity of this dissatisfaction among Republicans and other persuadable voters will present strong challenges for Democratic candidates,” Goeas said. “This election provides an opportunity for these frustrated and angry voters to send a message to Obama via their Congressional and Senate votes.”

Indeed, certain sections of the poll show that Goeas and other GOP’ers have much to boast about. 43% of voters said they strongly disapprove of the job Democrats in Congress have done this year, with 41% possessing a strongly unfavorable view of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Moreover, half of those surveyed said they strongly believe the country is headed on the wrong track.

When it comes to President Obama, more strongly disapprove than strongly approve of the job he has done in office by a 38%-27% margin. Although 47% of those surveyed said they voted for Obama in ‘08, more voters said they’d definitely pick a generic Republican candidate over Obama if the 2012 presidential election were to be held today.

Yet, the news was not all bad for Democrats. 42% of respondents approved strongly of the president on a personal level, an important statistic given that Obama is expected to stump hard for Democrats in the coming weeks. By a 25%-11% margin, more voters blamed the country’s economic situation on Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, than him. In addition, 38% said they strongly disapprove of the job being done by Republicans in Congress.

“This survey reveals the key fact that the Democrats are not facing the rejuvenated, freshly-branded, Contract-With-America era Republican Party of 1994; they are facing a Party still tarnished by the multiple—and recent—calamities of Bush economics, the war in Iraq, Sarah Palin, and an over-the-top and increasingly frightening Tea Party movement,” said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who also took part in today’s panel.

“The reality is that the election isn’t over by a long shot, and the Democrats still have ample opportunity to maintain their majority and keep the Republican victory laps to a minimum on November 2nd.”

GOP Leaders: Extend Tax Cuts For All

On Wednesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and fellow Republican House leaders reiterated their commitment to extending tax cuts for all Americans. 

With the economy in the tank and unemployment still high, the series of tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of this year, have been the subject of great debate in recent weeks.

Boehner, who said on Sunday that he would be willing, if necessary, to vote not to extend the tax cuts for top earners, took a different tone with reporters on Wednesday.

“Raising taxes on anyone, especially small businesses, is the exact wrong thing to do in a struggling economy,” he said.

When questioned as to whether or not he would be willing to compromise and allow those cuts to expire, Boehner emphasized his party’s unified message.

“I want to extend all of the current tax rates, and that’s what the American people want.”

Boehner’s number two in the House, Eric Cantor (R-Va.), put his party’s message into succinct form. “Cutting taxes, cutting spending, and creating jobs. It’s that simple,” he said.

Boehner May Budge On Tax Cuts

After a week of drawing lines in the sand over the expiring Bush tax cuts, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) hinted yesterday that he would be open to compromise.

Boehner remarked on CBS’s ‘Face The Nation’ that he would consider voting for a package of tax cuts for the middle class, even if it did not include relief for the wealthy.

“If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax reductions. I’ll vote for them,” he said. The top House Republican added later, however, that allowing the cuts to expire for top earners would be “bad policy.”

The nuanced stance comes at the end of a week in which Boehner went indirectly toe to toe with President Barack Obama over what Congress should do when the series of tax breaks expires at the end of the year. Obama has made it clear that he wants Congress to extend the package for those making less than $250,000 per year, and last week rebuked Boehner’s proposal to freeze current tax rates for all Americans for at least two years.

Today, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs appeared on a series of morning talk shows to respond to Boehner’s comments.

“We welcome John Boehner’s change in position and support for the middle class tax cuts, but time will tell if his actions will be anything but continued support for the failed policies that got us into this mess.”

The President, who made stops in Cleveland and Milwaukee last week to promote new proposals aimed at creating jobs, is expected to make remarks about the economy in Northern Virginia this afternoon.

Boehner Pitches Two-Year Tax Freeze, Reduced Spending

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) proposed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Wednesday a two-year tax freeze on current U.S. tax rates, including the Bush tax cuts.

Boehner appeared on the show preluding remarks by President Barack Obama where he is scheduled to speak in the lawmaker’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio pitching a trio of his own economic proposals. 

The Minority Leader called on the White House as being “out of touch” with the American people and proposed a reduction in next year’s spending to 2008 levels to compliment his tax freeze pitch. 

“If we’re able to do this together, I think we’ll show the American people that we understand what’s going on in the country and we’ll be able to get our economy moving again and get jobs growing in America,” Boehner said.

Boehner’s nationally televised remarks come on the heels of a New York Times Op-Ed submitted by Obama’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag. In his article, Orszag endorsed the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans for two years before letting them expire. Orszag said that letting the tax cuts expire too soon could deal a heavy blow to an already struggling jobs market.

“Let’s continue the tax cuts for two years but end them for good in 2013,” Orszag said.