GOP Pounces On New Obama Slogan

Republicans are having some fun with President Obama’s new “We Can’t Wait” mantra.

Obama will premier his new battle cry during a visit to Las Vegas today to discuss his plan to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages.

After multiple outlets reported the news, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted, “WeCantWait to put an end to Obamanomics and get America working again.”

“WeCantWait for POTUS & Democrats to work with Republicans to find common ground 4jobs,” tweeted House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

From “Yes We Can” to “Pass This Bill,” the president has tried out a number of slogans over the years. The White House is hoping that his latest motto convinces undecided voters to blame Republicans for the fact that Washington has been unable to turn around the nation’s fledgling economy.

Poll: Americans Prefer Popular Vote Over Electoral College

The majority of Americans appear to support having the popular vote, and not the electoral college, be the determining factor in Presidential elections.

According to a new poll from Gallup, 62 percent of Americans would approve amending the Constitution to emphasized the popular vote, as opposed to only 35 percent who would like to keep the current system intact.

Divided by party, 71 percent of Democrats, 61 percent of independents and 53 percent of Republicans would prefer the change.

The poll was conducted among 1,005 adults between October 6th and 9th. The results were released Monday.

Full results can be found here.

House To Tackle Jobs Agenda Item Next Week

Appearing on the House’s legislative calendar for next week is a bill aimed at providing relief to government contractors.

H.R. 674, introduced back in February by Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.), would repeal a law that requires federal, state and local governments to withhold three percent of payments to vendors they do business with.

Though the tax has not yet been implemented by the IRS, Herger told his colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee last week that passing his measure would give “businesses the assurance that it’s safe to invest, grow, and hire more workers.”

According to the website of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the lower chamber could start debate on the bill as early as Tuesday.

With the House off all this week, the Senate took up its version of the bill — labeled the Withholding Tax Relief Act — last night. Though the measure enjoyed support from both sides, it failed to earn the 60 votes necessary to pass.

Afterwards, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressed frustration.

“It’s hard to understand why Democrats would block this bipartisan effort to protect jobs,” he said. “Tonight’s vote underscores that Senate Democrat leadership simply isn’t interested in passing bipartisan legislation that can actually help our job creators expand their businesses and hire new workers.”

Progressive Group Praises Iraq Withdrawal

MoveOn.Org, a leading progressive organization, praised President Barack Obama’s plans to withdraw all troops from Iraq by year’s end, but emphasized that the U.S. should never have invaded the country in the first place.

“Today’s announcement marks the end of a war that should never have happened,” Justin Ruben, MoveOn.org’s Executive Director, said in a statement. “We are grateful that our brave soldiers will finally be coming home from Iraq, but we must never forget the thousands of American servicemen and women, and the many more Iraqi civilians who perished.”

Ruben added that the U.S. should now focus on removing combat troops from Afghanistan, noting that it’s time to “bring America’s sons and daughters home, and redirect our limited resources to rebuilding communities at home.”

Jobless Rates Shrink In Half The U.S.

25 states saw their unemployment rates go down in September, according to new data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The state of Florida added 23,300 jobs last month, followed by Texas, which added 15,400. North Dakota registered the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, at 3.5%. In all, 26 states featured smaller unemployment rates than the national rate of 9.1%.

For some states, however, the news was not as bright. Both North Carolina and Ohio shed over 21,000 jobs for the month, and Pennsylvania lost nearly 16,000. Nevada once again sported the nation’s highest jobless rate, at 13.4%.

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