Politicians & Pundits: George W. Bush

Americans For Prosperity: “A One Term Proposition”

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An ad from Americans for Prosperity features a flurry of TV news clips about rising debt in the past few years and connects them to President Obama’s statement in February 2009 that “If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” However, recent deficits have been fueled by Bush policies and the recession, and the ad takes the president’s words completely out of context. In fact, Obama was talking about whether efforts to rescue the economy would lead to economic progress. Since that interview, massive monthly job losses have turned into steady private-sector growth, including 4.5 million new private-sector jobs in the last 29 months.

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Private-Sector Recovery Diminished By Shrinking Government Payrolls

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It’s unremarkable for President Obama’s opponents to deride his career in public service; ever since Ronald Reagan ran into term limits, conservatives have insisted that business experience is more important in the White House than intellect, vision, and policy knowledge. But conservative reverence for the business world and disdain for government work is so dogmatic today that Republicans often claim that Obama’s policies have primarily, or even only, benefitted the public sector at the expense of the private economy. This is nonsense. The primary difference between the Obama recovery and the previous three post-recession economies, other than the depth of the crater Wall Street’s actions created, is that where government payrolls expanded under Presidents Bush, Clinton, and Reagan, the public sector has shed well over half a million jobs since the end of the recession. Meanwhile, private-sector hiring has been far more consistent than conservatives would have you believe.

3.3 Million New Private-Sector Jobs Since Recession, But 640,000 Government Employees Out Of Work

Recession Officially Ran From December 2007 To June 2009, Making It The Longest Since World War II. From the National Bureau of Economic Research: “The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research met yesterday by conference call. At its meeting, the committee determined that a trough in business activity occurred in the U.S. economy in June 2009. The trough marks the end of the recession that began in December 2007 and the beginning of an expansion. The recession lasted 18 months, which makes it the longest of any recession since World War II. Previously the longest postwar recessions were those of 1973-75 and 1981-82, both of which lasted 16 months. In determining that a trough occurred in June 2009, the committee did not conclude that economic conditions since that month have been favorable or that the economy has returned to operating at normal capacity. Rather, the committee determined only that the recession ended and a recovery began in that month.” [NBER.org, 9/20/10]

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Crossroads GPS: “Calendar”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS suggests that Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who is running for the Senate, is responsible for an “explosion” in debt since he took office. But the main drivers of the debt in recent years are Bush policies, such as tax breaks for the wealthy, and the recession – not policies that Heinrich voted for since he took office in 2009. In fact, the Recovery Act helped prevent an even worse economic collapse, and the Affordable Care Act reduces the deficit.

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Crossroads GPS: “Suffered”

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Crossroads GPS attempts to link “three years of crushing unemployment” to President Obama’s “failed” investments in clean energy through the Recovery Act. In addition to misrepresenting the program that provided loans for Solyndra and other companies, Crossroads GPS conveniently overlooks what really ‘crushed’ the job market: a historically devastating recession that was destroying hundreds of thousands of jobs per month when Obama was inaugurated. Since then, the avalanche of job losses has turned into steady growth, with the private sector gaining 4.5 million jobs over the last 29 months. The ad also blames Obama for the rising debt without noting the disastrous fiscal impact of Bush policies, such as tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, and the recession.

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Crossroads GPS: “Tried”

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A Crossroads GPS ad attacking President Obama wrongly suggests several consequences of the recession are the result of the president’s economic policies. In fact, it’s Bush-era policies that drove up the federal debt, while the private sector has added jobs in each of 28 consecutive months for a total of 4.5 million new jobs since March 2010.

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Crossroads GPS: “Excuses”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS ridicules President Obama for making “excuses for the bad economy,” using footage of the president speaking about global challenges that have affected the recovery. But while the ad suggests that Obama’s “wild spending and skyrocketing debt” are the real problem, those are legacies of the Bush years and the crushing recession that Obama inherited, and Republicans have consistently opposed Obama’s efforts to bring down the deficit.

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American Commitment: “Stands”

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In an ad attacking New Mexico Senate candidate Rep. Martin Heinrich (D), the conservative group American Commitment calls the Affordable Care Act “a massive tax increase on the middle class” and absurdly claims the health care law “gives Washington bureaucrats control over our health care decisions.” The ad also alleges that Heinrich “refuses to stop another tax hike,” presumably on the basis of his support for ending wasteful tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

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American Commitment: “Fading Away”

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The conservative group American Commitment is running a dishonest new ad attacking Nevada Senate candidate Shelley Berkley. The ad criticizes Rep. Berkley for supporting the Affordable Care Act, which it claims is “one of the biggest tax increases in history,” and suggests that Berkley supports additional tax hikes. In reality, the health care law does not impose higher taxes on most Americans – it actually provides tax credits for millions – and Berkley has been a strong supporter of tax cuts for the middle class.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Stop Irresponsible Spending”

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An Americans for Prosperity ad hits Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) over a variety of policies she voted for, accusing her of supporting “irresponsible spending.” But the ad is both incoherent, nonsensically suggesting that voting to increase revenue contradicts McCaskill’s desire to balance the budget, and dishonest. Contrary to the AFP’s insinuations, the “failed” stimulus bill created millions of jobs, the bailouts prevented further collapse, and the Affordable Care Act lowers the deficit.

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Americans For Prosperity: “Tell Tester: Start Supporting Montana”

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Americans for Prosperity seeks to link Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) to President Obama, calling Tester “one of Barack Obama’s favorite senators” and using a meaningless statistic to suggest that Tester casts his votes to please the president rather than to serve the people of Montana. The ad’s dishonest tactics cast doubt on its implications, however; the Affordable Care Act didn’t institute “government-run health care,” and although the debt ceiling had to be raised to allow Congress to pay its bills, Tester voted against the bank bailout.

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