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American Jobs Act
Posted on : September 23rd, 2011  David Campbell |
President Obama has urged Congress to pass the American Jobs Act.
It would create 2 million jobs and increase GDP by 2%, according to Mark Zandi (Moody’s Chief Economist and former economic advisor to Republican presidential candidate John McCain).
It is already a bipartisan compromise, including many specific proposals that have been supported by Republicans in the past (including the payroll tax cut) :
“From the trade agreements, tax relief for small businesses, regulatory relief, and unemployment benefits programs, there are a lot of areas of commonality between the House Republicans’ jobs plan and the proposals the president discussed last night.” – Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor 09/09/2011
There is broad public support (including a majority of Republican and Republican-leaning voters) for many of the specific proposals (small business tax cuts, business tax breaks for hiring new workers, more infrastructure spending, and more funds to hire teachers, cops, and firefighters and paying for it by eliminating corporate tax loopholes).
Will Congressional Republicans vote for it? Of course not. Their top priority isn’t job creation:
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president” – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell National Journal 10/29/2010
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North Carolina Republicans Lack Confidence in 2012
Posted on : September 14th, 2011  Joel McDonald | 
I know this is a blog focused on Virginia Beach, and politics in Virginia by extension, but the passage of the addition of a 2012 ballot measure to decided on an anti-gay marriage/civil unions amendment in North Carolina fascinates me. The North Carolina Senate passed the legislation adding the ballot measure yesterday.
My first thought was that this was 2004 all over again, where 11 states included anti-gay marriage questions on the ballot during the presidential election. The inclusion of these ballot questions is generally seen to have helped George Bush win reelection (this in addition to not raising taxes to pay for the wars, Kerry’s inability to really connect with people, etc.).
Then, reading further into the details, I realized that North Carolina Republicans, who control both the North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate, placed the ballot question on the May 2012 ballot, and not the November ballot. This was surprising, as I was sure they’d want to use the issue of gay marriage to fire up the evangelical right, which would likely boost turnout and support for the Republican presidential nominee. Read the rest of this entry »
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Background on the Smith-Jones Situation
Posted on : September 8th, 2011  Eileen Levan