Weekly Republican Address

What we are watching:

Happy Anniversary. One year ago today President Obama signed into law the $862 billion Recovery and Reinvestment Act with the promise it would immediately jump start job growth and create over 3 million jobs in two years. One year later we know that instead the economy has lost 2.8 million jobs and the only thing left to show for the stimulus is more debt. Despite the White House’s attempts to manufacturer good headlines throughout this past year and especially this week the numbers do not add up and, as recent polls show, the American people are not buying it.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele wrote about the failed stimulus in today’s Daily Caller, “Since those early heady days of the Obama administration the American people have seen behind the curtain of rhetoric and watched as millions of jobs were lost and unemployment rose into the double digits.” To read the rest of Chairman Steele’s op-ed click here.

The RNC released a new web video lining up the President’s stimulus claims against the facts. View “Broken Promise” here.

U.S. Representatives Thaddeus McCotter and Pete Hoesktra will join Michigan Republican Party Chair Ron Weiser for a press conference call to discuss the impact of the stimulus package one year later.

Call-in Information

When: Wednesday, 11 a.m. EST

Call-in number: 800-988-9486

Passcode: MIGOP

**Kindly RSVP to Jen Hoff at jhoff@migop.org.

Today, President Obama holds an event at the White House to tout the supposed success of the stimulus act while administration officials will hit the road to do the same. Vice President Joe Biden releases a progress report on the stimulus today as well.

In the news:

Buyer’s remorse. A CNN poll finds that many do not think the President should be re-elected. Poll findings: “44 percent of registered voters say Obama deserves re-election, with 52 percent saying the president does not deserve a second term in office.”

Unfriendly map. A piece in Politico notes that the electoral map may be less friendly to the Democrats this November, “…some of the same unlikely states that Obama put in his party's column 15 months ago feature Senate, House and governor's races with Democratic candidates in grave danger of losing in what is quickly shaping up to be a toxic election cycle. “

Paygo politics. Democrats quickly demonstrate that while the idea of “paying-as-you-go” may sound appealing to an electorate starved for some fiscal discipline, in practice it is all about politics. Senator Judd Gregg, “Democrats’ move to bypass pay-go using emergency exemptions proves that the pay-go law is just a ‘political statement, not a substantive event.’”

RNC Research Briefing:

Stimulus Failure By The Numbers

One Year After February 17 Signing Of Stimulus, 17 Numbers You Need To Know 

3.5 MILLION: Jobs Obama Promised Stimulus Would Create By End Of 2010. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Press Release, Denver, CO, 2/17/09)

2.8 MILLION: Jobs Lost Since Obama Made That Promise. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

6.3 MILLION: Jobs Obama Must Now Create To Keep Promise By End Of 2010. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Press Release, Denver, CO, 2/17/09; U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

1.1 MILLION: Jobs Obama’s Economists Project Will Be Created By End Of 2010. (David Jackson, “Obama Economic Report: Stagnant Job Growth This Year,” USA Today, 2/11/10)

5.2 MILLION: Jobs By Which Obama’s Economists’ Projection Leaves Him Short In Keeping Promise.  (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10; David Jackson, “Obama Economic Report: Stagnant Job Growth This Year,” USA Today, 2/11/10)

6 PERCENT: Not Surprisingly, Number Of Americans That Say Obama’s Stimulus Created Jobs.  (Stephanie Condon, “Poll: Economy Brings Down Obama's Job Approval Rating,”CBS News’ “Political Hotsheet” Blog, 2/11/10)

7.7 PERCENT: Unemployment Rate When Obama Was Selling Stimulus In January 2009. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

8 PERCENT: Unemployment Rate Obama Pledged Stimulus Would Prevent Us From Reaching. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)

9.7 PERCENT: Current Unemployment Rate. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

16.5 PERCENT: Current Unemployment Rate When Underemployed And Discouraged Workers Are Included. (Sara Murray, “Signs Of Hope As Jobless Rate Dips,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/6/10)

334,000: Americans That Have Given Up Looking For A Job Since Stimulus Was Signed. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

47: States That Have Lost Jobs Since Stimulus Was Signed.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

10: States That Moved From Single-Digit To Double-Digit Unemployment Rate Since Stimulus Was Signed.  (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

$862 BILLION: Updated Cost Of Stimulus, $75 Billion Increase From Last Year’s Cost Estimate. (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2010 To 2010,” Congressional Budget Office, 1/26/10; Douglas Elmendor, Director, Congressional Budget Office, Letter To Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 2/13/09)

440: Number Of Nonexistent Congressional Districts That Received Stimulus Funds. (Richard S. Dunham, “Site Lists Jobs In Imaginary Texas Districts,” Houston Chronicle, 11/18/09)

$6.4 BILLION: Amount Of Stimulus Funds That Went To Nonexistent Congressional Districts. (Richard S. Dunham, “Site Lists Jobs In Imaginary Texas Districts,” Houston Chronicle, 11/18/09)

$18 MILLION: Cost Of Stimulus Website, Recovery.gov. (Rick Klein, “$18M Being Spent To Redesign Recovery.gov Web Site,” ABC News’ “The Note“ Blog, 7/8/09)