Research Briefing

What They Are Saying:

GOP RIGHT TO INSIST UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS BE PAID FOR

REPUBLICANS CORRECTLY ARGUE THAT UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS SHOULD BE PAID FOR

Las Vegas Review-Journal: “[D]on't Blame The GOP If The Effort Fails Once Again… Republicans Have One Small Demand: Pay For The $34 Billion Extension Rather Than Putting It On The National Credit Card.” (Editorial, “Why Not Just Pay For Them?,” Las Vegas Review Journal, 7/20/10)

• LVRJ: “Pay For What You Spend, Mr. Reid. This Is One Reason (Among Many) That Nevadans Currently Hold You In Low Esteem.” (Editorial, “Why Not Just Pay For Them?,” Las Vegas Review Journal, 7/20/10)

Union Leader: “President Obama Wants To Spend Another $33 Billion To Extend Unemployment Insurance Benefits. Such An Expansion Right Now Will Help More Than It Hurts, But Congress Doesn't Need To Borrow The Money, As The President And Democrats In Congress Want To Do.” (Editorial, “Borrowing Benefits: Why Not Cut Elsewhere?,” Union Leader, 7/20/10)

• Union Leader: “All Republicans Ask Is That The Spending Be Paid For. Democrats Refuse To Do That. Why?... It Doesn't Make Sense To Borrow On Top Of Our $1 Trillion Deficit When Congress Could Make Offsetting Cuts Now Or In The Near Future.” (Editorial, “Borrowing Benefits: Why Not Cut Elsewhere?,” Union Leader, 7/20/10)

Pittsburgh Tribune: Obama’s Partisan Attack On Republicans “Selective” With Facts On Paying For Unemployment Benefits. “President Obama took Republicans to the woodshed on Monday, blasting them for blocking efforts to extend unemployment benefits as the jobless recovery struggles along. And, as per usual, it was a selective recitation of the ‘facts.’” (Editorial, “The Unemployment Debate: Paying For It,” Pittsburgh Tribune, 7/20/10)

The Wall Street Journal: “[Obama] Whacked Senate Republicans For Blocking The Extension, Though Republicans Are Merely Asking That The Extension Be Offset By Cuts In Other Federal Spending.” (Editorial, “Stimulating Unemployment,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/20/10)

The Washington Post: “Republicans In The Senate, In Other Words, Have Won The Fight Over Further Spending On Job Creation. The Argument Has Narrowed To Unemployment Benefits, And Democrats Can't Even Reliably Win Those Votes.”  (Ezra Klein, “Unemployment Benefits To Pass, But All Alone,” The Washington Post’s “Ezra Klein” Blog, 7/20/10)

The Atlanta Journal Constitution: “But The Award For Chutzpah Goes To Rahm Emanuel, The White House Chief Of Staff, Who Told The New York Times, ‘To Govern Is To Choose, And This Is A Clear Choice: You Either Support Extending Benefits For People Who Are Out Of Work Or You Don’t.’” (Kyle Wingfield, Editorial, “Jobless Benefits – And Deficits- To Be Extended,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution, 7/20/10)

• AJC: “He Got The First Bit Right. To Govern Is Indeed To Choose — And In This Case That Means Choosing To Extend Jobless Benefits By Cutting Elsewhere, Or To Spend Here, There And Everywhere And Keep Running Up The Deficit.”  (Kyle Wingfield, Editorial, “Jobless Benefits – And Deficits- To Be Extended,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution, 7/20/10)
• AJC: “That’s Been The Key Point On This Issue All Along, And On Spending The Only Choice Congress Wants To Make Is “All Of The Above.” That’s Not Governing.”  (Kyle Wingfield, Editorial, “Jobless Benefits – And Deficits- To Be Extended,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution, 7/20/10)

The New York Post: “If Obama And His Democratic Pals Really Want To Spur Job Growth, They Can Start Curbing Taxes, Spending And Deficits -- And Returning Money To The Private Sector. Or Easing Government Regulation. Or Tempering Economic Uncertainty, Rather Than Pushing Bills That Destabilize The Economy.” (Editorial, “Jobs Would Help More,” The New York Post, 7/20/10)

WHILE OBAMA USES UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AS A CAMPAIGN WEAPON

The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart: “President Obama Sounds Like Candidate Obama On Unemployment.” (Jonathan Capehart, The Washington Post’s “Post Partisan” Blog, 7/19/10)

The Hill: “Obama’s Harsh Criticism Of The GOP Is The Latest Round In An Escalating War Of Words Between Him And Republican Leaders. …The Political Attacks Are Playing Out Against The Backdrop Of Democrats Expecting Heavy Election Losses In November, Possibly Enough So To Lose The House To The GOP.”  (Kevin Bogardus, “Obama Slams GOP For Stalling Jobless Benefits,” The Hill, 7/17/10)

NPR: “Obama Launched A Fresh Salvo Monday, Demanding That The Senate Act On The Legislation — After A Vote Already Had Been Scheduled — And Blasting Republicans For The Holdup.” (“Senate Democrats Look To Extend Jobless Benefits,” NPR, 7/20/10)

• NPR: “Republicans Say They Do Favor The Benefits But Are Insisting They Be Paid For With Spending Cuts Elsewhere In The Government's $3.7 Trillion Budget.”  (“Senate Democrats Look To Extend Jobless Benefits,” NPR, 7/20/10)

Ben Feller Of The Associated Press Asks Gibbs What Is The “Point In Calling Out Republicans” If Dems Know They Have The Votes. “Thanks. Two topics. On unemployment, on the extension of the benefits, it looks like the Democrats will certainly have the 60 votes they need tomorrow to get past filibuster and move this into law. So with that being known, I’m trying to understand why the President did what he did today. What’s the point of calling out the Republicans if you know you’re going to have the votes?” (Office Of The Press Secretary, “Daily Press Briefing By Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 7/19/10” The White House, 7/19/10)

• Feller To Gibbs: “So You Don't See This As The Kind Of Political Theater, The Back-And-Forth That The President Was Elected To Stop?” (Office Of The Press Secretary, “Daily Press Briefing By Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 7/19/10” The White House, 7/19/10)