Michael Steele has been at the helm of the RNC for a day and I already can't stand him......

[marmar]

:argh:



from ThinkProgress:



Steele’s Uninformed New Talking Point: No Government Has Ever Created A Job»

Since his election as RNC Chairman last Friday, Michael Steele has been on a public relations offensive. His first order of business: urge his colleagues on Capitol Hill to reject President Obama’s economic recovery plan. “The goose egg that you laid on the president’s desk was just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful,” Steele told a group of GOPers this weekend, referring to the fact that no House Republicans voted for the plan last week.

As the bill moves to the Senate, Steele is upping his game. Trying to convince his Senate colleagues to obstruct the recovery package, Steele is arguing that the bill will not create jobs. In fact, a new talking point has emerged from Steele’s rhetoric — that no government, local, state or federal, has ever created a job. He made this bizarre claim over the weekend, and repeated it again today on CNN:

STEELE: And first off the government doesn’t create jobs. Let’s get this notion out of our heads that the government creates jobs. Not in the history of mankind has the government ever created a job. Small business owners do, small enterprises do. Not the government. When the government contract runs out, that job goes away. That’s what we’re talking about here and those 2 to 4 million jobs that are projected? Won’t happen, trust me.

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/02/steele-government-jobs/


However, Steele doesn’t seem to be on message — with himself. Just this morning on NPR, he ackowledged the recovery package “will create several hundred thousand at best.” But Steele’s “none, ever” talking point is beyond absurd. As Brian Beutler pointed out, Steele was employed by the government of Maryland when he was Lt. Governor there. “As were his staff members,” Beutler noted, adding, “As are, say, the 1.5 million or so active personnel in the Unite States armed forces. And so on and so on.”

And aside from noting the myriad government sponsored job creation programs starting from at least the New Deal era, CBO estimates that the recovery plan as passed in the House last week will create up to 3.6 million jobs by the end of next year (Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, says 3 million). Moreover, an analysis by the Center for American Progress Action Fund found that infrastructure investment — which makes up a large part of the bill — creates more than 60,000 jobs for every $10 billion spent.

We understand Steele is new on the job, but he should try to get his talking points straight — and at least get them to make sense.


http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/02/steele-government-jobs/

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. he's been licking the GOP boots too long

He is in epic fail mode.

[Ardent15]

12. This

this

[Ranting_Wacko]

2. To say nothing of our fine soldiers!

Creating and funding an army/navy? That's a whole mess of government-created jobs right there.

[liberalmuse]

3. He's a typical asshat Republican.

I don't know how this country tolerates such a large faction of repulsive human beings. I really don't.

[FSogol]

4. Steele is a lightweight in the brains department. He'll drag the GOP

further down. Look for 10+ years of Democratic control.

What Steele doesn't realize if that Americans are optimistic about Obama and even the ones that didn't vote for him want change and are hoping he will succeed. By doing their obstructionist gig, they are showing their true natures to America: They can't put politics aside to do the right thing. Don't they remember when Newt closed the Government and they took the blame?

[beltanefauve]

5. Isn't Steele's role

to be the fundraising & campaigning arm of the GOP, just as Howard Dean was for us? If I understand this correctly, isn't the chairman of either party supposed to NOT influence policy at all? I seem to recall several times when Howard Dean couldn't or wouldn't "come to the rescue" for us specifically because he was not supposed to. And yet Steele is out there trying to obstruct the stimulus package. Hmmm...

[MADem]

7. The RNC sometimes plays it differently. And the "party leader" has more of a role

when your party isn't in charge.

[MADem]

6. This is NO suprise, if you know the guy: Steele doesn’t seem to be on message — with himself.

He's what one might call "ideologically fluid."

After all, when he ran on the ticket with Erlich as LT GOV in MD, the campaign handed out "Democratic Voting Guides" in African American communities, replete with photos, instructing Democrats to vote for Erlich-Steele.

[4 t 4]

8. They will use him up and

spit him out and he is going along with it-Disgusting!! He is a giant tool and he doesn't see it. How dare he be black and part of the republican party-yea I said it how dare he, what is he thinking they hate black people period enough said. I'll say it again The Republican Party Hates Black People. Tell me I'm wrong. Lets review the republican mouth pieces. Limbaugh, Hannity, Cavuto, O'lielly, Dobbs who have I missed and tell me these guys are not old school predigest fucks

[MADem]

13. I think he'll survive, actually. I also think that we are witnessing a massive but slow turn in the

GOP.

Once upon a time, the Democratic Party used to be the party of racist crackers. Martin Luther King was a Republican, because he couldn't stand to be associated with the party of Strom "Segregation now, Segregation Forever" Thurmond and others of his ilk. It was LBJ that shut down that racist tone on the Democratic side and acknowledged that the south was lost for a generation or more by so doing (he was right).

I think we're seeing the first salvo in a multi-ethnic hearts-and-minds, long term strategy that is "values based"--where the GOP will claim to be the party that understands the values of ethnic communities, unlike those hedonistic, godless, liberal Hollywood pigs with all their money and glitz and glitter. It may not take a generation this time--people have shorter memories and can be bamboozled more easily, despite all their sophisticated methods to access information.

Look at the number of black TV pundits touting the GOP on TV. It's not accidental. It ain't just Armstrong Williams and Larry Elder out there all on their own any more....they're everywhere. No resting on laurels--once bitten, twice shy (see Reagan Democrat).

For these purposes, Steele is IDEAL. He's attractive and incredibly affable. And he's, as I said, ideologically fluid.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Hell, I couldn't stand him BEFORE he got the RNC job

[bigtree]

10. he's a one-dimensional toadie

. . . his act will wear thin.

He really believes voters in his party will respect him. Pretty funny.

[UTUSN]

11. The funniest was Jon STEWART saying, "Hey (Rethugs), you can't JUST pick just ANY (Black) dude!1" n/

[underpants]

14. He also showed Steele saying that members should not be merely planning to obstruct

that was out of context so I don't know if he was talking about them obstructing him or if he meant the part merely planning to obstruct Obama

Either way he didn't take long to look like a hippo critical ass. He is perfect for the job.

[lonestarnot]

15. Well what, he only wants the "hiphop" pugs.

:evilgrin: