Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow

That’s what we will all be saying on November 3rd.

For now, we still have to listen to His Phatness, and his silly remark on the (never-ending) extension of unemployment benefits:

“Thank goodness this political charade is over and working families can get the assistance they so desperately need. Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. When it comes to providing modest help to people in need—many who are worse off because of their economic policies—they continually chose obstruction over action. This speaks volumes about how Congress would operate if they regained control.”  

What a moron – as I noted last time the clowns in charge extended the unemployment bennies, if a person is “working” presumably they do not need yet another extension of unemployment.  So please explain, Mr. Hare, how does the extension of benefits to the unemployed help “working families … get the assistance they so desperately need”? 

And why do so many families “so desperately need” unemployment?  Because of the ruinous economic policies of His Phatness and President Obama, which have driven our unemployment rates to historic levels.  Where, Mr. Hare, are the jobs that were promised?  As Governor Jindal said recently, in a slightly different context:

“I want us to send a clear message to Washington, D.C. today – our people don’t want a BP check, our people don’t want an unemployment check, our people want this arbitrary moratorium to end so they can go back to work.

Mr. Hare – the people of the 17th Congressional District do not want an unemployment check (except one with your name on it); they want JOBS.  Where are they?

Finally, do you see how Mr. Hare is now starting to incorporate fear of Republican control?  (“This speaks volumes about how Congress would operate if they regained control.”)  Wonder why, if the Democrats are doing such a great job?  Wasn’t it just the other day that his mouthpiece laughed off a poll showing His Phatness trailing his challenger?  Why on earth would he now make a comment about “if” the Republicans regained control; isn’t that laughable?

Let’s see, the Democrats have been in charge of Congress since 2007, approximately when everything hit the fan.  And we’re supposed to be afraid of Republican control?  Geez, man, the Congressional approval rate is at 11%, an all-time low for any governmental institution!!! 

Methinks Monsieur Hare is hearing phootsteps…  

Phootnote:  What has become of Hare’s supposed devotion to PAYGO?  Guess that’s yet another charade that will end in November…

Phurther phootnote:  Wouldn’t that make a great campaign prop for Schilling?  A big phat unemployment check made out to Phil Hare, dated November 3, 2010.

Wow.  What a total goofball.  After driving the unemployment rate up over 10% (despite the so-called stimulus), Phil Hare now calls it an achievement when the unemployment rate rose to 9.9% for April.  From Hare’s press release:

“Just one year ago, the unemployment rate hit a 25-year high. Now, due to the policies we adopted including the Recovery Act, our economy is creating jobs again and more Americans are back in the market looking for work. This is certainly good news, but with millions of Americans still unemployed, we cannot rest on our laurels.”

Question – was the skyrocketing unemployment rate for the past seventeen months also “due to the policies we adopted including the recovery Act”?  Can you believe these clowns?  He expects us to believe that the prior sixteen months of job losses — well beyond the promises made, if we would only enact the stimulus — had nothing whatsoever to do with the “policies adopted,” yet takes credit for one month of job gains, due in large measure to hiring for the constitutionally mandated census.  And even then, the unemployment rate rose to 9.9%!

Rest on our laurels, (i.e., “to be content with one’s past or present honors, achievements, etc.”) indeed!

 But what have you done, Mr. Hare?  What “laurels” can you rest on?  If destroying jobs and diverting nearly a trillion dollars from the private economy to your public sector union buddies is “laurels,” then please, rest! 

Let’s see what “laurels” Mr. Hare wants to rest on.  From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

* In April, the number of unemployed persons was 15.3 million, and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.9 percent. The rate had been 9.7 percent for the first 3 months of this year.

* Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for whites (9.0 percent) edged up in April, while the rates for adult men (10.1 percent), adult women (8.2 percent), teenagers (25.4 percent), blacks (16.5 percent), and Hispanics (12.5 percent) showed little or no change.

* The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) continued to trend up over the month, reaching 6.7 million. In April, 45.9 percent of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more.

* The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was about unchanged at 9.2 million in April. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

That’s quite a list of laurels, Mr. Hare!  No wonder you don’t want to rest on them.

Hare’s latest solution?  Spend more of your money, of course!

Hare discussed two pieces of legislation he believes will speed up job creation. The first is the Local Jobs for America Act, a bill that would create one million public and private sector jobs by providing funding to local communities across the country. The bill would provide $75 billion over two years to local communities to hold off on planned cuts or hire back critical workers like teachers and emergency personnel.

More funding for more useless public sector “workers”…  what a joke.  Funneling money we don’t have at jobs that don’t sustain themselves is not job creation, it’s self-delusion.

That’s the real name of an Act for which Phil voted.  Does that sum up how stupid our representatives are, or what?  Disaster relief and …. Summer Jobs!  Everyone wins!!  And the guy is so out of touch, he trumpets this ridiculous waste of taxpayer money (excuse me, “investment”) in a press release. 

From Hare’s press release:

Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL) today voted for two pieces of legislation seeking to spur hiring in the near term. 

What’s the “D” stand for, “Dummy”?  Just asking.   And why do we need to “spur hiring in the near term,” I thought the $787 billion Stimulus was going to “spur hiring in the near term,” and prevent all of this unemployment — what happened there?

More:

The Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act includes $600 million to create about 300,000 summer jobs for those ages 16 to 24 and extend a Recovery Act lending program for small businesses.

Let’s say half of the $600 million will go to summer jobs.  That would mean each “summer job” equates to an average of $1,000.  That’s it — a thousand bucks.  How (and more importantly) who is that going to help?  Sounds like more government crapola to me.

“The Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act responds to the devastating unemployment rate among young workers,” Hare added. “The ‘disconnection rate’—Americans aged 20 to 24 who were neither in school nor working—jumped to 28 percent last year from 17 percent in 2007. This emergency bill will get them working again and help our economy as a whole.”

First of all, what happened between 2007 and now?  Oh, that’s right – first the Dems, and then Obama took over.  Again, why has the problem gotten worse? 

Second, are you really telling us that “summer jobs” for 20-24 year olds, for crying out loud, earning $1,000 bucks over the whole summer is really going to “help our economy as a whole”?  Is it possible to be so mind-numbingly stupid? 

Third, I wonder what the “disconnection rate” in Congress is?  You know, the rate at which congressmen are so completely and totally disconnected from their home districts, that they vote for crap like The Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act, and then brag about it in a press release:  “Hey guys — I just spent another $600 million we don’t have, for walking around money for 20-24 year olds who aren’t doing anything better this summer!  Isn’t that great?”   In the 17th District at least, the disconnection rate appears to be 100%.  Time to “disconnect” Hare from his employment on our dime.

A few other thoughts:  When do we get “disaster relief”?  Maybe we can apply for a disaster relief grant, to get some relief from the disaster that is Phil Hare, and his idiot buddies in Congress…

The press release also helpfully notes that “Hare has been very active on the job creation front….”  Really?  Show me one job His Phatness has created himself, just one.  Shoot, the only job this guy is ever gonna create is when we throw his butt out of office in November.

After November 2, 2010, Phil Hare will be relegated to nothing but a phootnote on the “casualty” list of phools who voted for Obamacare.  But for now, we still have to suffer through his absurd little brand of leftist claptrap.

A few hours ago, Hare published an op-ed, in which he relates a sob story about a guy that didn’t have health insurance and died from heart failure:

In a previous op-ed, I shared the story of the Fair’s. Bill and his son Eric lost their health insurance after Butler Manufacturing closed its Galesburg plant in 2005. Eric then had to work for temp agencies and did not qualify for health care. Eric started having chest pains but because he did not have health insurance he was afraid to go to the doctor. Several days later Eric called his friend to tell him he wasn’t feeling well and he eventually died of heart failure.

Hare wants to blame Eric’s unfortunate death on the fact that he did not have health insurance, but if you accept the underlying premise, the obvious question is ‘why didn’t he have insurance?’  Oh that’s right – because his employer closed its doors.  So – the lesson is not that the government needs to provide health care, but that the government needs to quit taxing and regulating businesses to death.  When Eric had a good JOB, he had health insurance. 

So, I ask – Mr. Hare, where are the JOBS you and Obama have been promising?

Mr. Hare is in such a rush to turn everything over to the government, he doesn’t even realize that his own op-ed supports the notion that his focus should instead be on creating an environment where Americans can start and build businesses, businesses which employ (and maybe even provide health insurance) to other Americans.  And the government doesn’t need to get involved.  Instead, it needs to get un-involved. 

Undaunted, Hare continues, (as usual) drawing the exact wrong conclusion:

Eric will never have a second chance at life. And if we fail to act, thousands more will suffer his fate.

Well, Mr. Hare, if you enact the Act currently under consideration, many unborn babies will not even have a first chance at life, as it supports government-funded abortions.  In fact, many of your Democrat colleagues have indicated this is a good thing, because it will save money by reducing the number of human lives we must cover: 

What are Democratic leaders saying? “If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more. That’s one of the arguments I’ve been hearing,” Stupak says. “Money is their hang-up. Is this how we now value life in America? If money is the issue — come on, we can find room in the budget. This is life we’re talking about.”

Sick stuff that, and a too-steep price for “reform.”

Hare ends noting that his vote will “require[] insurance companies to play by the rules[.]“  But currently, if an insurance company doesn’t play by the rules, they can be sued.  Most are, all day every day.  We don’t need to bankrupt the country to force them to “play by the rules.”

And by the way – if insurance companies are so eeeevil, why are the Democrats in such a rush to force people to purchase insurance?  (“Insurance companies are evil, so we are passing a law that forces you to purchase health insurance — from the insurance companies…”)

Less than one month ago, Rep. Hare was loudly trumpeting his vote for PAYGO:

“Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL) today voted for legislation that requires Congress to pay for any new spending or tax cuts, a process known as Pay-As-You-Go or PAYGO. The bill now heads to the President’s desk.

If signed, any increase in spending will have to be offset by spending decreases elsewhere or by finding additional revenue. Likewise, any tax cuts will have to be accompanied by decreases in spending because of that lost revenue.

“The days of excessive borrowing, wasteful spending, and massive tax cuts must come to an end,” Hare said. “PAYGO provides us the best opportunity to return to fiscal sanity so we do not pass our bills onto our children and grandchildren.”

However, that was then, this is now.  Now it’s “forget PAYGO, people are suffering!!!”  In his latest press release, Hare “slams” (his word – wow! what a tough guy!) Senator Jim Bunning for refusing to allow the extension of unemployment benefits for (another) month:

“Yesterday, I stood side-by-side with my Democratic and Republican colleagues in the House to extend unemployment insurance and the COBRA subsidy for one month. Yet the actions of a lone opponent, Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, have prevented similar action from taking place in the Senate and will ultimately lead to these programs expiring this weekend.

“It is more apparent than ever, with this latest affront to working families, the Senate is broken and needs to be reformed.”

First off, is Rep. Hare so stupid that he does not know the difference between one who is “working” and hence, does not need an extension of unemployment benefits, and one who is unemployed?  Apparently not, as he thinks the failure to extend benefits (meaning the persons are already receiving them) is somehow an “affront to working families.”  But if one is working, can we not safely assume they are not also receiving unemployment benefits?  Maybe I shouldn’t ask… 

Second, whence Hare’s devotion to “pay as you go”?  For Senator Bunning’s objection was due primarily to the fact that Congress had not come up with any offsets (reduced spending or increased taxes) to pay for the extension of benefits, as required by PAYGO.  As noted by Senator Kyl: