Boehner’s Pitiful Jobs Record Remains on Display

Speaker Boehner has HAD it with all the crummy press.  Today's POLITICO features his lengthy letter to the editordefending the GOP's Do Nothing Congress' pitiful record from a previously published story.  From the LTE:

The story says, "When the latest sign of a troubled economy emerged last week, Congress had a ready response: nothing." And then, "the same week that new data came out showing the U.S. economy shrank nearly 3 percent in the first quarter, Speaker [John] Boehner announced plans to sue President [Barack] Obama for abusing his executive authority."…

Yes, that week I announced that the House will act to hold the President accountable in the courts. I also spoke constantly about jobs and the economy, and the House acted on no less than three bipartisan jobs bills. That is hardly "nothing."…

But speaking ‘constantly about jobs and the economy' isn't the same as taking action, Mr. Speaker.  You might say that it "is hardly ‘nothing' – but that's not the same as doing something.

In fact, today's National Journal underscores the GOP Do-Nothing Record:

…there is no dispute that this congressional session is a low-ebb—at least in terms of historical comparisons of the number of bills passed (though such counts do not account for the substance of the bills). Congress has passed just 121 public laws since this session began in January 2013—including 56 this year—and is on course for being the least productive ever.

Congress also faces record-low public confidence levels. Only 7 percent of Americans surveyed for a Gallup Poll last month said they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence overall in Congress, down from 10 percent last year.

Later in his letter, Speaker Boehner repeats one of the GOP's favorite talking points about their so-called ‘jobs bills' list they like to portray as gathering dust somewhere between the Senate and White House:

The House is listening to the American people and passing jobs bill after jobs bill. There is a list of about 40 on Speaker.gov.

But, to quote Steve Benen, has Speaker Boehner even read his list of jobs bills?

I'm curious if Boehner has actually looked at the list. He should – it doesn't say what he thinks it says…

The list of "jobs bills" includes the Farm Bill. The list of "jobs bills" includes Paul Ryan's budget blueprint. The list of "jobs bills" includes a pointless measure intended to stop President Obama from allowing state experimentation with welfare reform.

The list of "jobs bills" includes a measure to increase federal spending "transparency." The list of "jobs bills" includes a framework on cybersecurity.

I hate to break this to Speaker Boehner, but a lot of these measures aren't what any sensible person would call a proper "jobs bill." They may or may not have merit on their own, and they may or may not require some modicum of new hiring, but legitimate legislative efforts to create lots of jobs – such as the American Jobs Act, unveiled in 2011 and killed by congressional Republicans soon after – aim higher…

What we're left with is a rather sad attempt at deception. Boehner keeps talking about "passing jobs bill after jobs bill," hoping the public will hear the claim and conclude that House Republicans have actually done real work over the last couple of years. The Speaker probably assumes that the vast majority of the public won't actually look too closely at the touted list.

It is, in other words, a rather cynical game. House Republicans have decided the definition of a "jobs bill" is "any bill House Republicans like."

Writing a Letter-to-the-Editor is a nice way to vent your feelings, Mr. Speaker.  But the best way to change the headlines and the press is to change the direction of the Republican-led Congress and to get to work on the priorities that matter to the American people.