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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Reince Priebus
When President Obama took office in 2009, he found these three trade deals on his desk. They were previously brokered deals that Democrats had blocked in
But the president brushed them aside, doing the bidding of the labor union bosses that had backed his campaign. Then earlier this year, as he cobbled together a "jobs plan," he called on
Even then, President Obama stalled for another month before finally sending those trade pacts to
Based on estimates from the
In the meantime, the
But that's just South Korea. In Colombia, the United States missed out on another billion dollars a year. Even Democratic Sens. John Kerry and Max Baucus wrote in April, "Each day we fail to act costs American jobs and sales -- and sends them elsewhere." Our unemployment rate is above 9 percent, and Obama's inaction meant we lost jobs to China, Argentina, and Europe as they increased their trade with Colombia.
You would think the president would learn from this mistake. But he's doomed to repeat it once again -- and it will cost more jobs. It's a result of his unrealistic and irresponsible demand that his American Jobs Act be an all-or-nothing proposition.
After his September speech to
President Obama ignored that reality and crisscrossed the country for a month demanding
Recently, though, the inevitable happened: Democrats and Republicans in the
The president knows he cannot get re-elected on his record. The economy is flailing, and Americans are hurting. His only path to victory relies on misrepresentation and cynical political ploys. He's used the American Jobs Act to knock Republicans in hopes of boosting his political prospects. But the truth is Republicans have been working hard for months; they've passed over a dozen bills in the House that would spur job creation. The president and Senate Democrats, though, have sat on their hands.
It's time for President Obama to truly make jobs his number one priority. The campaign can wait. The American people cannot. Republicans want to get this economy moving. There's no more time for the president's self-interested delay tactics.
Better late than never, sure, but "late" is not good enough.
AMERICAN POLITICS
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Obama's Trade Deal Delays Have Cost Jobs | Politics
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