Feingold's Competition Doesn't Have An Answer For Anything

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_10/026215.php

A CONCISE SUMMARY OF AN ECONOMIC AGENDA.... Republican Ron Johnson (R), still hopeful about buying Sen. Russ Feingold's (D) Senate seat, has been reluctant to talk too much to journalists, but he agreed to sit down with the editorial board of the Green Bay Press Gazette the other day. One exchange was of particular interest.

One of the editors noticed that Johnson, a right-wing millionaire, doesn't have any specific approach to creating jobs, other than "cutting spending." She asked the candidate whether he was prepared to offer a "real jobs plan." Johnson replied, "Bring fiscal discipline to the federal government. You know, we've got to curb spending."

Confused, the editor followed up, asking, "So, your jobs plan is to control spending. But what about the middle class?" Johnson literally just shrugs his shoulders, and says, "We have to get the economy moving."

I guess there's a reason this guy has been avoiding journalists.

That said, Johnson's remarks, while frustrating to watch, nevertheless offer a concise summary of a specific economic agenda, widely embraced by the Republican Party in the wake of the Great Recession. Indeed, the Wisconsin candidate was surprisingly candid -- his plan to create jobs is to not have a plan to create jobs.

As Johnson sees it, unemployment may be pushing 10%, but that will come down just as soon as the government takes more money out of the economy and lays off more public workers.

What else might help create jobs? Johnson doesn't have an answer. How would cutting spending produce economic growth? Johnson doesn't have an answer. What would he cut as part of his drive for fiscal discipline? Johnson doesn't say.

The larger point isn't just that Ron Johnson seems deeply confused about the #1 issue on Americans' minds; the point is that Ron Johnson's economic message is a perfect representation of his party's entire economic message this election season. Republicans have gone from saying spending cuts and public-sector layoffs will help with the deficit to saying these same tactics will inexplicably make the economy better.

I know plenty of Americans find this persuasive, but I'm still not sure why.

—Steve Benen

[Andy823]

1. Well...

I think this just goes to show how "gullible" most of the right wing votes are these days! They want change, they want radical conservative change, and honestly they just don't care who the candidate is as long as the person "claims" to be against the "socialist left wing government ran by Obama"!

Megan McCain made a remark on Rachel Maddow the other day that in a normal year these "crazy" people would never have gotten past the primaries, but is the year of the "crazies" and the crazies are out in full force behind the most radical, nutty, crazy, candidates they can find! Every year the republicans make the same old promises, and put the same old people back in office, this year I think they knew it wouldn't work the same, so they simply came up with the "tea party" clowns, got the same gullible republicans, a bunch of racists, the anti government nuts, the morons who follow Glen Beck, some KKK and Nazis, and came up with their new base, the most radical base in republican history! All they had to do was get some "radical" republicans to run for office, not hard to do and they though they could keep things the way they have been, but the tea party clowns found even more radical, and crazy, candidates to run. Now the GOP has to stand behind these morons so they can try and get back in power. They know that if they do win, the crazies, it is going to be really hard to keep them in line, but they don't care as long as they think they have a shot at taking back control of congress.

Honestly I think this whole thing will backfire on them and maybe some of them will get elected, I don't think it will be enough to take control of either house. Even if they did take control of one house, the in fighting would tear them apart within the next two years! The fact that so many of those running this year are nuttier than a fruit cake, won't take questions from reporters, won't debate, and won't talk about the issues, or their past, shows just who lame the republican base has become! My thought is that many moderate republicans won't vote this year because they don't want to see their party go down the tubes with these nuts than are running.

[pscot]

2. Any jackass can kick down a barn

[liberal N proud]

3. The problem is, the voters are not demanding answers

None of the republicans have answers, Boner said people are not ready for solutions quantifying the vagueness of the 2nd coming of the contract on America.

Yet the polls indicate the voters want these lying cheating asshole hypocrites over the Democrats. The M$M has pushed the propaganda for 2 years now demonizing the Democrats and it is working.

[City Lights]

4. I'm baffled that this #**$&#^%#^^*$* is even in the running.

:wtf: is wrong with people?