White House points finger at Republicans after report showing economy shrank

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Made popular 108 days ago in Politics

foxnews.com — After a federal report showed Wednesday that the economy unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter for the first time since 2009, the White House and congressional allies tried to pin the blame on the usual suspects -- "Republicans."

Republicans blamed an "anti-business" White House for the slack, but President Obama's press secretary and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi swiftly alleged that GOP feet-dragging during talks over the fiscal crisis and willingness to accept automatic defense cuts contributed.

"Consumer confidence overall has been rising, and consumer spending has been rising, but there's more work to do, and our economy is facing a major headwind ... and that's Republicans in Congress," Carney said Wednesday.

The White House press secretary blamed "talk about letting" automatic spending cuts kick in, "as though that were an acceptable thing."

Carney, however, glossed over the fact that both Democrats and Republicans agreed to the 2011 debt-ceiling legislation that set in motion more than $500 billion in defense cuts. Lawmakers had a chance to nix those cuts by agreeing to a comprehensive deficit-reduction plan -- but they couldn't reach a deal. While a few Republicans had discussed letting the cuts kick in, most congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle still say they want to avert them.

Pelosi further charged Wednesday that "today's disappointing GDP report is a direct result of the economic uncertainty created by House Republicans' strategy of obstruction and manufactured crises."

But Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., chairman of the House Small Business Committee, said the economic numbers are a product of White House policies.

"Is this stunt in economic growth really a surprise? Anti-growth policies and an anti-business White House produce just that -- a lack of growth," Graves said.

The looming cuts to defense and other areas are thought to have played some role in the economic contraction in the last quarter, as many contractors have already started cutting back.

The economy was also hurt by fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles. The drop occurred despite stronger consumer spending and business investment.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. That was a sharp slowdown from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter.

Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, incoming chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said the "stunning contraction" can't be blamed only on defense cuts and fiscal crisis talks -- though he did say accelerated defense spending in the third quarter "artificially boosted" growth at the time.

He added: "The bottom line is that America's economy continues to struggle primarily due to President Obama's penchant for political brinkmanship and the pervasive uncertainty caused by his focus on higher taxes, regulation and ObamaCare."

The White House said while GDP is the broadest measure of economic activity, other indicators of economic performance suggest that the economy continued to recover in the fourth quarter.

"Some of the fiscal issues that may have weighed on the economy in the fourth quarter of 2012 were resolved with the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act in early January, which provided more than 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses with the certainty that their income taxes will not rise," the

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Posted by lightdude

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More blame game for their failed policies. Who is the majority in Washington and running (Or ruining) the country?

Obozo and his wife, sideshow bob.

13%

The far left liberal tyrants.

It doesn't genius to figure that out. The jackass party.

The demon-craps not Republicans.

6.7%

What would you expect from a dimwit like poopinloosley and dingy harry?

6.7%

All

73%

This is not a scientific survey, click here to learn more. Results may not total 100% due to rounding and voting descrepencies.

User Comments

bish66

Posted 108 days ago

0 up votes, 0 down votes

Dear lightdude, it is always reassuring to see someone who really takes pride in his work and puts a lot of care and effort into it. In working as e. g. a cook, this means to see that you use the best ingredients, follow the recipes, care about your customers, provide a nice atmosphere. This is what makes America great, hard work, care, quality control, decency.

In writing and publishing polls, you show your care and commitment by checking your spelling, by using complete & correct sentences, starting names with a capital letter and making sure that the language is clear...
I guess "Obozo" is your friendly insult against the current president, no idea how the Simpsons character "Sideshow Bob" is supposed to fit in, "demon-craps" seems to be a poor wordplay on "Democrats", while "poopinloosley" is the childish attempt of a pun on Nancy Pelosi.

Politics 101: We have the White House and Congress (House of Representatives & the Senate) and they control each other in a system usually referred to as "checks and balances". This is supposed to make sure that all sides, Senate, House and the President have to find compromises. All sides have the power to hinder the actions of the others, in order to get things done, they all have to play together and find common ground. So if a Democrat points his or her finger at the Republicans as being responsible for economic problems, at least 3 fingers point back.
Both sides love to play the blame game and no side is better than the other. Politics is give and take, you scratch my back, I scratch yours, quid pro quo. As long as they do not get that, nothing will change for the better.
Yes, the White House is run by the Democrats, but the Republicans control the House and they have enough Senators to block lots of Obama's plans, so both parties are to blame.

Your poll offers hardly any options: Obama or the Democratic party (twice, even trice, since for conservatives Democrats = Liberals [= Socialists = Communists]).
I miss the GOP as an option.

And I wonder why you are unable to post anything without insults, abuses and swear words. Does your mother know about the kind of language you are using? Would she wash your mouth with soap it you used that kind of language in her presence? I wonder...

lightdude

Posted 107 days ago

0 up votes, 0 down votes

@bish66 Have another doobie, blunt or whatever you're smoking.

bish66

Posted 105 days ago

0 up votes, 0 down votes

@lightdude
gave up smoking years ago (but I sure like the music of the Doobie Brothers :p) and I guess that whatever I'm drinking, yours is stronger than mine...

lastbaldeagle

Posted 107 days ago

0 up votes, 0 down votes

After over four years one does begin to wonder if Obama, Reid and Pelosi and the other extreme liberal members of Congress and this administration will ever start accepting the blame for their failed policies? They sure have their excuses made up ahead of time. Nobody ever claimed they were stupid, just dishonest and highly unethical. Now were going to get a child molester to replace the gigolo. Just sayin'.....

Enough fault to blame on both sides, but thanks to the slobbering media on the left that seems to be controlled if not in fact a wing of the democrat party, they're absolved of any responsibility for their actions. It's all pretty shameful and an insult on whatever intelligence remains in the population. Government controlled education run by the Department of Education has done a marvelous job of indoctrinating rather than educating the past three or four generations down to the level of government drones. So many failures and the majority can be laid at the feet of progressives, liberals and other forms of democrat utopians. The State is my maker, I shall not want.....

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