| New Jersey Republican Congressmen Scott Garrett, Rodney Frelinghuysen, Mike Ferguson, and Jim Saxton sent a resounding message to the unemployed yesterday. That message is, "This ain't 2003!!!"
You see, back in 2003, when Republicans controlled the House, Republicans extended unemployment benefits by a vote of 416 to 4. Only Scott Garrett hated the unemployed enough to vote against extending benefits at that time. Ferguson, Frelinghuysen, and Saxton voted for the $7.2 billion bill. That was when the national unemployment rate was 6.0 percent.
Fast forward to this year. The unemployment rate now stands at 5.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of last month, New Jersey's unemployment rate was 5.0%. The bill would cost $11 billion over ten years.
So there are two possible explanations for Ferguson, Frelinghuysen, and Saxton: Either the economy just isn't bad enough or the bill isn't Republican enough. Either way, they owe it to their constituents to explain their action. Something that was right in 2003 can't just be wrong in 2008. |
