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Democratic Governors Association: America’s choice in 2010: a path forward or a U-turn?
11/20/2009

Emily DeRose, (202) 772-5620

MEMO: Will 2010 be a path forward,

or a U-turn?

From: Nathan Daschle, executive director, Democratic Governors Association





A year may be an eternity in politics, but the landscape for the 2010 races is already taking shape. Americans have a clear choice – do we want to continue on a path forward toward progress and prosperity, or will we allow the Republicans to make a screeching U-turn and lead us back to the same policies that caused our economic collapse? Will we choose optimism about our future and moving forward, or will we fall for the GOP’s pessimism and give them the keys to power again?

Our country is making progress every day. President Obama is less than a year into his term, but with the help of Democratic Governors, he is already beginning to restore our economy after eight years of Republican control created the worst recession since the Great Depression. Job losses have slowed, the GDP is growing again, taxes have been cut for middle class families and the federal stimulus plan has created a million jobs. Much more work remains, but we’ve taken important steps to reverse our economic turmoil.

GOP Comeback

Republicans say that 2010 is the start of their “comeback.” To be clear, this “comeback” is nothing more than a “U turn” to the ideas – and indeed the leaders – that failed us before.

Let’s look at what that so-called comeback would mean:

- The very leaders at the heart of the GOP comeback are the architects and accomplices of our economic collapse. John Kasich is running for governor of Ohio, but one of his last jobs was leading Wall Street’s Lehman Brothers – right into bankruptcy. Bill McCollum wants to be Florida’s next governor, but when he was in Congress, he played a major role in crafting the legislation credited with turning the housing market into a casino. Other members of this “all-star cast” include six-term Congressman Scott McInnis, four-term Congressman/ex-Senate candidate Rick Lazio, and four-term Governor Terry Branstad. Republicans have even called on a member of the Bush family to help them brainstorm ideas for their comeback!

- After devastating our economy, GOP leaders are STILL siding with corporations and the wealthy over working families. In California, for example, Meg Whitman is campaigning on reducing taxes for the top 1 percent even as the state is struggling with the worst budget crisis in the country.

- Nor have we seen the end of Republican-style budget mismanagement. John Kasich wants to do away with Ohio’s income tax, but he has no idea how to pay for it. Candidate Scott McInnis in Colorado is notorious for voting to make George Bush’s tax cuts permanent rather than paying down the debt. Even their new faces carry the baggage of mismanagement. GOP candidate Charlie Baker was the mastermind of Boston’s infamous Big Dig. Is this really the type of leadership American wants to return to?.

Governors Must Deliver

What Americans want has nothing to do with partisan politics. Americans want jobs, they want health care security and they want to feel confident that their children will inherit a better future. Democratic Governors are doing just that.

- Democratic Governors are leading their states to make the transition from an old economy to a green economy. In Delaware, GM closed a major manufacturing plant and job losses seemed inevitable. But Governor Jack Markell acted quickly, recruiting green-car manufacturer Fisker to take over the facility.

- Democratic Governors are effectively investing in projects to restore their economies. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell is seeing significant signs of recovery because 84 percent of their stimulus dollars is already under contract. Orders are coming in to factories to produce tangible goods – like steel, asphalt, concrete and lumber – that are the backbone of our rebuilding efforts. In Iowa, Gov. Chet Culver created the I-JOBS program to invest $830 million to rebuild aging infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs.

- Democratic Governors are doing the unglamorous but vital spade work to keep their states on the right path toward restored prosperity. The nonpartisan Governing Magazine just named Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley the best Governor in the country. Democratic Governors lead five of the seven states with AAA bond ratings. Thanks to Democratic Governors, we know it is possible to cut budgets while preserving investments in education and health care that are the foundation of our promise for the next generation.

2010 landscape

While history is certainly on the Republicans’ side in 2010, there is reason for our party to be optimistic. Despite suffering a whopping defeat for three of the last four years, Republicans still haven’t learned from their mistakes. So now they face the consequences of an unexamined political philosophy – a divided house, torn between tea party conservatives and their party establishment.

Meanwhile, Democrats are optimistic about our future and taking concrete steps to realize our vision. And though a year in politics is a long time, we’ll spend the next 11 months continuing to prove our case to the American people.


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