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Bush’s Right Hand Man Congressman Blunt to Blame for Economic Mess and Job Loss
For Immediate Release: November 6, 2009 Contact: Ryan Hobart (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125 Bush’s Right Hand Man Congressman Blunt to Blame for Economic Mess and Job Loss Eight years of Blunt corporate favors and reckless spending resulted in damaged economy and high unemployment Jefferson City, Mo – Congressman Blunt has been passing the blame for our nation’s economic troubles lately. But Missouri voters deserve to know that, for eight years, Blunt was chiefly responsible for implementing the Bush administration’s disastrous fiscal and economic policies, which brought our nation to the brink of economic collapse. Called one of George Bush’s “closest friends in Congress,” Blunt voted with Bush 93% of the time and, as Majority Whip, was “instrumental” in keeping House Republicans in lockstep with the Administration. According to Bush Political Director Ken Mehlman, “There's nothing that happens in Congress that Roy Blunt isn't a major architect of.” (St. Louis Post Dispatch, 11/23/07; Los Angeles Times, 4/1/01; Kansas City Star, 11/30/02) Unfortunately for Missourians, the policies Blunt helped Bush ram through Congress were fiscally irresponsible and economically disastrous for middle class families. The Bush-Blunt team swelled the deficit to record heights, showered the wealthy and corporate special interests with tax breaks and giveaways, and left middle class families with lower median incomes and skyrocketing health costs. In fact, even former Bush speechwriter David Frum concluded that “in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction, Bush performed worse than any two-term president of the modern era. (NPR, 9/16/09) Adding insult to injury, Blunt later championed Bush’s $700 billion dollar bailout for Wall Street insiders and opposed caps in executive compensation for executives at companies that received bailout money. “Congressman Blunt, as a member of the Republican Leadership, was the leading proponent of Bush’s agenda in the House – an agenda that has been widely repudiated by both Republicans and Democrats for causing one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression,” said Missouri Democratic Party Executive Director Brian Zuzenak. --30--
