In Republicans’ telling, they are responsible for a looming economic recovery from a recession caused by Democrats.
Close to the opposite is true, but you’d never guess that by listening to the GOP.
Citing a Dow Jones story reporting that U.S. companies plan to increase hiring, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s press shop fired off a morning roundup including this sub headline: “THERE ARE THE JOBS: Republicans Prevent Massive Tax Increase, Economy Begins to Improve.”
The Dow Jones story does not credit Republicans for the recovery.
In recent weeks, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and David Dreier (R-CA) have separately claimed credit for different economic metrics. Kyl claimed that the GOP’s November victory and the resulting tax cut compromise caused 2010’s annual corporate profits to skyrocket. Dreier claimed that recent jobs numbers wouldn’t be as promising as they have been if the GOP hadn’t swept back into power.
As I noted previously, it’s a theory of economic growth that requires assuming the existence of a time machine. But Republicans know much better than Democrats that credit isn’t given — it’s claimed. And after a while, this version of events could take hold.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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