USA TODAY International Edition
Don’t forget about economy
Parties must move beyond Obamacare to win midterm elections,
WASHINGTON The battle lines are drawn over President Obama’s health care law, but lawmakers in both parties acknowledge that the midterm elections need to be about more than Obamacare in order to win.
“Eighty- five percent of all Americans are not affected by the Affordable Care Act,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N. Y., said Wednesday at an event where Senate Democratic leaders rolled out their 2014 legislative agenda.
For Senate Democrats, the motivation to expand the debate is to quell GOP momentum in the midterms where Democrats are fighting to retain their majority.
“This agenda is what the American people want to hear. You folks all want to ask about Obamacare, but the American people ... want to hear what we’re going to do for them,” Schumer told reporters.
For Republicans, there is an effort, particularly among conservatives, to trumpet an alternative economic agenda to boost the party’s appeal as a clear alternative — not just blind opposition — to the president.
“While President Obama is busy defending his failed policies, House Republicans are focusing on the needs of American families who are struggling under the weight of radical regulations and a stagnant economy,” said Rep. Steve Scalise, R- La., the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a conservative GOP faction.
Scalise led a group of 30 GOP lawmakers who unveiled a legislative package, called the Jumpstarting Opportunities with Bold Solutions ( JOBS) Act, on Wednesday. It is a rehash of many House- passed economic, deregu- latory and energy bills such as authorizing the extension of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
“They’re all ideas that will help create jobs,” Scalise said.
“We’re going to lead the way if the president wants to sit on the sidelines and watch NCAA basketball games,” he added.
Recent national polling indicates that economic issues, particularly those facing the middle class, are a pervasive concern. In a national survey of likely voters, Tuesday’s George Washington University Battleground poll showed that 44% strongly agreed that middle- class people “have it the toughest” in the country. An equal number said the economic rules favor the rich, and 41% said the economy is making it too tough to make ends meet.
Beginning next week and continuing until the August recess, Senate Democrats intend to debate and vote on their “A Fair Shot for Everyone” agenda, a poll- tested mix of economic proposals that they say will boost middle- class Americans.
The agenda is steeped in populist rhetoric that puts Democrats on the side of working Americans and casts Republicans as the protectors of the wealthy elite.
Senate Democrats will vote on legislation to raise the minimum wage, require equal pay for women, make college more affordable and close tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy.
Democrats in particular are seeking to motivate base voters — women, minorities, young people and lower- income workers — who traditionally sit out midterm elections.