President Obama has appeared to launch his own version of an Occupy GOP movement. With steely determination, he’s prepared to engage in political combat to advance his economic agenda as he positions himself for campaign 2012.
The most recent evidence of his new, uncompromising posture was this week’s speech in the tiny hamlet of Osawatomie, Kansas (pop. 4,600). Seeking to connect with populist anger characterized by both the Tea Party movement and Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, the president vigorously pushed jobs creation, payroll tax cut extension and income equality as he indicted the GOP for turning their back on Middle America.
In the 55-minute address, he deftly laid out the reasons behind the nation’s economic and political crises, and maintained that “the breathtaking greed of a few with irresponsibility all across” the financial system had the effect of claiming “the jobs and the homes and the basic security of millions of people—innocent, hardworking Americans who had met their responsibilities but were still left holding the bag.”
“Ever since, there’s been a raging debate over the best way to restore growth and prosperity, restore balance, restore fairness. Throughout the country, its sparked protests and political movements—from the Tea Party to the people who’ve been occupying the streets of New York and other cities,” the president told the crowd of 1,200 as he was interrupted by periodic bursts of applause. “This is the defining issue of our time… This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. Because what’s at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement.”
Most political observers note that Obama’s remarks channeled another young president who delivered an address in the same venue roughly a century ago: Theodore Roosevelt. The Republican reformer’s “New Nationalism” speech was a call for a 20th Century brand of progressive politics in which ordinary citizens would be protected from the avarice and recklessness of big business and special interests of that era. Known to take full advantage of historic symbolism—evoking presidents such as Lincoln, FDR and Reagan in past policy speeches—Obama used the location and sharp rhetoric as part of his bully pulpit (a term coined by Roosevelt).
In making his latest power move, Obama is applying populism, in part, as his big stick, communicating his willingness to fight for preservation of the middle class and defense of those trapped below the poverty line. His strategic approach casts Republicans as the unreasonable, intransigent party of the powerful and privileged, placing politics and ideology over the best interests of our country.
Without a doubt, the president needs to boost confidence among much of the American public. Obama must convince them he’s their unwavering champion as well as a pragmatic leader. His rep took serious hits after the catastrophic debt-ceiling negotiations with congressional Republicans during the summer, and when his mammoth $447 billion American Jobs Act was blocked in the Democratic-controlled Senate. And despite a recent jobs report that showed national unemployment declined from 9% in October to 8.6% in November—African American unemployment, however, actually rose from 15.1% to 15.5%—his job approval rating slid to 41% in Gallup’s latest daily tracking poll, with a disapproval at 51%. The figures offer the widest gap between the president’s approval and disapproval numbers in recent weeks.
Since incumbents run on their record, the president must clearly show why he deserves a second term, an alternative to the candidate who will eventually receive the GOP nod. (With three weeks before the start of primary season, the most likely pick will be former House Speaker Newt Gingrich or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.) So Obama’s challenge or opportunity—depending on the lens you use—will be to make the case that he has placed the country on the right course.
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So another part of his strategy will come from the playbook of another U.S. president: Harry S. Truman. “Give ‘Em Hell” Harry managed to gain re-election in 1948 by running against a Republican Congress considered one of the most inept—that is, until now. So Obama must position himself against his version of a “do-nothing” Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders have gave him a huge assist early on by spelling out their “Stop Obama” mandate, and then adopting a “Party of No” legislative approach over the past three years. As a result, Congress has received a 9% approval rating, the worst in history and, in fact, four times lower than that of the Internal Revenue Service.
Obama is applying the heat. Since blockage of his comprehensive job package, the White House has initiated the “We Can’t Wait” campaign in which the president has spent the last two months tirelessly barnstorming the nation encouraging citizens to pressure their representatives to enact “bite-size” pieces of the measure. Not satisfied with waiting for congressional action, he has implemented a series of executive orders that promise to enable 1.6 million college students to repay federal loans, 1 million homeowners to meet mortgage payments and thousands of veterans to find jobs. Moreover, he seeks to use the recent failure of the congressional “super committee” last month to forge a deficit reduction deal—now painful automatic budget cuts will take place in 2013 as part of the debt-ceiling debate compromise—to once again demonstrate the GOP’s unwillingness to take a “balanced” budget-cutting approach as well as tax the rich.
The thrust of Osawatomie speech was to press the wealthiest Americans who currently pay “the lowest taxes in over half a century” to fork over a larger share of such obligations. Obama also stood firm on the payroll tax cut due to expire by year’s end. He has proposed a one-year extension and expansion of the tax holiday on the employee share of the payroll tax, cutting it to 3.1% from the 2011 rate of 4.2%. He also seeks to a reduction for the employer share to 3.1% from 6.2% on the first $5 million of payroll in 2012. And those companies that grew payrolls up to $50 million in a year by hiring new workers or raising salaries of existing employees would receive a complete tax holiday.
Once again, the Obama White House is at odds with GOP members over—you guessed it—tax increases. Senate Republicans rejected a Dem proposal to include a new tax on income over $1 million to help finance the extension even though one of their own—moderate Susan Collins of Maine—voted for an initial version of the plan last week. At the same time, most of the Senate’s GOP minority opposed the party’s own plan to freeze government pay and other steps to offset the cost. House Republican leaders are trying to cut a deal within their caucus to gain support from Tea Party members who want to throw out the entire proposal while others have discussed using the extension as leverage to tack on unrelated measures they want but the president clearly stated this week he would reject such maneuvers.
Bottom line: Failure to pass the extension and expansion would mean less in Americans’ pocketbooks next year—$1,550 for a household earning $50,000 a year—and serve to hamper consumer spending which, in turn, could cripple an already tepid recovery. So Obama plans to keep the pressure on. In fact, the White House unveiled its version of a doomsday clock on its website, counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the December 31 deadline before taxes will increase for roughly 160 million Americans if Congress fails to act.
Obama will also have to continue to clash with GOP over nominations as he enters the last year of the first term of his presidency. Latest development has been the push to derail the installation of Obama’s candidate to help correct the economic inequality that Occupy Wall Street forces are protesting. Politico reported today Senate Republicans have blocked the president’s nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The vote of 53-45—with one senator voting “present”—fell short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
The key to victory for components of the jobs measure, payroll tax cut extension – and his re-election – will be to negotiate with the GOP from a position of strength. That will mean standing firm in the arena, ready to strike the next blow.
