It’s an Election Year: Voter Beware!

George C. Landrith

Everyone understands that jobs are good for the economy. Perhaps this explains why John Kerry has spent so much time painting a bleak economic picture and criticizing President George Bush. If John Kerry can make the case that President Bush’s policies have killed jobs and hurt the economy, then he would have a powerful campaign tool, indeed.

John Kerry and his surrogates have been trying to blame President Bush for the economic slow down and job losses that occurred after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Furthermore, Kerry promises that if elected, he will insure that the economy grows and the jobs are abundant. However, there are at least two problems with Kerry’s campaign on jobs and the economy.

First, Kerry is standing in the bright sunlight but telling America that it is pouring rain. The truth is the economy is growing at a healthy and robust rate. In turn, the strong economy has encouraged an impressive new wave of hiring. The fact is President Bush’s tax cuts have helped fuel this new economic expansion and job growth. Notwithstanding the good news, Kerry is still telling Americans it is raining.

Many months before Bush ever took office, the economy slipped into a recession. Yet, Kerry blames Bush for a recession that started when Clinton and Gore were at the helm. Immediately upon taking office, Bush pushed for and got tax cuts to spur the economy. Only months later, terrorists struck America with a devastating attack that horrified America and slammed the economy. President Bush again pushed hard for tax cuts to spur the economy and give Americans more of their own money to spend on their priorities. Bush got his tax cut and the economy began to rebound. Today the economy is expanding so well that some say it is too strong and growing too fast. Some folks are never happy.

So John Kerry can complain about jobs and the economy all he likes, but there is little room to complain. He truly is standing in the warm sunshine while complaining of imagined cold rain.

The second problem with Kerry’s promises that he’ll do a better job with the economy and jobs is that his voting record in the Senate makes it clear that jobs have NEVER been his priority. In a comprehensive study of Senate voting records by the respected and nonpartisan National Journal, John Kerry was found to be THE most liberal U.S. Senator. Now that is quite an accomplishment! It takes considerable effort to make Ted Kennedy the “conservative” Senator from Massachusetts.

You might ask what difference does it make whether he is liberal? The answer lies in how he won the title of most liberal. To win that “prize,” Kerry had to support a lot job-killing tax increases and oppose a lot of tax cuts – over 275 times to be precise. He had to support a lot of job-crushing regulatory regimes. He had to fight against legal and regulatory reform. He had to consistently side with extreme environmentalists who view jobs and a strong economy as the enemy of the environment. He had to consistently support raising energy taxes and limiting America’s ability to produce more of its own energy.

All of these votes cast over many years in the Senate create a very clear picture of John Kerry. He has a lot of priorities – but a strong economy and job growth are not among them.

Some politicians will say anything in hopes of getting elected. As voters, it is our job to determine if the politician is speaking the truth.

There is something troubling about a politician spending his entire career promoting higher taxes and job-killing regulatory regimes and then when running for President telling folks that he will make jobs one of his top priorities.

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Mr. Landrith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Business Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He had a successful law practice in business and litigation. In 1994 and 1996, Mr. Landrith was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. He served on the Albemarle County School Board. Mr. Landrith is an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law. He is recognized as an authority on constitutional law and jurisprudence, federalism, global warming, and property rights.

george@ff.org