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Jobs Debate Might Fall Flat in Florida
By Erin McPike – August 31, 2010
Florida Senate GOP nominee Marco Rubio, speaking on FOX News Monday about his plans for spurring job growth, said, “The important thing we have to start with is by reminding everybody that politicians don’t create jobs.”
Rubio went on to explain, “The job of government is to create an environment where that’s encouraged and made possible, and my argument is the things coming out of Washington are making it harder for the job creators or discouraging the job creators. And I think the policies that will help put us on the right track is, number one, a level of certainty in our tax code-they should extend the ’01 and ’03 tax cuts.”
The initial comment was similar to another insurgent Senate GOP candidate’s recent commentary on the matter – Nevada Republican Sharron Angle’s – and it’s the stuff campaign ads are made of.
Angle said at an event in the Silver State, “As your U.S. senator, I’m not in the business of creating jobs.”
And at another forum, she said, “People ask me, ‘what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state?’ Well that’s not my job as a U.S. senator to bring industry to this state. That’s the lieutenant governor’s job; that’s your state senators’ and assemblymen’s job; that’s your secretary of state’s job to make a climate here in the state that says, ‘y’all come.'”
Angle’s Democratic opponent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, pounced. His campaign immediately aired a series of ads pummeling Angle over her comments and simultaneously boasting of his own work to create jobs in the state – including saving 22,000 jobs for the construction of the City Center complex in Las Vegas. Angle dropped slightly thereafter in polling.
But a similar philosophical volley over jobs may not see the same light in the Sunshine State considering the dynamics of the three-way race.
In Florida, Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek is attacking independent Gov. Charlie Crist for his past statements and positions from his days as a registered Republican, all while Crist tries to moderate his positioning to pick up Democratic voters. Consequently, neither campaign is likely to take the same sledgehammer to Rubio over the issue as Reid’s campaign did to Angle, according to sources in the state.
Nevertheless, Rubio’s campaign stood ready to defend the comment. Spokesman Alex Burgos said, “We welcome and enthusiastically encourage a debate about who the job creators are in America. Marco recognizes it’s the private sector, particularly small business men and women, who create jobs.” He added, “That’s why he has outlined 80 policy ideas, many of which are focused on giving these job creators greater certainty about the economic climate and encourage investment. If anyone is willing to challenge this mainstream belief, we relish the opportunity.”
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Walsh drew it out to all of the competitive Senate races by noting, “The next time I hear a Democrat try to attack one of our candidates on this issue, isn’t it fair to ask the Democrats if they are then taking full ownership of the 9 percent national unemployment considering they are in the majority?”
Rubio and Meek will have the opportunity to debate their differences on the issue this weekend, when they appear on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” Crist has opted not to participate, drawing scathing criticism from Rubio’s campaign.
