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Jay Carney Zings Herman Cain And Congress’ 9% Approval: Not ‘The Kind Of Nine That They Want’

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by Tommy Christopher | 10:23 am, October 28th, 2011

» 60 comments

At Thursday’s White House briefing, Press Secretary Jay Carney zinged GOP runaway train Herman Cain and Congress (translation: Republicans) in one fell swoop. Referencing Congress’ all-time low 9% approval rating, Carney said, to laughs from the press corps, ”I know nine is a popular number in the Republican Party, but this can’t possibly be the kind of nine that they want. Nine, nine, nine…nine.”

Carney was responding to a question about whether the President “going out there and providing pressure from the outside in is showing some results among the electorate?”

Here’s the exchange, via The White House:

Transcript: (via email from The White House)

Q I just want to clarify to understand. The President has been talking about the jobs act for about six weeks and been out there around the country. I just want to make sure I understand, you all believe there is evidence that going out there and providing pressure from the outside in is showing some results among the electorate?

MR. CARNEY: Well, here’s –

Q I want to make sure what –

MR. CARNEY: Sure. I think so. There’s been polls that demonstrate that pretty significantly. I think another poll that shows how out of sync Republicans in Congress are with the mainstream is the recent one that showed a historic low — 9 percent approval rating for Congress. I mean, I know nine is a popular number in the Republican Party, but this can’t possibly be — (laughter) — the kind of nine that they want. Nine, nine, nine, nine. (Laughter.)

No, I think at some point — we think at some point, we certainly hope that the pressure that is mounting up there, out there, will be felt by members of Congress who seem to be content to deal with commemorative coins for Hall of Fame baseball players, which is something I support, but not ahead of creating jobs or growing the economy.

So yes, we believe there is progress being made.

Since unveiling his American Jobs Act in September, President Obama has seen little movement in his mid-forties approval rating, but polling on the provisions of his plan, and Americans’ perception that he is in their corner, demonstrate that Americans are getting the message, even if the Republicans in Congress aren’t. While the GOP technically only controls the House, they have more than enough members in the Senate, where 60 votes are required to overcome a filibuster, to block absolutely everything.

Elsewhere in the briefing, Carney pushed back on the idea that the Democrats couldn’t have passed the American Jobs Act in an up-or-down vote. Despite the fact that Sens. Jim Webb and Joe Lieberman claimed they would have voted the bill down (even though they voted to end the filibuster), Carney said, ”it didn’t get that far. Had it gotten that far, I am — we are absolutely confident that a majority — the majority of the United States Senate would support the American Jobs Act as a broad majority of the American people support it.”

Carney’s premise, apparently, is that while Webb and Lieberman have the luxury of saying that now, they would not have wanted to be the deciding votes that cut the measure down. There’s little advantage in accepting the political consequences of a vote you never had to cast.

It remains to be seen if pressure from constituents will have any effect on GOP lawmakers, but Carney’s quip sums up how the administration would like this election to go. While the President’s approval ratings remain married to the state of the economy, the White House hopes that the American people see that 9% and decide that they’ll stick with the guy who saved the patient from dying and made him a little better, rather than going back to the leeches and bloodletting.

Carney also corrected a misconception about the President’s current wave of Executive Orders. NBC News’ Mike Viqueira asked Carney, “What give the President the right to do this by executive order?”

Carney responded, “Where are you confused by — he’s not passing the American Jobs Act by executive…”

Viqueira said, “Well, he’s breaking out component parts, is he not?”

“No, he’s not,” Carney replied. “The executive actions are not pieces of the American Jobs Act. The pieces of American Jobs Act are in legislative form because they require congressional action. The things he is doing administratively through executive powers are things that he can do — the things that do not require legislative action — so he is exercising that power.”

Reporters also asked Carney about the President’s stance on Ohio’s SB-5, aka Question 2, which severely curtails collective bargaining rights for public employees. Carney didn’t have a specific answer during the briefing, citing the President’s broad support for union rights. Following the briefing, Carney asked the President about the measure, and added a note to the transcript, which read, expectedly, “The President doesn’t support the ballot initiative in Ohio that would strip away fundamental collective bargaining rights.”

9-9-9 plan, American Jobs Act, Herman Cain, Jay Carney, Mike Viqueira, SB 5

Michelle

Hey Tommy, Did Jay have a comment on support for Obamacare being down to 34? Or about Michelle fundraising with the fat cats from Enron? Or what about his whopper that he doesn’t take money from lobbyists? Anything?
Shazammysammy

There goes another whitey 1%er making fun of a black man’s plan. The Tea Party sure is racist
Anonymous

I like the 9 Obama gets from Repubs: “Nein! Nein! Nein!”
Rufus Danegro

Wow pleading with Tommy to change the subject. Nope, nothing new there. I guess your eyes started burning when you saw non favorable article to Cain, eh? Its ok Rev. Wright we know how you work.
Michelle

No, we are pleading with someone in the press corp to actually do their job.
Nells

Did the Tea Party occupy the WH press room? Looky at all the elite credentialed WH press corps. Aren’t these some of the same who complained about the Tea Party’s lack of color (Norah Odonnell)??? That press room is mighty whitey. And they are all laughing in unison at a whitey joke about a plan from a black man. Hmmmmmmmm
Anonymous

Right. Obama is trying to do by executive order more things he knows congress will not pass. Even his own party doesn’t support anything he does anymore. They are all abandoning ship.
MSNBC TV FOR WEINER LOVERS

Really ? You don’t like when senate democrats tell Obama , ” Nein ! Nein ! Nein! “ , better ?
TruDat

Sad Sack Obama actually thinks he’ll win reelection by running against Congress, as though everyone is too stupid to know that the Senate is controlled by the Democrat Party.
Michelle

And the media has largely ignored that. Can you imagine if Bush had declared he was going to bypass Congress to implement his agenda what the media outrage would have been? And they wonder why the American people have no use for them anymore except as a punchline.
TruDat

Liberals are inherently racist.
Rufus Danegro

Awwww how sweet. Sorry toots after all your lies reality does not favor conservatism.

Time to man up. If you don’t like Tommy’s reporting feel free to go to Hot Air-you shouldn’t waste your time at a site that bans you constantly and won’t acknowledge your worldview.

I’m sure you constant posts are nothing more than a mild irritation and serve as amusement for the mediaite staff but don’t for one second think that they or anybody else is taking your seriously Rev. Wright.

LOL
Rufus Danegro

Can you imagine if Bush had….

Hey toots your mentor El Rushbo don’t cotton to no “If” games! You are way out of the conservative ballpark now!

LOL
Rufus Danegro

Yawn
Anonymous

Quit stalking each and every one of Michelle’s posts. Do you liberals really forget that your party got wiped out in the 2010 midterms as Republicans gained like 50 seats? Don’t act like it’s just the Republican congress who Americans don’t like. Everyone is fed up with both parties, except the media only blames Republicans and deflects for the Democrats.
Rio

the majority of the United States Senate would support the American Jobs Act

No doubt, now that Harry Reid is using the nuclear option, only takes a majority vote, not 60.

Do we really think the retiring Senator Joe Lieberman(INDEPENDENT) is worried about the political consequences of his nay vote for the American Jobs Act?
Anonymous

YAWN
Pablo

Uh, Jay? Do you know what the unemployment rate is? You might want to back away from 9.
Michelle

Blah, blah, blah. Have a great day, Rufey!
Anonymous

Well the 9% approval is of all of congress not just one party so I’m not sure exactly what Carney is implying here.That said I think the most important 9 at the moment is the 9+ percent unemployment rate.I doubt that’s a nine the Obama administration wants or is willing to make into some kind of stupid joke.

Once again we have an article with a premise of vote for the less lousy candidate,implying that Obama is less bad than a Republican.That’s some ringing endorsement there Tommy,that’s the kind of endorsement you give when you know you’re going to march lock step up to a voting machine and vote for anybody with a D next to the name,and need a way to justify that.

As Mr Obama enhances his re-election by executive order,interesting timing for some of that huh Tommy?One has to wonder if Mr Obama will essentially bribe his way to a second term.The student loan deal is particularly interesting since OWS is mostly young people and young people are really hurting because of the current economic situation.Too bad he left out those who already got caught in the trap and are struggling to somehow get out of a huge hole that Mr Obama seems to have left them in.
SammyC

Republicans are out of touch PERIOD!
Anonymous

I like both.
Anonymous

Why does your house have wheels?
Rufus Danegro

And that’s how you shut michelle down.

You’re welcome everybody.
Anonymous

You are out of touch:

9.1% unemployment
Record debt

Record # on welfare, food stamps, in foreclosure, living in poverty, etc.

And you want more from the guy who brought ya that!

Talk about someone who is out of touch- and his mind!
Pllc67

There is one other 9 I can think of…. 9% unemployment. OH, sorry, that’s 9.2% unemployment
Michelle

Someone stole the wheels, it’s on blocks now.
Anonymous

More like 15-20% if the truth were allowed to be told!
Anonymous

Tommy, any mention about Oblamers dismal approval rating?
Anonymous

Jay acts as though Democrats are exempt from the 9% approval rating and it is only directed at the Republicans.
What was Congress’s approval rating when Nasty Pelosi was in charge before the Dems took a “shellacking” in the 2010 elections.
All we get from this admin is selective spin jobs and the loyalists like Tommy will happily go out and misinform the people.
No wonder why we have the least experienced and most incompetent President this Country has ever seen!!
Obeezy

These people would drink bath water, eat salt and live in an old refrigerator box, as long as one of them is in power.Talk about voting against your common sense. How else would anyone with half of brain want Obama in office again. Regardless of a D or R. he is one bad president. And thats facts not comedy or liberal chicanery.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XEFRKNJR6WJ5WQ6KNPH2OEY2LU Antonio

And it’s all President Obamas fault.

And he could change that number if he wanted to – it’s just that he is trying to collapse the system. Yawn.
Michelle

Cloward and Piven baby! Collapse the system so you can rebuild it.
Pete

Hey that was cool. Looking back up the comments you can actually see the exact moment the republican talking points were issued – “mention 9% unemployment”.
TruDat

Yawn
TruDat

Yawn
Go Navy

Talking point? Just what is the unemployment rate?
Moosenuts99

LOWEST. CONGRESSIONAL. APPROVAL. EVER.

REPULICON. LED. CONGRESS.
Moosenuts99

Same theory Beck was preaching two years ago
Moosenuts99

Filibuster proof
Majority? I don’t think so.
Anonymous

No, but their approval went from bad to historically low after the tea party takeover of the Republican delegation.

It’s not a coincidence.
Anonymous

The historically low approval ratings came in with the new tea party driven congress.
Anonymous

Why does your swamp not get drained?
Anonymous

But but but….Obamatold Jay I’m not going to pay attention until they are “voted off the island” or something.
Just another lie by the empty suited crowd currently occupying the oval.
Anonymous

Unemployment rate was 9.1% last I heard, but actually more like 20% when you count the people who have been out of work for more than a year and no longer expect to find work, or who have a part-time job with less than a week’s pay. All Thanks to Obama and the Democrats!
Anonymous

Now that’s the truth. Republicans in the House keep passing jobs bills up to the Senate and Harry Reid won’t allow them to come to the floor.
Anonymous

And Beck was right!
Anonymous

With the thousands of right wing nutjob websites on the Internets, wouldn’t you think these whiny people would leave and go haunt them? Their every paranoid delusion could be indulged, analyzed, high-fived and parroted with conservatard delight. As you say, their constant bellyaching probably provides the editors of this site with endless laughs and lots of “can you believe this harridan said THAT??”
Anonymous

I’ll bet you hear that from your wife a lot.
Pablo

It’s the same theory Cloward and Piven were preaching 45 years ago. And Piven is still preaching it today, to OWS’ers.
Pablo

You know Republicans only control half of Congress, right?
Michelle

This is the part of the presser Tommy hoped you wouldn’t see:

No Spinning The Truth: Obama Breaks Pledge on Lobbying Money

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0nlvHwG9ZeY
Rio

Wahhh, mommie make them go away, sob!
Michael Farley

Please point me to one of these job bills that have passed the House.
Michael Farley

Actually no we don’t want more of the guy that brought us that or anyone of his party taking the reins back. Everything you just wrote can be directly traced back to the predecessors in the White House. The Debt has been ballooning since Reagan. The cause of the high unemployment is due to the bank regulations being scaled back which lead to the financial crisis, which also led to a rise in the welfare, food stamp roles and an increase in foreclosures (kinda hard to make a mortgage payment when your job disappeared.

Out of touch and a short memory.
Anonymous

Well I see there is an awful lot of back and forth and subject changing on the post today. Congress is at 9% approval rating and you can yell and scream all you want, but the numbers do not lie. The President approval rating although low is 21-30 points, depending on the poll, ahead of Congress. So the message is the American people think Obama’s approach is better than the Congressional approach.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TWK2YYJTTIDLZIVV7NKZM23Z6Q Tyler

I agree Perry needs to get of the race he’s baggage to the Cain Train.
Anonymous

These exchanges between news hounds and Jay Carney point out the truth behind Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad Judgement. The thrust of questioning should be “where are the jobs that the 2010 freshmen Toxic Errant Agnostics(TEA) promised?” I think Jay did a marvelous job deflecting and injecting!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Be/1751243136 Dave Be

Nowhere near record numbers on welfare. The welfare program was gutted in 1996, and despite higher population and higher poverty percentage today, there’s about 1/3 as many people on welfare today than before TANF passed. As a percentage of population, more people were living in poverty in 1993 and 1982, and consistently from about 1960 on back.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Be/1751243136 Dave Be

19%, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Historically, when control of Congress changes hands from one party to the other, the congressional approval rating gets a ~10% bump. Their approval rating should be at ~29% to keep pace with historical trends.