Yet again Republicans are running their election year bait and switch on jobs and the economy. Do not ever forget who was in charge when the economy hit the skids. The reasons behind the failures were not some mystical forces of the economic gods, but government policies which allowed banks to become casinos. Adding to the mix was engaging in two wars that were paid for by borrowing from China and Japan, while giving a huge tax cut to millionaires and billionaires. Mix in an unfunded prescription drug benefit which added $700 billion to the debt and you get a recipe for an economic disaster unparalleled since the 1930’s.

The economy collapsed under the weight of all that in 2008. Remember the TARP bailout (giveaway) for Wall Street in Oct of that year followed by a loss of 1.5 million jobs in Bush’s last two months in office. The GDP in that quarter was -8%, an historical figure. The huge run up in national debt that began during the Bush years accelerated in fiscal 2009 which began on Oct 1, 2008. The massive unemployment which began under Bush created huge strains on the budget in the ensuing years as government tried to reverse the economic tide.

In 2010 the Republicans gained control of the House and state legislatures with the promise of job, jobs, jobs. Two years later we have yet to see any real effort on their part to deliver, in fact what we have seen is obstruction at every turn. They were serious when they announced their main objective was to make Barack Obama a one term president, even if it meant taking the country down with him. Fortunately polls show that Americans are not easily fooled a second and third time.

In spite of Republican obstructionism our economy, since 2009, has added over 4 million jobs with growth for 25 straight months and our GDP is now at 2%+, a remarkable turn around considering where we were. Especially when you consider it took 15 years and a world war to recover from the “Great Depression”. Yet Americans are not known for their patience. And though we all desire a faster recovery, there is no magic elixir with an overnight cure no matter what any candidate or snake oil salesman tries to tell you. We are on the track to recovery and it would be foolish to turn around and go back where we just came from. Romney would reinstitute Bush policies on steroids.

The public is finally waking up to this cynical bait-and-switch scam Republicans have been running since the Reagan days, promise jobs and give the wealthiest huge tax breaks. Simple economics tells us and history shows us that what creates jobs is demand driven by consumers who have more money to spend.

This is the Democratic model and now is the time to elect those who understand the economy flows from the bottom, not from a few rich at the top.