Infidels Paradise

The Hill:

Obama to GOP: ‘Stop trying to frighten the American people’

By Sam Youngman

President Barack Obama told House Republican leaders to “stop trying to frighten the American people” even as he and Democrats said they see a possibility for bipartisan cooperation on job creation legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters that Obama made the admonition during a bipartisan meeting at the White House on Wednesday, producing a chart to show Republicans that “things are a lot better.”

Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said there was broad agreement on their side of the aisle about how to create jobs by aiding small businesses and boosting infrastructure spending. Pelosi said she thinks on those issues, “it’s possible for us to find some common, bipartisan ground.”

But moments later, Republicans made it clear that they want to see a “spending freeze” and a “no-cost” jobs plan that consists largely of tax cuts.

“We can’t keep spending money we don’t have,” House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) pushed back on Obama’s request for an end to Republicans’ scare tactics by saying that Obama’s policies have led to a hiring freeze, and the GOP is simply telling constituents what is happening.

“The president wants to blame us for informing the American people and how this will affect them,” Boehner said.

The Republicans presented a letter to Obama detailing how they think he should approach job creation, including by way of tax cuts and trade expansion.

Despite the GOP opposition, Democratic leaders seemed optimistic they can move quickly on a jobs bill that contains much of what the president outlined in a speech Tuesday.

Reid declined to say when a jobs bill might come up in the Senate, but he said after Tuesday night’s “breakthrough” on healthcare reform that he does think the Senate will pass a healthcare bill before lawmakers leave for Christmas.