America the jobless: Ron Paul wins, Timothy Geithner loses?
Frustration at how Washington has managed the 'jobless recovery' is turning some members of Capitol Hill against Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner 鈥� and in favor of a controversial measure by Rep. Ron Paul.
Congress鈥檚 odd couple? Reps. Ron Paul (R) of Texas and Alan Grayson (D) of Florida.
Newscom, John Raoux/AP
America is angry about the economy, and the biggest winners could just be Congress鈥檚 odd couple: Reps. Ron Paul (R) of Texas and Alan Grayson (D) of Florida.
Mr. Paul, the far right former presidential candidate, and Mr. Grayson, the far left rabble-rouser who said the Republicans鈥� healthcare plan was for ill people to 鈥渄ie quickly,鈥� are Congress鈥檚 two biggest critics of the Federal Reserve.
On Friday, Paul leveraged public frustration at Washington鈥檚 management of an apparent 鈥渏obless recovery鈥� 鈥� and the mounting pressure on Capitol Hill to do something 鈥� to push through a controversial amendment to rein in the Federal Reserve.
The amendment is just one of several indicators suggesting that, even as the Senate enters intense negotiations about healthcare reform, the economy 鈥� and specifically unemployment numbers 鈥� is once again percolating toward the top of the agenda.
鈥淏oth the president and Congress want to shift from this critically important issue [healthcare reform] 鈥� to the economy and jobs,鈥� Sen. Richard Durbin (D) of Illinois said on NBC鈥檚 鈥�Meet the Press." "We need to refocus our attention 鈥� all of our attention 鈥� on getting people back to work."
Geithner as 'bad guy'
On Friday, Rep. Kevin Brady (R) of Texas asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to resign point blank during a congressional hearing. Pollster John Zogby that the request could be a preview of next year鈥檚 midterm election politics.
鈥淐onservatives need a bad guy,鈥� he said.
But earlier in the week, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D) of Oregon also called for Mr. Geithner to step down. "It is pretty embarrassing for a Democratic administration and a Democratic Congress to be identified with total attention to Wall Street and nothing for Main Street and jobs," he .
A lot of Democrats are "upset and nervous" with the administration鈥檚 handling of the economy. That was further borne out Friday, when the Congressional Black Caucus 鈥� one of President Obama鈥檚 staunchest allies 鈥� on a key bill that aims to remedy the regulatory mistakes that led to the financial meltdown.
The reason: They felt that the concerns of black Americans weren鈥檛 being met by the administration鈥檚 economic policies. By delaying the bill, "They want to continue to have some bargaining power with the administration," said Rep. Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts, chairman of the Financial Services Committee.
Paul's amendment
In the meantime, Paul succeeded in getting his amendment attached to the bill. The amendment would allow the Government Accountability Office to conduct audits of the Federal Reserve.
The Fed, America鈥檚 central bank, is designed to be free of political interference, and critics say such oversight could lead it to shy away from politically controversial decisions. Paul and Grayson complain that the Fed holds enormous influence over American economic policy without any meaningful check on its authority.
More broadly, however, the success of the amendment points to the rise of a new wave of frustration about how Washington has managed the recession.
-----
Follow us on .