Colorado Democratic Party

Following reports this morning from the U.S. Department of Labor that the U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%, Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio reacted to the news, offering the following comments:

“Today’s news reinforces a steady growth trend for our economy, and we should all be encouraged that our prospects continue to improve. But today’s good news wasn’t inevitable; just three years ago, President Obama inherited an economy in free fall and shedding nearly 750,000 jobs a month. He made the tough calls, has taken political heat, but now America is taking consistent steps forward to the tune of 23 straight months of job growth.

“Already, we’ve seen that this good news for the country looks more like a political problem to Mitt Romney. But after taking multiple positions on the Recovery Act, saying Detroit should go bankrupt, and preferring for the housing market to hit bottom at the expense of the middle class, Romney has no credibility. Not that he had any before, when his job creation record consisted of firing thousands of workers while he personally profited and leaving Massachusetts 47^th in job creation. Still, Americans deserve a Republican candidate who isn’t rooting against their success for the next year.

“Today’s news is certainly good news, but there’s more to be done. Coloradans will have to decide if they want a President who makes tough choices that reverse terrible losses and return us to growth, or if they prefer someone whose self-interest has and continues to trump the needs of the people who feel the fallout from his decisions.”