Rep. Schakowsky Announces Bill to Create 2.2 Million Jobs

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of President Obama’s 18-member Fiscal Commission, announced she will introduce the Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act, a cost-effective plan to put over 2 million people to work for two years.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

The time has come for Congress to focus like a laser on the most pressing crisis facing our country – the jobs crisis.

With extended unemployment benefits scheduled to expire at the end of this year, 13.9 million people remain out of work.

The average worker who is unemployed has been searching for a job for more than nine months and recent reports reveal that private sector employers largely refuse to hire those currently jobless.

An additional 8.4 million are working part time because they cannot find a full-time job. In June 2007, 63 percent of adults were employed, now the percentage is 58.2 percent. Despite reports of a Congress immobilized and unable to address the jobs crisis– Congress can and must do something today.

Gallup Poll Has Good News For Democrats, Bad News For Republicans

Following a not some good batch of polling news for congressional Republicans, a new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that Democrats have taken the lead on the first generic congressional ballot poll of the 2012 campaign season.

The poll found that Democrats now have a 51 percent to 44 percent lead over Republicans among registered voters when asked which party's candidate they would vote for if elections for Congress were being held today.

The 7-percentage-point lead on the new poll isn't as strong as the Gallup polls that led up to the major Democratic swing elections in 2006 and 2008 (Gallup says Democrats averaged 11-point and 10-point leads in polls before those elections), but it was much better than most Gallup polls leading up to the 2010 Republican victory, which showed near-ties or Republican leads among registered voters.

Tea Party Endorsements Could Do More Harm Than Good

Gallup also asked registered voters how a Tea Party endorsement would affect their likelihood of voting for a congressional candidate. The effect is nearly 2-to-1 negative, with 42% saying they would be less likely to vote for such a candidate versus 23% saying they would be more likely.

Obama’s Approval Rating Hits Record Low

President Obama’s job approval rating for the first 10 days of August was 4 percentage points lower than it was in the first week of July, significantly less of a drop than the 19-point decline in Gallup's Economic Confidence Index over the same period.

Last week’s 42% average was the lowest of his administration. In terms of the Gallup Daily tracking three-day average that Gallup routinely reports, Obama hit a new low of 40% last week, but by Tuesday of last week the three day rolling average was back up to 42 percent.

However, by Sunday August 14, Obama's three day average approval of the president's job performance had dropped to 39 percent, while 54 percent disapprove.

Both figures are the worst numbers of his presidency.

Austin Chronicle: The Perry Trap

Governor Rick Perry may be new on the national stage, but he's old news in Austin. Over the two decades of his political career, The Austin Chronicle has charted his rise to power.

The Chronicle collected their most insightful stories about Perry's political career – and it hasn't all been secession talk and laser-sighted pistols. The Chronicle's writers have examined his links to big business and big donors, his indiscriminate use of the death penalty, how he's flirted (or bedded down) with every conservative movement from the Religious Right to the Tea Party, and loads more.

Read about Gov. Perry's accomplishments in The Austin Chronicle.