Republicans throw cold water on unemployment numbers

By Josh Lederman - 12/02/11 10:35 AM ET

A drop in the unemployment rate to the lowest it has been in almost three years might seem like good news, but Republicans aren't ready to let President Obama and Democrats take credit.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus threw cold water on the latest Labor Department figures on Friday, acknowledging it was positive news but claiming it failed to mask the damage Obama has inflicted on the nation's economy.

“Only in an economy so badly damaged by Democrats’ policies would the White House celebrate 8.6 percent unemployment," Priebus said in a statement shortly after the numbers were released. "The fact is, unemployment remains unacceptably high."

Priebus pointed to another part of the unemployment report that showed many unemployed Americans have stopped looking for work, which also drives down the unemployment rate, calling it evidence that Obama had so discouraged the job market that workers had simply given up.

Priebus joined a chorus of Republican leaders Friday who downplayed the significance of the unemployment report, which showed a steep drop from the 9 percent jobless rate one month ago.

The National Republican Congressional Committee blasted out statements targeting more than 50 Democratic House members, claiming Democrats "are still doing everything they can to make it worse."

Republicans are keenly aware that lingering economic problems and high unemployment could doom Obama's reelection efforts and help them shore up control of the House and win back the Senate.

They are also aware of the opposite scenario: Significant improvement in the economy during the 12 months before the 2012 elections could hand Democrats the evidence they need to successfully argue they have pulled the country out of the economic morass that they say began under President George W. Bush.

But by coming down hard on Democrats just as signs of economic progress are emerging, Republicans risk coming across as tone-deaf and playing directly into the Democratic playbook.

The Democratic National Committee and prominent Obama surrogates have already accused Republicans of rooting for failure for the U.S. economy. Democrats are likely to use glum GOP responses to Friday's positive economic news to further prop up their claims that Republicans want the economy to stay in the doldrums until voters go to the polls one year from now.