Schumer: Some Republicans 'want the economy to actually fail'

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday morning that he believed Republicans in Congress would rather see President Obama defeated than economic improvement that would benefit the country as a whole.

"I think that is true. I think that is absolutely true. I'm sure there are some on their side who would say that of people on our side, but I believe that is all too true," Schumer said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Schumer contrasted Republican opposition to the president's economic policies to Democrats who were against the war in Iraq during George W. Bush's presidency.

"During the Iraq war, many of us came to be opposed to the Iraq war, but we still wanted America to win … You look at the analogy today, you get the feeling that there are some that want the economy to actually fail to prove their point. That's a very bad thing."

Schumer's comments double down on criticism he leveled at Republicans during the debt-ceiling debate in June.

"If they oppose even something so suited to their tastes ideologically, it shows that they're just opposing anything that helps create jobs," Schumer said. "It almost makes you wonder if they aren't trying to slow down the economic recovery for political gain."

Democrats have stepped up their criticism of congressional Republicans in anticipation of Thursday's job speech by Obama, in which the president is expected to introduce legislation aimed at stimulating the stagnant unemployment rates. Earlier Thursday, a White House spokesman warned that congressional gridlock was "harmful and dangerous."

Schumer's comments come as the senator has been pushing for further unity among the Congress as the country approaches the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Schumer plans to deliver an address urging cooperation and shared purpose on the Senate floor Thursday morning.

"I think it's helpful to use the prism of 9/11 to show that we can get it back and … ask the question, God forbid, how would we respond and summon the best in us rather than the worst in us?" Schumer asked on MSNBC. 

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