The Leader's Ledger

State Of Play: GOP Leaders Go On Offense In Letter To President Obama On Job Creation, Regulations 

House Republican Leaders Call On President Obama To Support Bipartisan Job Creation Measures, Prevent Job Destroying Regulations. House Republicans are moving ahead on two bills aimed at cutting what they consider harmful regulation, a move they’re positioning as an olive branch to President Barack Obama weeks after he rolled out his jobs proposal. ... The EPA bill, Boehner wrote in a letter to Obama Monday morning, could help “protect” 200,000 American jobs. The cement bill, which has been heavily promoted by GOP lawmakers, would give the federal government time to “develop a more balanced and effective approach that will protect public health and the environment without imposing unnecessary economic harm on American businesses and workers.”... “The federal government has a responsibility under the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce, and there are reasonable regulations that protect our children and help keep our environment clean,” the letter to Obama said. “But there are also excessive regulations that unnecessarily increase costs for consumers and small businesses, and make it harder for our economy to create jobs. The rules addressed by the bills the House will consider this week are examples of such harmful government excess.” Politico

• From The Letter: We write today to ask that you give similar consideration to our plan for America’s job creators, including two important bills the House will consider this week that will support job creation and prevent thousands of jobs from being destroyed in some of our country’s most critical industries. One of the bills the House will consider this week is H.R. 2250, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act, approved by the House Committee on Energy & Commerce last month by a bipartisan vote of 36 to 14. If implemented, the measure would protect more than 200,000 American jobs that the federal government’s new boiler rules put at risk. The House this week will also consider H.R. 2681, the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act, which passed the same committee last month by a bipartisan vote of 33 to 12. If approved, the bill will require the federal government to reissue its recent rules affecting cement manufacturing to ensure that those rules are achievable by real world facilities. It will allow the federal government additional time to develop a more balanced and effective approach that will protect public health and the environment without imposing unnecessary economic harm on American businesses and workers. As currently written, the rules threaten to shut down up to 20 percent of the nation’s cement manufacturing plants in the next two years, sending thousands of jobs permanently overseas and driving up cement and construction costs across the country. Letter To President Obama

Zuckerman: The Business Community Feels The Obama Administration No Longer Understands The Negative Impact Overregulation Has On Economic Growth. Polls show that business leaders are growing increasingly pessimistic. In the past six months a third of companies have delayed or cancelled plans for capital spending. Of course, none of this was helped by a government that lost credibility by predicting that its recovery programmes would bring the jobless rate down and growth up. This was the beginning of the yawning credibility gap between the Obama’s administration and business. The gap is being aggravated by Mr Obama’s recent sharp turn to the left. ... the suspicion that the administration is more interested in campaigning and undermines the confidence that business needs if it is to invest in the face of new regulations, healthcare costs and an increased bureaucracy. Businesses sense that the administration no longer understands how this perceived hostility saps the animal spirits required for taking risks on expansions and start-ups. The Financial Times

State Of Play (2): Democrats Continue To Reject President Obama’s Plan To Raise Taxes

Bipartisan Opposition to Obama's Jobs Plan Leaves Little Chance of Congressional Approval. Congress is highly unlikely to approve the massive jobs package that President Barack Obama has been pushing relentlessly from coast to coast, day after day, for almost a month. Republicans don't like its proposed tax increases. Some Democrats are reluctant to endorse another cut in Social Security taxes; others are wary of oil and gas tax hikes. And Obama's low approval ratings, the most dismal of his presidency, are making it hard for him to build any momentum. ... "We'll get to that," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said of the jobs plan, which he says he supports. "But let's get some of these things done that we have to get done first." McClatchy

Not Even Democrats Like President Obama’s Jobs Bill. Not only is the president’s job bill not “the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans,” it’s not even the kind of proposal that Democrats can currently support. On Monday, senators passed a bill to keep the government open into the next fiscal year and then headed out on vacation for the rest of the week. Majority Leader Harry Reid said when they return they’ll get back to work — not on the jobs bill, but on a measure to punish China over its currency valuation. Mr. Reid said that bill is a bigger priority right now. The Washington Times

• Leader Cantor: President Obama Knows Tax Increases Cannot Not Pass The House. In the House, the Republican majority won’t accept Obama’s proposed tax increases. “I can’t really make sense of why the president thinks he should be doing this,” said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. McClatchy

BET Founder Robert Johnson: President Obama Is Wrong To Attack, Penalize Success. You don’t get people to like you by attacking them or demeaning their success. I grew up in a family of 10 kids, first one to go to college, and I’ve earned my success. ... by attacking me, is not going to convince me that I should take a bigger hit because I happen to be wealthy." Although he didn't directly address it, Johnson seemed to frown upon Obama's plan to hike taxes on the wealthy - the so-called "Buffett Rule." Politico

The Road Ahead: Super Committee Democrats Demonstrate Their Goal Is To Raise Taxes

Super Committee Democrats Focus On Their Top Priority: Tax Hikes. Democrats want tax hikes to be the first item negotiated in "super committee" deficit-reduction talks ... Discussing taxes first would also be a switch from the negotiating tactics employed in earlier talks. In the summer debt talks between the White House and congressional leaders, the strategy was to try first to agree on what were perceived to be less controversial issues, such as domestic spending cuts. Those talks ultimately broke down amid disagreements over taxes. ... If Democrats insist on tackling tax increases first, that is "problematic" given the November 23 deadline, the aide said. Reuters

Keeping Tabs

Aides Compare President Obama's Treatment Of The CBC To That Of A “Deadbeat Dad.” The recent back-and-forth between the White House and black Members of Congress has brought to the fore a criticism among some in the CBC that Obama has not established a strong relationship with the group. ... Cleaver likened the comments to a "family conversation" that only two groups so closely aligned could have. But if it's a family, two House aides familiar with the CBC's thinking said, some Members think of the president as a "deadbeat dad," largely absent from the black community but ultimately above reproach. Roll Call

Michigan Minute

Lions Shock The Cowboys With A Stunning 2nd Half Comeback, Move To 4-0 – The Detroit Free Press

Tigers take game 2 In NY 5-3, Game 3 Tonight In Detroit – The Detroit News

A Dominant Defensive Performance Guides Michigan State To Their First Win Over Ohio State Since 1999 – The Lansing State Journal

Michigan Routes Minnesota 58-0, Unbeaten Wolverines Close In On The Top 10 – The Detroit News

Off The Beaten Path

The New Ramen ... Much Better Than The Old Ramen

Yankees vs. Red Sox Just Got Taken To A Whole New Level – The New York Post