Rep. Ellsworth: Stimulus ‘Did Work,’ but Economy ‘Still Very Fragile’

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: Democrats got some less-than-encouraging jobs numbers today, with the final unemployment report before the mid-term elections showing anemic private-sector growth, and an overall loss in American jobs. It leaves Democrats in a politically vulnerable position, as they seek to explain why the steps they’ve taken to get the economy moving haven’t worked as quickly as they had hoped. On ABC’s “Top Line” today, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, who’s running for Senate in Indiana, acknowledged that the $862 billion stimulus package hasn’t done enough to rejuvenate the economy. But he said it has worked in staving off the worst of the economic damage. “I think it was necessary. And if you dissect the stimulus: a third in tax cuts — a third in financial support to the states to keep them afloat, and then a third in the projects and grants — I  think it did work,” said Ellsworth, D-Ind. “Is it fast enough? Is it enough – you know we’d love to see the numbers better. But this is – we’ve dug ourselves a deep hole, and we’re slowly digging out of that. We’re seeing encouraging signs, but it’s still very fragile. So we’ve got to stay laser-focused on how we’re going to continue the recovery.” Ellsworth criticized his fellow Democrats for not voting to extend the Bush tax cuts before going into recess last week: “I would have voted before we left for recess to extend the tax cuts. That would have given some stability,” Ellsworth said. “People would know where we’re going. I think we have to show businesses and employers what we’re going to do. The reason they hold back is because we’re not giving them stability. And so I think we in Washington have to do that. We have to make investments in advanced manufacturing. We have to give – cut the red tape for small businesses, and large businesses, so that they can plan ahead. They don’t plan in two-year increments like Congress does.” Ellsworth said Democrats bear some responsibility for voters’ disaffection with Washington. “Well sure,” he said. “I think anytime that you’re in charge and you have majorities, people are going to look and say ‘What are you doing?’ You know, we’ve done some big things. We’ve taken some bold steps from the very first votes on TARP, you know, when President Bush came to us and said, ‘our economy is going over a cliff, we need the help’ — we took some time, we made it better, TARP’s being repaid. I think that actually saved our economy from going into a depression….” “So we took some bold steps, and we’ve got to continue,” he added. Ellsworth was a beneficiary of the Democratic wave in 2006, when he came to Congress after serving as a county sheriff. Asked why the political climate seems to have changed so quickly in Indiana, he said: “I’m not sure it’s toxic . I think people in Indiana, and across the country, just want somebody that’s going to serve them, and not serve themselves. And quit the party bickering, and the petty bickering. And just make good, common sense decisions.” We also checked in with Kate Zernike of The New York Times, the author of a new book, “Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America.”