Who really wants new jobs in America?

There's a rumor going around that Republicans are against job creation in America. People say because they opposed President Obama's so-called "American Jobs Act" that Republicans are the ones standing in the way of an employment rebound in America. Really.

The "Jobs Act" called for about $447 billion in new taxes to pay for it, and does nothing to actually create jobs. After all, the government cannot create jobs - that's the private sector's domain. The government can only take money from the private sector to pay for temporary employment within government branches. That is not job creation. That is spending other people's money. If the federal government has authentic interest in job creation, then the best thing it can do is get out of the private sector's way by reducing choking regulations and taxation so that private enterprise can thrive, invest, and above all, hire.

But two key opportunities America has had lately to create real, private sector jobs - The Boeing Plant in South Carolina and the Canada-Texas Keystone Pipeline project - were shot down by President Obama, citing union and environmental concerns, respectively. Apparently if a new job prospect doesn't give preference to a union worker or cost the American taxpayer anything to create, it must not be worthy of pursuit. Thankfully, 44 Senators - all Republican but one - are introducing legislation to allow for the Keystone Project anyway.

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who introduced the bill yesterday, said in a statement, “It will create thousands of jobs, help control fuel prices at the pump and reduce our reliance on Middle East oil."

When it comes to getting people back to work - and helping America in other ways as well - it seems the Republicans, in this case, get it. Obama and the environmentalists, as usual, do not.

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