Nov. 9--When the Department of Labor announced the unemployment rate was 10.2 percent for October, the Republican reaction was predictable.

After all it was the highest rate of unemployment in 26 years, and it flew in the face of the insistence earlier this year from President Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat Party that the trillion-dollar stimulus bill would prevent unemployment from going over 8 percent.

Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., said Friday, "Now, as the unemployment rate has run into double-digits at 10.2 percent, they are scratching and clawing to spend trillions more on programs like government-run health care. The president and his party have lost sight of what's most important, and that's jobs. Instead of obsessing over this highly controversial health care package, they should take a step back, re-evaluate the overall impact of their reckless spending, and find a new, bipartisan strategy for restoring America's economy."

Ditto from Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who said, "Families across this nation are devastated by the reality of a 26-year high unemployment rate. It's hard to find a friend or a neighbor who hasn't been touched by today's news that the national unemployment rate is 10.2 percent. The challenges facing our families and small businesses are obvious ... Unfortunately, the Democrat leadership has turned a deaf ear to the concerns voiced by countless citizens, and the American people are paying the price.

"The American people want to know why Congress is forcing through the Pelosi plan for a government takeover of health care instead of a plan that will help create jobs. Concerned citizens don't understand why their elected officials can't work together to create jobs and bring relief to families hurting in the city and on the farm. It is time Democrat leaders abandon their endless pursuit of government-run health care and begin working on bipartisan solutions that will put the American people back to work."

While health care reform is an important issue, the urgency put forth by Obama and the Democrat Party pale in comparison to the urgency of the nation's economic failure. Let's fix that first.

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