Republicans are attempting to take credit for a strengthening economy, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden warned House of Representative Democrats on Friday, The Washington Times reported.
If Democrats failed to explain how the role of health care reforms, the stimulus, and auto bailouts were instrumental in the recent economic recovery of the country, the Republicans would be successful in persuading Americans in an "orchestrated effort" that their election victories last November sparked a stronger wave of growth and hiring, Biden said at a Democratic policy retreat in Philadelphia.
"This is our story, the Democratic party's story," Biden told House Democrats. "It's about how government policy can and did change America. And people are attempting to steal that story."
"Mark my words: the Republican Party is going to try to claim this resurgence," he predicted, "and they're going to misrepresent that it's because of...policies that they supported."
Despite heavy losses, the Democrats were able to sustain the last two midterm elections at great political cost, according to CBS News.
"A lot of my friends and your friends in this caucus aren't here today, because they had the nerve to stand up and do what they thought was right, knowing...they were gonna be in trouble," he said.
But with economic growth and job creation gathering steam, Biden added, "it's becoming clearer and clearer that the decisions you made...were the right decisions."
And if the Democrats did not claim credit for the current recovery, they would have less credibility to push their future policies, such as new spending on education and infrastructure.
"The point here is that Democrats have to stand up," he said. "You've got to embrace what we did. Explain it, be proud of it, stand up for it, defend it. We can't let the Republican party rewrite history."
Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had suggested that the improving economy "appears to coincide with the biggest political change of the Obama administration's long tenure in Washington: the expectation of a new Republican Congress."
But the vice president disagreed with McConnell's suggestion, Reuters reported.
"We've moved from disaster to recovery to resurgence," he said. "Now the Republican Party is - it's amazing - they're trying to rewrite history."
