Paul Ryan’s Official Republican Response: A Pledge To ‘Do Things Differently’
EmailABC News' Jonathan Karl and Michael Falcone report:
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., the Republican designated to deliver the party's official rebuttal to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address plans to use his response to call for slashing spending, reducing the national debt and promoting job creation.
“Americans are skeptical of both political parties, and that skepticism is justified — especially when it comes to spending," Ryan will say, according to an excerpt of his prepared remarks. "So hold all of us accountable. In this very room, the House will produce, debate, and advance a budget. Last year — in an unprecedented failure — Congress chose not to pass, or even propose a budget. The spending spree continued unchecked."
The early excerpts of Ryan's remarks indicate he will sound themes that were at the core of the GOP's midterm election strategy last year — a strategy that led to sweeping victories in the November elections.
Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, will tell Americans, "we owe you a better choice and a different vision."
"Our forthcoming budget is our obligation to you — to show you how we intend to do things differently," he plans to say, "how we will cut spending to get the debt down … help create jobs and prosperity … and reform government programs.”
Though Ryan's remarks will constitute the official GOP response to the president's speech, it's not the only one getting attention. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., will deliver a Tea Party response in conjunction with the group, Tea Party express.
Her comments will touch on similar themes.
“After the $700 billion bailout, the trillion-dollar stimulus, and the massive budget bill with over 9,000 earmarks that the President signed, many of you implored Washington to please stop spending money we don’t have," Bachmann plans to say, according to excerpts of her remarks. “But, instead of cutting, we saw an unprecedented explosion of government spending and debt at President Obama’s direction — unlike anything we have seen in the history of our country.”
The major television networks, including ABC News, plan to broadcast Ryan's response. Bachmann's speech will be streamed live on the Tea Party Express Web site and the congresswoman emphasized earlier this week that her words are “not meant to be in competition” with Ryan’s comments.
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Is Congress Sounding Dumber?
You sound like a small child blaming the president. What about the Republican that caused this mess, George W Bush? This is George W. Bush’s war..his mess. STOP PLACING BLAME!!!
Work together and fix this mess.
Stop talking and start acting.
Posted by: m | January 25, 2011, 10:35 pm 10:35 pm
I agree with the post by M. At the end of the Bush term(2001-2009), Bush left the US with a Debt GDP of 83.4%. Bush increase the US debt by 29.9% just by himself. Where were all the Republicans then? Why did’nt they try and stop Bush. Have you ever seen the show Under Cover Boss? I think the US Congress should go under cover and see what the citizens of the US go through daily. Most of you would not make it through the test.
Posted by: C.HILLS | January 25, 2011, 10:48 pm 10:48 pm
Bush wasn’t the one who pumped the debt in 2007 and 2008. That was the Democrats who were in Houses of Congress.
If you look at the deficit numbers, they were going DOWN until Pelosi and Reid took control and spent, and spent, and spent.
Get the facts right.
Posted by: AH | January 25, 2011, 11:26 pm 11:26 pm
AH is sooooo wrong. First the democrats only passed one budget under Bush. Second the democrats could not reduce the budget because Bush said he would veto any reductions in the war effort
Posted by: Pat | January 26, 2011, 12:26 am 12:26 am
Bush’s budgets left off the two wars. These were cover with requests for additional spending. This way Republicans could falsely boast that Bush’s budgets were not raising the National debt.
Posted by: joe | January 26, 2011, 1:05 am 1:05 am
They need to work together at fixing the problems, and the Republican idea of bipartisanship is the Democrats doing whatever they want. They want to fix health care by stopping lawsuits against their people. They want to fix the deficit by working together to cut social security to he people that have worked for it all their lives. It’s a good answer if you take the heart out of the subject. You can have people work into their 70′s, die on the job, and save billions. The Republican way of fixing the deficit, but it’s ok, because their people can survive, at least until the middle class that feeds them disappear.
Posted by: parma hts gary | January 26, 2011, 7:05 am 7:05 am
what do you think the republian party would say? They have noting to offer so blame everyone but themselfs, they drove this country into the ground and they have noting to offer.
Posted by: roy b | January 26, 2011, 7:17 am 7:17 am
Do the REPUBLICANS truly believe that the STATE of our economy was GOOD when the Obama Administration TOOK office. “Cut the Budget” should have been their “rallying cry” under Bush. They Dug and Dug until the collapse. Do they really think that this country would NOT have collapsed without the TARP money signed by Bush administration and split between the Two? Obvious they are blaming the 350 bil that Obama was left for the fall of the economy and the lost of years. 700 million in the month before the Prez took office in Jobs Lost. Ryan wants to privitize Social Security..Imagine my grandmother situatio if Bush’s policies of privitizing would have taken place? Imagine the “Death Panels” of States such as Arizona denying medical care and healthcare if Healthcare reform hadn’t passed. Are these people from a different planet? INVEST MEANS BETTER FUTURE!!! THIS IS WHY THIS COUNTRY IS LAGGING BEHIND OTHER COUNTRIES BECAUSE WE DON’T INVEST IN IT. WE ONLY TAKE FROM IT! Some of the newly elected congressman and women would been from the investment of education right now! Michelle Bachman say just the other day in front of Americans that George Washington and John “Quincy” Adams stopped Slavery. Washington bought and sold slavery…It was “John Quincy Adams” It is John Adams! This is why some of the American people that are being “dumbed-down” is a problem. In 1-2 Decades do we want the Dumbed-Down to be running this country, writing policies that will affect US? I think NOT. I feel good this morning and more optimistic as ever!
Posted by: raven | January 26, 2011, 8:16 am 8:16 am
“would Benefit from the investment of education” … It WASN’T John Quincy Adams…It was John ADAMS…correction of my thoughts in the previous post.
Posted by: raven | January 26, 2011, 8:20 am 8:20 am
Ah…2 WARS and a Medicare Part D …. Tax Cuts to the Wealthy WERE NOT PAID for. I could vividly remember the look of the newly elected President once HE saw WHAT was LEFT to him 1 month before Taking office. A look of Disbelief!!!! Why a Smiling Bush retired to the comforts of a Brand New home in the south of Texas with a ganranteed pension and benefits Paid for by YOU and ME. Now his party’s idealogues has Selected Memory!
Posted by: raven | January 26, 2011, 8:26 am 8:26 am
Thank You Mr. President!!!
Posted by: raven | January 26, 2011, 8:27 am 8:27 am
Republicans are thrilled to spend us into the ground by starting wars and funneling trillions into mercenaries, Halliburton et al. Then they blame Democrats for continuing to carry out their own policies to bail us out of the mess they got us into.
Republicans are fearful and aggressive lapdogs of mercenary corporations and dupes of greedy rich…. Increase war spending, cut taxes for the rich, drive the US into the ground and then use this as an excuse to cut healthcare, education and environment budgets.
While they’re at it, Republicans claim to love freedom and hate big government control — while pushing to control ability to marry, and advocating massive DEA and prison costs for victimless crimes.
Posted by: Bob Otis | January 26, 2011, 2:04 pm 2:04 pm
“When talking about the federal government and its budget deficit, Republican politicians love to score points by noting that “you’d never run your household or your business that way.”
Then again, you’d never run your household or your business by ignoring investment. Yet now that President Obama has proposed stepped-up public investment in infrastructure, energy, education and basic research, Republicans have suddenly decided their favorite analogy no longer applies.
Asked about investment on the television talk shows Sunday, House Republican leader Eric Cantor (Va.) and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) each declared it was just another Democratic ploy to spend more money. Instead of Obama’s “invest-and-grow,” Republicans now offer “cut-and-grow,” which will take its place beside “government ownership of the means of production” and “tax cuts that pay for themselves” in the Pantheon of Economic Nonsense.
Republicans, it turns out, have no public investment strategy, just as they have no health-care strategy and no agreed-upon blueprint for reducing federal spending. What they have are poll-tested talking points, economic delusions and an overwhelming partisan instinct to say “no” to anything Barack Obama proposes. In their response to the president’s State of the Union message, they remind us once again that they are not serious about economic policy and not ready to govern.”
Posted by: pamp205 | January 26, 2011, 5:25 pm 5:25 pm
After bthe announcement today of RECORD deficits and the actuary of Medicare testifying to the increase in Healcare COSTS due to Obamacare. Ryan is spot on.
Posted by: Kala | January 26, 2011, 7:59 pm 7:59 pm
Good at least they both used the words cut spending. Now it is time for action where? I bet it won’t be the rich (Republicans) or the poor the Democrats. Oh my goodness I forgot the Middle Class will suffer again. Wow.
Posted by: Steve | January 26, 2011, 8:43 pm 8:43 pm