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Burr is a top Democratic target in 2010.

(CNN) – North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr said Thursday he was merely reacting to the economic crisis last fall the way many Americans did when he advised his family to withdraw as much cash as they could from their bank accounts.

"There are individuals in this country who keep cash at home," Burr told the Charlotte News and Observer. "I don't happen to be one of those. I live from ATM machine to ATM machine. The reality is when you look at a financial industry that is not exchanging capital, it immediately says you better have a little bit of cash set aside."

The North Carolina Republican has taken heat this week after he told a gathering of business leaders in his home state that the collapse of major financial institutions last fall convinced him his family's bank accounts could have been frozen.

"On Friday night, I called my wife and I said, 'Brooke, I am not coming home this weekend. I will call you on Monday. Tonight, I want you to go to the ATM machine, and I want you to draw out everything it will let you take. And I want you to tomorrow, and I want you to go Sunday,'" Burr said during a speech at a Henderson County Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday.

National Democrats quickly seized on the comment, characterizing it as irresponsible at best and damaging at worst. But a NRSC spokesman defended the remark, telling CNN, "It's little wonder Americans want to keep their hard earned money away from the grips of Washington."

Clarifying his comments Thursday, Burr said its important to remember what the economic landscape looked like last fall when he pushed for the bank withdrawals.

"That was when the financial architecture of the industry was in jeopardy," he said. "It was when cash was frozen from institution to institution. The purpose of TARP was to stabilize that architecture to free up the flow of capital from bank to bank and bank to business.

"That part of the economic crisis is over."

Burr, whose approval ratings are languishing in recent state polls, is likely to face a difficult reelection race in 2010, though Democrats have yet to field a candidate.

Burr is a top Democratic target in 2010.

(CNN) - Democrats are taking aim at North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr over the Republican's recent remark that he advised his family last fall to withdraw as much money as they could from their bank accounts in reaction to the onset of the economic crisis.

"If this is Senator Burr's economic recovery plan for himself, it is no surprise he doesn't have one for the country," said Eric Schultz, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "Senator Burr, as a champion of the George Bush economy helped create this mess but will not lift a finger to get us out of it.”

According to the (Burlington, NC) Times-News, Burr told North Carolina business owners Monday the collapse of major financial institutions last fall convinced him his family's bank accounts could have been frozen.

"On Friday night, I called my wife and I said, 'Brooke, I am not coming home this weekend. I will call you on Monday. Tonight, I want you to go to the ATM machine, and I want you to draw out everything it will let you take. And I want you to tomorrow, and I want you to go Sunday,'" Burr said during a speech at a Henderson County Chamber of Commerce meeting.

"I was convinced on Friday night that if you put a plastic card in an ATM machine the last thing you were going to get was cash," said Burr.

The senator, whose approval ratings are languishing in recent state polls, faces re-election in 2010 and is among the Democrats' top targets.

Brian Walsh, the communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said, "The Democrats’ response highlights perfectly the competing views of the two parties when it comes to strengthening the economy. "

"In just the first three months of this year, Senate Democrats have voted for more spending than the previous Administration spent on Iraq, Afghanistan and Katrina recovery combined so its little wonder Americans want to keep their hard earned money away from the grips of Washington," he  also said.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, says it's time for those elected to lead.

(CNN) - North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr said Washington is in a “state of denial,” in Saturday’s weekly Republican radio address.

“It seems that every morning you pick up the newspaper, you’re reading about another multi-billion dollar government spending plan being proposed or even worse, passed … We become numb to what the dollar figures really mean, or the obligation that accompanies them,” he said.

Pointing to the “spending priorities of the Democrats in Washington” and President Obama’s proposed budget, Burr warned that “for the first time, we could see the American Dream vanish.”

Burr said Republicans and Democrats agree on where they want to go, but they disagree on how to get there.

The North Carolina senator called on Americans to rally together “to find solutions with unity of purpose.”

“It’s time for those elected to lead. Will we rise to the challenge, and make the tough choices necessary? Or will we simply hand the obligation to our children and wish them good luck?” he said.

Full text of address after the jump

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