2012 GOP candidates react to Obama's speech on jobs
(CNN)–Contenders in the 2012 GOP presidential field reacted late Thursday to President Obama's joint congressional speech on jobs.
See reactions after the jump
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann
“Unfortunately it seems that every time the president of the United States speaks his policies have cost the American people both jobs and future prosperity. Tonight the president, under the veil of one of the most sacred deliberative forums, a joint session of congress, delivered yet one more political speech where he doubled down on more of the same policies that are killing the United States economy. Mr. President, what among your proposals was new?”
Texas Gov. Rick Perry
“President Obama’s call for nearly a half-trillion dollars in more government stimulus when America has more than $14 trillion in debt is guided by his mistaken belief that we can spend our way to prosperity.
“Like the president’s earlier $800 billion stimulus program, this proposal offers little hope for millions of Americans who have lost jobs on his watch, and taxpayers who are rightly concerned that their children will inherit a mountain of debt.
“America needs jobs, smaller government, less spending and a president with the courage to offer more than yet another speech.”
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman
"The American people are tired of President Obama’s empty rhetoric and failed policies; they're desperately searching for leadership and, above all, results. Tonight's list of regurgitated half-measures demonstrates that President Obama fundamentally doesn't understand how to turn our economy around.
"Rather than tinker with a broken and outdated tax system, I propose bold reform which eliminates loopholes, special interest carve-outs and subsidies, while lowering rates across the board to make our tax code flatter, fairer, simpler and more conducive to growth."
"President Obama has failed. It's time for America to compete again. We did it in Utah and we can do it for America."
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney launches new website
"I’m a conservative businessman. And that is what America needs if we’re going to get our economy going. I put out a booklet which describes the things I’d do to get this economy going again. There are 59 different steps that have to be taken. And President Obama, there’s no way he could do something like that because he just doesn’t understand it.”
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum
"Many say the President is a failure, but I disagree – he'd have to improve a whole lot to even be considered a failure. The President's speech tonight was more of the same failed policies and empty rhetoric that got him elected and got us in this mess. Sadly, the President seems to have forgotten his own charge that our country should come before party or his own even re-election.
Instead President Obama kicked off his campaign for reelection in the most disingenuous way possible – by using the Congress as a his political toy. His failed plan to spend over $400 billion more that we do not have, create further tax instability for workers and employers alike, and use federal tax dollars to prop up government is only made worse by the political theater we saw tonight.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
"The president just got some of his facts wrong tonight."
"All the ideas that didn't work with 800 billion dollars he now wants to try to get it to work with 400 billion. He has zero pay-fors. He's got to quit being a candidate, and actually be president for awhile.”
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One other point is I'm starting to think that the exact same person is writing all the GOP candidates' speeches. They all say the exact same thing with slightly different wording. If any of them hopes to do well, they'd better start trying to differentiate themselves from the others.
Is this really the best that the GOP has to offer?
Um, where's your plan? The only plans that were presented was Romney and Huntsman and neither of them creates jobs for the middle class.
Obama 2012!
Sad how people say the President needs to act now, yet when he tries to act now they toss darts at him for supposedly campaigning early.
These comments disgust me, and I hope they disgust my fellow Independents as much. I'm proud that we live in a nation where expression is protected by the Constitution. Political expression holds an especially protected position based on Supreme Court decisions, and wisely so. But these comments, calling the President of the United States "disingenuous" (e.g., a liar) and worse than a failure make my blood boil as a former officer in the U.S. Army and as a proud American. That's MY President, and yours too, that you're blasting into the dirt, and the line you've crossed is dangerously close to sedition, folks.
Cutting the budget does not create jobs, it does the opposite. The Fedral government employs, directly and indirectly, many millions of workers -federal employees, construction workers, employees in private industry working on government contracts, educators, scientists, military personnel, law enforcement agencies. Corporations are sitting on trillions of dollars in capital they could invest in creating jobs, but they don't. They want to force the average worker to take less pay and work more so they can continue paying the corporate elite more and more. If the Republicans continue to sit on their hands as they did last night, come the next election throw them out, including Mr. Tanface who sat behing the President during the speech. He can then spend ALL his time playing golf.
Thing is, they are all right. Nothing in the speach was new and it sounded like the same old Obama ive been hearing for the last 3 years. Wow, is this guy a total dissapointmentor what?!?
question: did Ron Paul have a comment???
A whole lot of ego's spouting a whole lot of nothing. God forbid any one of these Corporate robots ever become President.
Surprise, surprise – one politician says something, the ones actively trying to replace him immediately give releases saying why they disagree with them. Both sides have been doing this for years – although there wasn't an "official" Republican response this time for some reason. In the past, each time the president gives an address, the other party has a Senator, governor, etc. already picked so they can have insults prepared. Just for laughs, I'd love to see Obama say, "The only way to fix the economy is do what Mitt Romney says", just to see how Romney would criticize it.
I really wish somebody like Michael Bloomberg would run – the only way to have a nonpartisan president willing to reach across the aisle is to have...a nonpartisan president. Too bad it will never, ever happen.
ummmm did ron paul not have a response then cnn msnbc fox you are all a joke in my book i knew it was bad with the media in this country but this ignore ron paul game really has brought it too the forefront douchebags russia today it is for me
Kinda funny comment from Crazy Michele about "double down on failure". That pretty well describes the entire GOBPbaggin' cult of deregulation and tax cuts for the ultrarich. They can't even admit those polices are proven failures, yet virtually every single one of them repeated some version of that nonsense.
it dosen't matter, these repubs want do anything to help folks with less voices like the rich has in congress, just cut their pay and retirement so the rich can make sure their money is okay in their bank accounts and stocks.
This second rate traveling carnival show is upset because President Obama unveiled a detailed jobs plan that could very well work. While all these losers offer empty rhetoric, proven failed policies, and meaningless promises.
These are the clowns of the political circus!