Politics & Government

Scott Walker, Paul Ryan to Call Out Obama on Anniversary of Debt Speech

State GOP leaders announce press conference Tuesday in Wauwatosa to remind president of his 2008 campaign statement against adding to the national debt.

As political statements go, this should be a barn-burner.

Republican heavy-hitters Gov. Scott Walker and Congressman Paul Ryan will hold a joint press conference at 3 p.m. Tuesday, the day before Independence Day, to commemorate the four-year anniversary of President Barack Obama saying it would be "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic" to add $4 trillion to the national debt.

At a campaign event in Fargo, ND, on July 3, 2008, Obama said:

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“The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents – No. 43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back – $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That's irresponsible. It's unpatriotic."

Nicole Tieman, Wisconsin communications director of the Republican National Committee, said: “President Obama campaigned on a promise to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term and on a claim that adding $4 trillion to the debt was 'irresponsible' and 'unpatriotic,' but four years later and after adding $5 trillion to the national debt himself, President Obama’s broken promises have placed an unsustainable debt burden on the hard-working families of Wisconsin."

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"Mitt Romney has a record of cutting taxes and balancing budgets, which is exactly what Wisconsin and our country needs to get our economy back on track.

"He, along with common-sense reformers Scott Walker and Paul Ryan, will work for Wisconsin. Our state’s small businesses and middle class families cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama’s promise gap on fiscal responsibility but delivering fiscal recklessness.”

Brad Courtney, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, will also speak at Tuesday media conference.

The press-only event will be at the Wauwatosa Victory Center, 1233 N. Mayfair Road, Suite 111.


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