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U.S. Credit Rating Downgraded – GOP Presidential Candidates Respond
The Iowa Republican ^ | 8/6/11

Posted on 08/06/2011 6:28:50 AM PDT by markomalley

Bachmann Comments on Standard & Poor’s Decision to Downgrade the U.S. Credit Rating..Calls on the President to fire Geithner and submit plans to balance the budget

Dexter, Iowa – Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann issued the following statement in light of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating for the first time in U.S. history:

“Tonight’s decision by S&P to downgrade our credit rating to AA+ is a historically significant and serious event for the United States. The United States has had a AAA credit rating since 1917. That rating has endured the great depression, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the terrorist attacks on 9/11. This President has destroyed the credit rating of the United States through his failed economic policies and his inability to control government spending by raising the debt ceiling.

“We were warned by all of the credit agencies that a failure to deal with our debt would lead to a downgrade in our credit rating, but instead he submitted a budget that had a $1.5 trillion deficit and then requested a $2.4 trillion blank check. President Obama is destroying the foundations of the U.S. economy one beam at a time. I call on the President to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with a list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work.”

Santorum Comments on Downgrade of U.S. Debt

Urbandale, IA – Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) made the following statement in response to S&P’s decision to downgrade U.S. debt from AAA Rating.

“If this downgrade holds, then it’s another example in a long line of examples of the President’s failure of leadership. Is anyone surprised at this point? There are 14 million people out of work and looking to the White House for answers – but they are receiving nothing but a blank stare. The markets are scared and the credit downgrade has happened because the President and this Congress continue to address the symptoms and not the disease. This nation is spending more money than it takes in and the world knows it – now, it’s time to show the world that the United States has the fortitude and resolve to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to stop out of control spending and shrink the scope of government once and for all. The deal the President cut with Congress was supposed to avoid this downgrade but all it did was once again kick the can down the road. 
 
President Obama and his Administration have been a failure.
 
I understand the US Treasury is going back to Standard and Poors to say that a two trillion dollar mathematical error by S&P contributed to the downgrade. So, in addition to blaming President Bush for all of its problems, now the White House is blaming S&P – but this happened on the President’s watch – and he has to deal with it. I guess President Obama is left to cling to the “hope” that a mathematical error caused this. Is that the “hope” the President was talking about?
 
Folks, an AA rating should be so far in our rear view mirror that no mathematical error should affect it. 
 
Tonight, I’m saddened for the millions out of work – but I’m hopeful that I will replace Barack Obama as President and get this country and its economy moving again.”

Cain Responds to Credit Downgrade

(Stockbridge, GA)- Republican presidential candidate and renowned business leader Herman Cain issued the following statement in response to the Standard & Poor downgrade of U.S. credit from AAA to AA+ saying:

On Tuesday, April 19, 2011, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner promised that America faced “no risk” of a credit downgrading. Less than four months later, he is proven shamefully wrong. As I have feared for months, the S&P has chosen to downgrade America’s credit rating from AAA, which we have always enjoyed, to AA+.

Perhaps this is because the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats never once demonstrated a willingness to propose its own ideas for meaningful spending cuts, something credit agencies signaled were necessary to redeem America’s financial standing in the world.

As a corporate executive, I’ve rescued companies from the brink of bankruptcy and returned them to profitability. That involved balancing budgets or even creating them in the first place, something that the Democratic leadership in Congress hasn’t done for 828 days. If I couldn’t run companies without budgets, how can the government?

I also had to make tough budgetary cuts to save companies. Leadership is about doing what’s right, even when it’s difficult. But somehow, that sort of idea was never floated among those within the Obama Administration.

Now, Americans are fearful for their retirements and for their children’s educational savings. This is a country known for dreamers and innovators, for thinkers and doers. And now, we are a nation living in fear.

This is a sad day for America. Such a rating is unfitting of the greatest and most prosperous nation the world has ever known. And such a weak leader is, as well.


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1 posted on 08/06/2011 6:28:54 AM PDT by markomalley
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To: markomalley

I’d like to think this would be a slap in face wakeup call to Democrats and President Obama, but it won’t. They’ll say it shows we need more taxes for them to spend even more.


2 posted on 08/06/2011 6:35:14 AM PDT by libertylover (The problem with Obama is not that his skin is too black, it's that his ideas are too RED.)
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To: markomalley

Bachmann has good rhetoric but would be crushed by Obama, couldn’t even get 40 percent in her home state.


3 posted on 08/06/2011 6:36:15 AM PDT by Theodore R.
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To: markomalley

“President Downgrade” declares victory!


4 posted on 08/06/2011 6:37:06 AM PDT by Caipirabob ( Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: markomalley

“Weak” leader, but one of the most successful ever in pushing liberal programs and idolized by tens of millions of the uninformed.


5 posted on 08/06/2011 6:37:16 AM PDT by Theodore R.
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To: markomalley
A very telling statement from Santorum:

“If this downgrade holds...."

If he thinks the US should try to pressure the S&P to reverse their downgrade, he is not the type of person that represents us. Given the fiasco with the mortgage debt mess, the rating agencies would be wise to downgrade the US Treasury debt even more. We simply should not have debt in excess of the GDP.

6 posted on 08/06/2011 6:37:32 AM PDT by beancounter13
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To: markomalley

Isn’t another problem most funds are trapped and can’t sell downgraded bonds on the week-end?


7 posted on 08/06/2011 6:40:21 AM PDT by Son House (The Economic Boom Heard Around The World => TEA Party 2012)
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To: markomalley

As strange as this seems, there is nothing to stop the downgrade at AA+. It could well continue.

If the market has another couple weeks like the last one, it wouldn’t surprise me to start seeing calls for Obama to step down. By democrats.

If that happens, impeachment is not off the table anymore. I’m not predicting it yet, but I am watching things move toward it.


8 posted on 08/06/2011 6:41:31 AM PDT by Phillipian (Post Tenebras Lux)
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To: Theodore R.

If Democrats don’t change horses they are the ones who are going to lose, no need to be pessimistic about any of the Republican candidates


9 posted on 08/06/2011 6:44:12 AM PDT by Son House (The Economic Boom Heard Around The World => TEA Party 2012)
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To: Son House

This is when we’ll see a troll pop up.


10 posted on 08/06/2011 6:53:06 AM PDT by DWC (historian)
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To: libertylover

Bambi and the RATS are the winners here. This gives them the opportunity for a total takeover of the country under the guise of it being a national emergency.


11 posted on 08/06/2011 6:53:18 AM PDT by 353FMG
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To: markomalley

Where’s Mr. GOP Mitt Romney? Waiting on focus group results?


12 posted on 08/06/2011 6:55:03 AM PDT by Sybeck1 (BE BOLD SARAH)
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To: libertylover

Here is a story that broke several weeks ago. I read this story on July 27th and told several of my friends about it. It claimed that an anonymous trade was made for close to Billion dollar on a futures trade against the U.S. interest rate increasing. They were betting on either a default or a downgrade. The payout was 10-1. Soros strikes again?

http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/mysterious-billion-dollar-bet


13 posted on 08/06/2011 6:59:12 AM PDT by rwoodward ("god, guns and more ammo")
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To: libertylover
I’d like to think this would be a slap in face wakeup call to Democrats and President Obama, but it won’t. They’ll say it shows we need more taxes for them to spend even more.

Jamie Dupree has an interesting collection of comments from both Dems and Repubs on this:

The contrast is fascinating

14 posted on 08/06/2011 7:08:33 AM PDT by markomalley (Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good-Pope Leo XIII)
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To: markomalley

Who would have ever thought that “President Food Stamp” would be an understatement?


15 posted on 08/06/2011 7:24:09 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Sarah Palin 2012 - Nothing but Net)
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To: markomalley
The contrast is fascinating

It is amazing how the Deomcrats are hellbent on raising taxes. Their base will revolt if their handouts are cut, so they continue to press for even more of the spending that has brought us to this point. The Democrats appear confident that the voters will forget all of this next November. On the other hand, I suspect the Democrat base will be quite demoralized by November of 2012.

The Republicans need a unified message: Democrat spending, taxes and regulation have created this mess. The solution is to cut spending now.

16 posted on 08/06/2011 7:34:18 AM PDT by Senator_Blutarski
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To: Sybeck1
Where’s Mr. GOP Mitt Romney? Waiting on focus group results?

Romney is like a defensive back that jumps on the pile of players after the tackle is made and the play is over, and then tries to get credit for the tackle.

17 posted on 08/06/2011 7:36:50 AM PDT by crosshairs (If Sharia Law becomes the law of the land, heads are gonna roll.)
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To: Senator_Blutarski

The Macroeconomic Effects of Tax Changes:
Estimates Based on a New Measure of Fiscal Shocks
By Christina D. Romer and David H. Romer
http://emlab.berkeley.edu/users/dromer/papers/RomerandRomerAERJune2010.pdf

“Our baseline specification implies that an exogenous tax increase of 1% of GDP lowers real GDP by almost 3%”


18 posted on 08/06/2011 7:40:06 AM PDT by Son House (The Economic Boom Heard Around The World => TEA Party 2012)
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19 posted on 08/06/2011 7:40:33 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (America! The wolves are here! What will you do?)
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To: markomalley
Pathetic

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

20 posted on 08/06/2011 7:43:55 AM PDT by expatguy (The Expat Needs Beer Money - Cough Up!)
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