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'One more chance' for GOP to do it right |
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Thursday, 18 February 2010 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — A member of Congress Wednesday told area Rotarians the 2010 election could be the turning point for the Republican Party.
“I believe, just as sure as I am standing here, the voters are going to give our party one more chance,” U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan said. “They are going to say, ‘OK, you guys messed up a few years ago, we are going to give you one more chance.’ If we get in there and act like we did six or eight years ago, we’re done. We’ll be out in the wilderness just the like Israelites in the Old Testament. It will be 40 years until we are back in power.”
Jordan said it is critical Republicans “do the right thing” if elected into the majority in Congress.
Getting spending under control, Jordan said, is necessary for the future of the nation.
“It’s a shrinking window,” Jordan said of holding the line on spending. “We’ve got a short window where we have to do the right thing.”
The 2010 election could set the tone for the next several years, Jordan said. The recent elections in Massachusetts and New Jersey have changed the political landscape. Jordan also likened the upcoming election to one in 1994, where Republicans swept into control of Congress on the tails of the Contract with America.
“Every so often in American history you get an election that is going to be as important as this one,” Jordan said. “The 1994 election is an example. Where people come together and say we have to change the direction. I am optimistic. Who would have thought a Republican could win Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts.”
In Ohio, Jordan said he believes Republicans can take three or four seats in the House. Among the seats are races in Columbus and Cincinnati.
Jordan also railed against out-of-control spending in Washington. To help curb the soaring deficit, Jordan said he plans to introduce a balanced budget — something he did in 2009.
“We were the only ones who balanced,” Jordan said. “All the other ones ran deficits for ever. That just captures the mindset of Washington and how out of tune they are.”
Last year there were budgets offered and Jordan’s was the only one that balanced the budget. The Congressman said he hopes to build on his vote total of last year when his budget is introduced on the House floor.
“The good news is we got 111 votes, that bad news is we didn’t get 218,” Jordan said, noting his budget needed 218 votes for approval. “We will bring that same type of budget back this year. Our budget said we are going to protect Social Security, protect defense, actually increase spending on defense, we will to keep the ’01 and ’03 tax cuts in place and we will lower capital gains.”
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Last Updated ( Friday, 19 February 2010 )
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