Obama Q+A at the 2010 House Republican retreat

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, Jan. 30, 2010

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Budget & Economy     Barack Obama: Recovery Act averted a second Great Depression.     Barack Obama: Appoint bipartisan fiscal commission and re-establish PAYGO.     Barack Obama: Across-the-board tax cuts wouldn't stimulate economy.     Barack Obama: Increased spending comes from Bush's automatic stabilizers.     Barack Obama: Spending freeze now would be destimulative; later is better.     Barack Obama: Some earmarks are defensible, if done in full light of day.     Barack Obama: We inherited $8T of debt; and only added $1T more.     Jason Chaffetz: No earmarks in any bills.     Jeb Hensarling: Spending 40% of GDP on government causes unconscionable debt.     Mike Pence: Across-the-board tax relief stimulates broad-based growth.     Paul Ryan: Automatic stabilizer spending is mandatory spending.     Paul Ryan: Freeze spending now, rather than in future budget.

Energy & Oil     Barack Obama: Big promoter of clean coal technology & nukes.     Shelley Moore Capito: Cap-and-trade plus aggressive EPA are job-killing.

Free Trade     Barack Obama: Enforce trade being reciprocal; not just a one-way street.     Peter Roskam: Free Trade Agreements are no-cost job creation.

Government Reform     Barack Obama: Would love line-item veto, but start with earmark reform.     Barack Obama: Only a few waivers on lobbyists in senior positions.     Jason Chaffetz: Disallow lobbyists in senior administration positions.     Paul Ryan: Create a constitutional version of the line-item veto.     Russell Feingold: Create a constitutional version of the line-item veto.

Health Care     Barack Obama: High-risk pool for uninsured, now in plan, was GOP idea.     Barack Obama: Healthcare debate mostly televised, but could have had more.     Barack Obama: Cross-state-line insurance leads to cherry-picking.     Barack Obama: Ideas and solutions must pass some test of realism.     Barack Obama: Tort reform only saves $5B per year; not enough to matter.     Barack Obama: Medicare is major driver of our long-term liabilities.     Jason Chaffetz: Healthcare debate should all be televised, as promised.     Marsha Blackburn: Reform by reducing bureaucracy and reducing costs.     Paul Ryan: Medicare is a $38 trillion unfunded liability--add vouchers.     Tom Price: Republicans have offered ideas and solutions on healthcare.     Tom Price: Address lawsuit abuse; it doesn't raise taxes by a penny.

Jobs     Barack Obama: Recession job losses more severe than anticipated.     Mike Pence: $700B stimulus did not deliver promised employment.

Principles & Values     Barack Obama: Loyal opposition is not just valuable, but a necessity.

Tax Reform     Barack Obama: No across-the-board tax cuts for the wealthy.     Mike Pence: Across-the-board tax relief better than stimulus bill.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Barack Obama Jason Chaffetz Jeb Hensarling Marsha Blackburn Mike Pence Paul Ryan Peter Roskam Russell Feingold Shelley Moore Capito Tom Price