Buddy Roemer in 2012 State of the Union address
On Budget & Economy:
Washington is not broken; it is corrupted by one-percenters
Energy, fair trade, deregulation, immigration reform--the President finally talked about all of them tonight, except for the most important one--corruption. President Obama would have you believe that Washington is broken, but it is not. It is corrupt.
And it will be corrupt as long as you are raising money from the same Wall Street one-percenters who got us into the very mortgage crisis you're now concerned about. After just three years in office, you have reverted to the job you do best--being a
full-time campaigner. The policies you proposed tonight, I agree with many of them. But they will never happen until we take the money out of the equation. The country is looking to you, Mr. President.
They are looking to you for leadership, and for reform. Not for pretty speeches and gutless action. End the corruption, lest we continue our drift into economic mediocrity.
Source: Response to 2012 State of the Union speech
Jan 24, 2012
On Government Reform:
We need better & smarter government; not more government
Why, Mr. President, have all the policies you talked about tonight--why have none of those things been accomplished, when you've had three years in office to make progress on them?Now you say that you want to introduce a new unit to investigate
abusive mortgage lending practices that led to the housing crisis, and a 'trade enforcement unit' to tell us what we already know about China's manipulation of currency and unfair trade practices. There's a big difference between
President Obama and myself--I don't believe that the solution to the government's problems, and to the peoples' problems, is MORE government. The solution is better government, and smarter government--adequate legislation
to regulate lending, like that which Glass-Steagall provided, and tough action against China's practices rather than a bloated investigation.
Source: Response to 2012 State of the Union speech
Jan 24, 2012
On Government Reform:
Super PACs distort and corrupt our politics
I was surprised to hear the President use the words 'money in politics.' That's my issue, and I've been talking about it since I declared my candidacy for the Republican nomination for president. But unlike President Obama,
I live the message, not taking a single penny from PACs or Super PACs, which distort and corrupt our politics. Limiting stock ownership by elected officials, keeping bundlers from lobbying, banning insider trading by members of
Congress--which is illegal for EVERYONE, by the way, not just members of Congress--those are great things, but as long as PACs and Super PACs are buying our elections, they won't mean anything.
How can a president who is planning a billion dollar reelection campaign decry the influence of money in politics?
Source: Response to 2012 State of the Union speech
Jan 24, 2012
Page last updated: Feb 24, 2019