Three Republican presidential candidates were in Iowa yesterday, each offering different approaches to the “debt ceiling” fight going on in Washington, D.C.
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has repeatedly vowed to vote against raising the nation’s credit limit and, during a news conference in Ankeny, she expressed doubts that August 2 is a firm deadline for a decision.
“No one knows what to believe is coming out of this administration,” she said.
Bachmann accused both Democrats and Republicans of giving Americans the “wrong” answer.
“They are tired of Washington, D.C. not listening to them and they are tired of how out-of-touch the politicians are who are saying we have to continue the spending,” Bachmann said, “continuing the borrowing and continuing raising the debt ceiling.”
According to former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, the country is in a “desperate” financial situation.
“I understand. I’m not like some candidates and some people who are, ‘No,’ that we don’t need to do anything, that we can let the debt ceiling not be raised indefinitely,” Santorum said in Ankeny Tuesday. “I believe at some point we need to raise the debt ceiling.”
But Santorum said Republicans should insist on starting the process of adding a balanced budget amendment to the constitution.
“The ony way you’re going to get Harry Reid and Barack Obama and the left in America to be for real reductions in spending is to put a constitutional amendment in place to make them do that,” Santorum said.
Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was the third GOP candidate in the state yesterday. He issued a statement about the debt ceiling fight last night, calling on Republicans in congress to use the opportunity to “force” passage of a balanced budget amendment.