Senator John Thune Weekly Republican Address TEXT VIDEO 10/23/10

Hello, I’m Senator John Thune of South Dakota. As you’ve probably noticed, we have an election coming up in a little over a week.

President Obama has been running around the country trying to reelect Democrat members of Congress.

But if the conversations I’ve had with voters are any indication, the president should spend less time campaigning to save the jobs of Democrats in Congress, and more time trying to create jobs for the American people.

All across South Dakota and the country, I've heard from people who aren’t fooled by President Obama's well-written speeches. They have serious concerns about our economy, and they are all too familiar with the Administration’s failed policies.

One of the Democrats' main responsibilities over the past two years was to improve the economy. Instead, they decided to try an experiment to grow government, raise taxes, and take over health care. After two years, the American people are left asking, ‘Why have the Democrats’ priorities been so different from ours?’

The Obama Experiment has failed.

When the president and his Democrat allies in Congress pushed through their $814 billion stimulus bill, they promised it would create millions of jobs, and keep unemployment under eight percent. But their approach didn’t work, and they failed to deliver on their promises.

Unemployment has climbed to nearly 10 percent. Rather than create jobs, the Democrats expanded government, and now the American people are stuck with another bill for nearly a trillion dollars.

When the president was introducing his big government health care plan, he promised to reduce every family’s health insurance premiums by as much as $2,500. But premiums keep going up. Families in some states are seeing increases in the double digits. Here again, Democrats promised but didn’t deliver, and the American people are stuck with rising health care costs and another tab; this one for two-and-a-half trillion dollars.

The Democrats have controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress for nearly two years, and have proven that more government is not the answer. This year they were not even capable of passing a budget. Instead, they spent their time passing more and more burdensome regulations, like their so-called Financial Reform bill that failed to address the main cause of our economic mess.

Despite a dangerously high national debt that is closing in on $14 trillion, the president wants to spend even more money on these kinds of failed policies. And he appears intent on raising taxes to do it.

Giving Democrats more opportunities to manage the economy and spend taxpayer dollars will not give us the economic growth that we need. It will only lead to more growth of government bureaucracy, and to national bankruptcy.

There is a reason unemployment is stuck near ten percent.

There is a reason jobs are not being created.

There is a reason too many Americans who want a job can’t find one.

There is a reason the dollar is weak and our economy is not growing as it should.

The reason is that President Obama and Congressional Democrats have led this country in the wrong direction.

Government cannot be openly hostile to American businesses, and expect them to grow and create jobs.

Government cannot raise taxes during tough economic times, and expect small businesses to grow and create jobs.

A new direction is needed.

The president likes to say that when you want to drive forward you put your car in D, and when you want to go in reverse you put it in R. It’s a clever line, but when you’re speeding toward a cliff, you don’t want to keep the car in drive.

Republicans want to reverse the dangerous course the Democrats have us on.

Republicans want to reverse Democrats’ plan to raise taxes on the 750,000 small businesses in this country that employ 25 percent of all workers. So employers have more money to create new jobs.

Republicans support policies that will grow the economy, not the government.

Republicans want to repeal the flawed health care law that has been rejected by the American public, and replace it with a new plan that actually reduces costs. We want to reverse the uncertainty in the marketplace so that small businesses have the confidence to grow and invest and create jobs.

And Republicans want to reverse this nonsense of government bailouts and takeovers of private businesses.

Republicans have proposed real, concrete solutions to the challenges we face as a country.

We have learned the lessons not only of what hasn’t worked over the past two years, but what didn’t work the last time Republicans controlled Congress. Republicans are listening to the frustration being expressed by Americans all across this country, and we are determined to take this country in the right direction.

The choice could not be more clear. Democrats are driving more of the same failed policies they have pushed for the past two years. Republicans are proposing to take this country in a different direction.

So I would like to suggest a simple question people should ask themselves to help cut through all the talk: Are you better off today than you were two years ago? I’m Senator John Thune. Thank you for listening. ####

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: rnc