Sen. John Thune: Obama 'Has Got to Change Course' on Economy

Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- In the weekly Republican address to the nation, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota calls the president’s economic policies “damaging,” and says that “his proposed solutions are not serious.”

“His latest stimulus bill is so flawed that Senate Democrats have rejected it and are rewriting it, not to grow jobs, but to improve their political standing,” Thune says.

“It’s nothing but a rehash of the same failed ideas he’s already tried, combined with a huge tax increase. This is a cynical political ploy that’s designed not to create jobs for struggling Americans,” the South Dakota senator says, “but to save the president’s own job.”

In his own weekly address, President Obama urges Senators to pass the American Jobs Act next week or face an even weaker economy, saying that his $447 billion bill will “provide our economy with the jolt that it really needs right now.”

The president challenges congressional Republicans who say they have a better plan to “prove it.”

In the GOP address released Saturday, Thune says there are “common sense things that we can do to give America the freedom and the certainty to create good jobs.”

“For starters," Thune says, "we can finally implement the free trade agreements we’ve negotiated with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea."

Thune then takes a shot at the president, noting he waited "almost 1,000 days" before submitting those trade deals -- negotiated under the Bush administration -- to Congress.

“It’s extremely unfortunate that we had to wait so long for the president to do something so simple, to help promote American exports, and create American jobs,” he says.

“In my state of South Dakota we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. That’s because our state has low taxes, fewer government regulations, and is a right-to-work state.

“The Republican plan to get our country moving again builds on these kinds of ideas.  We’re calling for a regulatory time-out, an affordable energy plan, broad-based tax reform including lower rates, and policies that provide the certainty and stability our economy desperately needs.”

Thune concludes his address by saying that Washington has grown “too powerful” under President Obama, and urges the president to change his economic policies – which he says have “hurt job creation.”

“Too often Washington is the problem, not the solution, and we’ve seen the results since President Obama was sworn in and started moving our country in the wrong direction.”

“President Obama," Thune says, “has got to change course.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Rick Perry Clarifies Stance on Mormonism, Says It's Not a 'Cult'

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(TIFFIN, Iowa) -- Hours after a Rick Perry supporter categorized the Mormon religion as a “cult,” the Texas governor said he does not hold the same view.

Asked if he thought Mormonism was a cult as he walked out of the Jefferson County BBQ in Tiffin, Iowa, Perry said, “No, I already answered that.”

Earlier in the day, a Perry supporter, Robert Jeffress, pastor of a Baptist megachurch in Dallas, told reporters at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, D.C., that Mormonism was a “cult,” though he did not mention Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney, a Mormon, by name.

Jeffress expressed similar sentiments in 2007 when he said about Romney, “Even though he talks about Jesus as his Lord and savior, he is not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. Mormonism is a cult.”

The Perry press team told ABC News the organizers of the Values Voters Summit selected Jeffress to introduce the Texas governor. But Politico reported that the Perry campaign did approve him as a speaker.

Perry’s speech to the Jefferson County GOP touched on his normal themes of the economic success of Texas, but he also shared his views on “class warfare” being thrown around in politics.

“The idea of class warfare is, on its face, very resentful to America,” Perry said before a crowd of around 250 Iowa voters. “Americans want, they don’t want a handout. They want to be able to work and take care of their family. There’s nothing more important than having the dignity of a job, and I happen to think that anyone who tries to draw or create a wedge between Americans using class warfare really doesn’t understand how Americans think and feel.”

Perry discussed the need to institute stronger economic standards in the country in order to ensure other nations, such as China, know the United States is capable of and willing to engage in competition.

Perry attempted to make his case on immigration and border security, never mentioning controversial legislation he approved that provides in-state tuition to illegal immigrants in Texas. He touted Texas’ efforts in securing the border and passing a voter ID law during the last legislative session.

Perry, who is on his fourth trip to Iowa since announcing his candidacy, reminded the crowd of the importance Iowans hold in electing the next president.

“I’m kind of reminded that pundits don’t choose presidents,” he said. “People of Iowa do.”

The Texas governor will continue to campaign in Iowa this weekend, making stops in Sioux City, Orange City and Spencer.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Holder Issues Fiery Response to Critics on ATF Gun Operation

Chris Hondros/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Attorney General Eric Holder accused congressional Republicans of “irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric” over claims that he misled Congress when he was questioned earlier this year about a botched Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms operation that resulted in guns flowing into Mexico.

“I have not spoken at length on this subject out of deference to the review being conducted, at my request, by our Department’s Inspector General,” Holder wrote in a fiery letter to the chairmen of three congressional committees Friday.  “However, in the past few days, the public discourse concerning these issues has become so base and so harmful to interests that I hope we all share that I must now address these issues notwithstanding the Inspector General’s ongoing review.”

On Thursday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a series of Justice Department memos sent to Holder about the gun trafficking investigation known as Fast and Furious.

The operation took a tragic toll in December 2010, when two weapons found on the scene where border patrol agent Brian Terry was murdered were linked to the ATF program. Other weapons from the program have been linked to a slew of crimes in Arizona and Mexico.

The controversy that boiled to a head this week centers on testimony Holder provided to the House Judiciary Committee on May 3, 2011. During that hearing, Rep. Darell Issa, R-Calif., who is spearheading the Congressional investigation, asked Holder, “When did you first know about the program officially, I believe, called Fast and Furious — to the best of your knowledge, what date?”

Holder answered: “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”

When the briefing memos were released Thursday showing that Holder had been sent memos going back to July 2010 on the program, Republican members of Congress tore into Holder.

“Attorney General Holder has failed to give Congress and the American people an honest account of what he and other senior Justice Department officials knew about gunwalking and Operation Fast and Furious,” Rep. Issa said. ” The lack of candor and honesty from our nation’s chief law enforcement officials in this matter is deeply disturbing.”

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, called on Holder to resign.

On Wednesday, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., told the publication the Daily Caller, “When you facilitate that and a murder or a felony occurs, you’re called an accessory. That means that there’s criminal activity.”

The comment raised Holder’s ire. He wrote to the members of the oversight committees, “I simply cannot sit idly by as a Majority Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform suggests, as happened this week, that law enforcement and government employees who devote their lives to protecting our citizens be considered ‘accessories to murder.’  Such irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric must be repudiated in the strongest possible terms. Those who serve in the ranks of law enforcement are our Nation’s heroes and deserve our Nation’s thanks, not the disrespect that is being heaped on them by those who seek political advantage.  I trust you feel similarly and I call on you to denounce these statements.

“Much has been made in the past few days about my congressional testimony earlier this year regarding Fast and Furious,” he added. “My testimony was truthful and accurate and I have been consistent on this point throughout.  I have no recollection of knowing about Fast and Furious or of hearing its name prior to the public controversy about it.  Prior to early 2011, I certainly never knew about the tactics employed in the operation and it is my understanding that the former United States Attorney for the District of Arizona and the former Acting Director and Deputy Director of ATF have told Congress that they, themselves, were unaware of the tactics employed.  I understand that they have also told Congress that they never briefed me or other Department leadership on the misguided tactics that were used in Fast and Furious.”

“In the past few days,” he said, “some have pointed to documents that we provided to Congress as evidence that I was familiar with Fast and Furious earlier than I have testified.  That simply is not the case and those suggestions mischaracterize the process by which I receive information concerning the activities of the Department’s many components.  On a weekly basis, my office typically receives over a hundred pages of so-called ‘weekly reports’ that, while addressed to me, actually are provided to and reviewed by members of my staff and the staff of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.

“The weekly reports contain short summaries of matters that the agencies deem of interest that week,” he wrote. “Sometimes, the summaries are simply a sentence-long and other times they consist of a paragraph.  In some cases, the summaries are of policy-related issues or upcoming events.  In other cases, the summaries are brief, high-level reviews of pending matters or investigations.

“As I have said, the fact that even a single gun was not interdicted in this operation and found its way to Mexico is unacceptable,” he said. “Equally unacceptable, however, is the fact that too many in Congress are opposed to any discussion of fixing loopholes in our laws that facilitate the staggering flow of guns each year across our border to the south.  I cannot help but note that at the same time that some members of Congress understandably criticize the Fast and Furious operation, they vehemently refuse to consider whether ATF has the resources and legal tools it needs to do its job – tools that would be entirely consistent with the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.

“Until we move beyond the current political climate – where real solutions take a back seat to both political posturing and making headlines on cable news programs, and is deemed more important than actually solving our country’s difficult challenges — nothing is going to change,” Holder concluded in the 5-page letter. “I hope we can engage in a more responsible dialogue on this subject in the future.  There is much we all need to do together to stop gun violence on both sides of the border and make our Nation safer.”

After reviewing the letter, Frederick Hill a spokesman for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said, “If Attorney General Holder had said these things five months ago when Congress asked him about Operation Fast and Furious, it might have been more believable.  At this point, however, it’s hard to take at face value a defense that is factually questionable, entirely self-serving, and a still incomplete account of what senior Justice Department officials knew about gun walking.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Romney: ‘America Must Lead or Someone Else Will’

Richard Ellis/Getty Images(CHARLESTON, S.C.) – Beneath a massive banner overhead that reads “Believe in America,” former Gov. Mitt Romney delivered his foreign policy plan in Charleston on Friday, declaring, “America must lead the world, or someone else will.”

Speaking at the Citadel, Romney delivered his address to an audience filled with hundreds of cadets, whom he called “heroes,” declaring, “This is America’s moment.”

“God did not create this country to be a nation of followers,” said Romney, whose plan includes eight actions he says he will take within his first 100 days in office to place “America – and the world – on safer footing.”

On the very campus that President George W. Bush delivered his speech on the war on terror in December 2001, three months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Romney slammed the strength of the U.S. military under President Obama.

“I will not surrender America’s role in the world,” said Romney. “This is very simple: If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I am not your president.”

“American strength rises from a strong economy, a strong defense and the enduring strength of our values. Unfortunately, under this president, all three of those elements have been weakened,” he said.

Titled “An American Century: a Strategy to secure American’s Enduring Interests and Ideals,” this policy speech was the second of Romney’s campaign. He delivered his economic plan in Nevada last month.

If elected, Romney says he will increase the naval shipbuilding rate from nine per year to 15 and sustain the carrier fleet at 11. He would also establish a unified regional director for the Middle East to “direct our soft power toward ensuring the Arab Spring does not fade into a long winter.”

In Afghanistan, Romney said he would order a “full review of our transition to the Afghan military to secure that nation’s sovereignty from the tyranny of the Taliban.

“I will speak with our generals in the field, and receive the best recommendation of our military commanders,” he said. “The force level necessary to secure our gains and complete our mission successfully is a decision I will make free from politics.”

On the campaign trail Romney has offered even more specifics about his plan for troop withdrawal.  At a town hall meeting last week in New Hampshire, Romney said he would like to bring virtually all the troops home by December 2014, and the surge troops home by December 2012.  He called Obama’s plan to bring the surge troops home in September 2012 a “political decision.”

Romney’s plan will also include a campaign to “advance economic opportunity in Latin America,” a policy that advisers say makes this plan stand apart from those of  Obama and  Bush. Romney also vows to “bolster and repair our alliances” with the United Kingdom, and says he will launch communication with Mexico to tackle issues such as drugs and security.

Interrupted by applause several times during the speech, Romney seemed buoyed by the crowd. “The 21st century can and must be an American century. It began with terror, war and economic calamity. It is our duty to steer it onto the path of freedom, peace and prosperity.”

“Let future generations look back on us and say they rose to the occasion, they embraced their duty and they led our nation to safety and to greatness.”

The Obama campaign had a swift response to Romney’s speech and strategy:  “Gov. Romney raised real questions about his capacity to lead this country and wage the fight against terrorism. He didn’t outline a strategy to strengthen America’s security and promote our interests and didn’t even identify defeating al Qaeda as a goal. President Obama has degraded al Qaeda and dealt huge blows to its leadership, including eliminating Osama bin Laden, ended the war in Iraq, promoted our security in Afghanistan while winding down our commitment in a responsible way and strengthened American leadership around the world. Gov. Romney proves once again that he is willing to say anything, regardless of the facts, to get elected.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Rick Santorum Wants Sarah Palin's Endorsement

Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- While Rick Santorum’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination – such as Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and now businessman Herman Cain – enjoy bursts of popularity, the former Pennsylvania senator can’t seem to get his campaign out of the gate.

Endorsements from leading Republicans – say, Sarah Palin - might certainly help. “Her being out of the race and potentially getting involved in a campaign with somebody else could be a big lift,” Santorum told ABC News on Friday.

“We’d like your endorsement by the way,” he joked, staring straight to the camera.

Palin labeled Santorum a “knuckle-dragging Neanderthal” in February. Santorum called it a misunderstanding and said there is no problem between himself and the former Alaskan governor.

His national poll numbers remain low, although the candidate says he does not pay any attention to the dismal numbers.

“I don’t want to be depressed by watching national polls,” Santorum said. “I just tend to focus on what we’re doing on the ground and know, just like in the Ames Straw Poll where no one gave us any chance, every poll said we were way, way back in the back and we finished a pretty strong fourth.”

Santorum’s campaign has held more than twice as many events in the Hawkeye state as any other 2012 candidate. But the senator denies Iowa is a must-win for his campaign.

“Iowa has to get us in the race,” Santorum said, adding that if he can finish third or fourth in Iowa, he will solidify his position as “the conservative alternative” to moderate candidates such Mitt Romney, Huntsman and even Cain.

A few months ago, Santorum, 53, was near tied with Cain in several polls. Cain’s campaign is now taking off; the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO came in second in the ABC News-Washington Post poll Tuesday, and won the Florida GOP P5 straw poll last month.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Rick Perry Endorser Calls Planned Parenthood 'Slaughterhouse'

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Presidential candidate Rick Perry spoke at the Values Voter Summit, a gathering of hundreds of social conservatives in Washington, on Friday, but the evangelical pastor who introduced him stole the show, sparking a controversy in the process.

It was no ordinary opener from the prominent Southern Baptist Convention leader, Pastor Robert Jeffress, who endorsed Perry on Friday. Jeffress praised Perry for defunding Planned Parenthood in Texas, calling the provider of women’s health and abortion services, “that slaughterhouse for the unborn.”

He also lauded Perry’s “strong commitment to biblical values.”

“Do we want a candidate who is skilled in rhetoric or one who is skilled in leadership? Do we want a candidate who is a conservative out of convenience or one who is a conservative out of deep conviction?” Jeffress said. “Do we want a candidate who is a good, moral person — or one who is a born-again follower of the lord Jesus Christ?”

Jeffress called Perry a “genuine follower of Jesus Christ.” The pastor did not mention Perry’s rival Mitt Romney by name, but he told reporters after his remarks on Friday that Mormonism was a “cult.”

Jeffress’ comments and his endorsement of Perry threatened to inject some tension into what has been a relatively quiet year for religion on the campaign trail and the Perry campaign sought to quiet the uproar.

The campaign’s official comment on Jeffress evolved quickly on Friday afternoon. When initially asked by ABC News whether Gov. Perry agreed that Mormonism is a cult, Perry spokesman Mark Miner said: “The governor doesn’t judge what is in the heart and soul of others. He leaves that to God.”

Miner would also not immediately say whether the governor believed it was wrong to call Mormonism a cult. “It’s not his decision to judge that,” the spokesman said. He added that conference organizers decided who should introduce Perry at the summit, not the campaign.

But minutes later, Miner called ABC News with a new statement: “He does not believe it is a cult.”

Rather than distance himself from the pastor’s introductory remarks on Friday, when Perry took the podium, he thanked Jeffress for a “very powerful introduction.”

Perry added, “He knocked it out of the park.”

UPDATE: The Rick Perry campaign initially said that the introductory speaker was chosen by event organizers, not by the Perry campaign.  But it turns out the Perry campaign “signed off” on Jeffress:
 
"Pastor Jeffress was suggested to us as a possible introductory speaker because he serves as pastor of one of the largest churches in Texas.  We sent the request to the Perry campaign which then signed off on the request,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said in a statement to ABC News. (The Family Research Council is the lead organizer of the three-day event.)

"The views expressed by speakers are not necessarily the views of the event sponsors.  We do not pre-screen any speeches at the Values Voter Summit.  We look forward to hearing from Governor Romney tomorrow, as we have done each of the previous five years," Perkins added.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Iowa Sets Tentative Jan. 3 Date For Presidential Caucuses

Ethan Miller/Getty Images(DES MOINES) -- A committee of Iowa Republican Party leaders have zeroed in on Jan. 3, 2012 as the date for their state’s caucuses, but the Iowa GOP’s central committee will still have to vote to formally approve the date.

This puts pressure on New Hampshire to pick a date in between Iowa and Nevada’s Jan. 14 Caucuses. But New Hampshire’s secretary of state, Bill Gardner, will not be rushed. He said this week that he’s unlikely to set the date of the Granite State primary until Oct. 17 at the earliest.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

PACs Contribute $83,000 to Super Committee Members

iStockphoto(WASHINGTON) -- Members of the Congressional “super committee” received over $83,000 from lobbying groups in the three weeks after being appointed to make $1.5 trillion in budget cuts.

The 501(c)(3) non-profit Sunlight Foundation reported that 19 political action committees, or PACs, of organizations such as Lockheed Martin, the National Association of Realtors, Pfizer and Chevron gave to 10 committee members.

The super committee, officially called the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, is made up of six Democrats and six Republicans. It is tasked with approving at least $1.2 trillion in budget cuts as part of the deficit reduction deal passed by Congress in August.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., were the only members who did not receive contributions, according to filings from the Federal Election Commission.

The PAC of pharmaceutical company Pfizer reportedly gave the highest amount, $10,000, to super committee members.

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin contributed to the most super committee members: Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich. ($2,500); the leadership PAC of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; Campaign for our Country ($2,500); Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. ($1,000); and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio ($2,000).

The majority of the committee’s gatherings have been private. The committee had its last public meeting Sept. 22 and they are scheduled to agree upon a plan by Nov. 23. Their plan will not have amendments in either chamber of Congress and will require only 51 votes in the Senate for approval, as opposed to the traditional 60 for cloture.

The committee members who had received contributions, or their PACs received donations, were:

1. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.: $26,500

2. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.: $15,000

3. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.:$10,000

4. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.: $9,000

5. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.: $8,930

6. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.: $5,000

7. Sen. Rob Portma, R-Ohio: $4,500

8. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex.:$3,000

9. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.: $1,000

10. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.: $1,000

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Calls Wall St. Protests ‘Growing Mobs’

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Majority Leader Eric Cantor Friday described the Occupy Wall Street protesters as “growing mobs,” in some of the sharpest criticism yet from a one of the highest-ranking Republican leaders in the House.

“I am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and other cities across our country,” the Virginia congressman said in Washington Friday morning.
 
The majority leader than chastised Democrats for supporting the protesters. “Believe it or not, some in this town have actually condoned the pitting of Americans against Americans,” Cantor said. “But you sent us here to fight for you and for all Americans. You sent us here to bring about real change in Washington, real change to your federal government. And we’re committed to do that.”
 
Both President Obama and Vice President Biden expressed solidarity with the groups at separate speeches Thursday.

“What is the core of that protest?” Biden asked at the Washington Ideas Forum. “The core is: The bargain has been breached. The core is the American people do not think the system is fair or on the level.”

At a White House news conference, President Obama said the Wall Street protest “expresses the frustrations that the American people feel.”

“We had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country, all across Main Street,” Obama said. “And yet you’re still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on abusive practices that got us into this problem in the first place.”

In the three weeks since the “Occupy” protests began in lower Manhattan, they have spread beyond New York City to cities across the country.

In Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Austin, Texas, and other metro areas, protesters are demanding jobs, the investigation of Wall Street bankers involved in the financial crisis, and a roll back of the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court case that allowed corporations to donate unlimited funds to political campaigns.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

WH Says Jobs Report Underscores Need to Pass Obama's Jobs Bill

Comstock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- In its first response to Friday morning’s jobs report, the White House says unemployment remains “unacceptably high” and that the latest numbers underscore the need to pass the president’s jobs bill.
 
“Clearly, we need faster economic growth to put Americans back to work,” Katherine Abraham, a member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors, writes in a White House blog. “Today’s report underscores the President’s call for Congress to pass the American Jobs Act to put more money in the pockets of working and middle class families; to make it easier for small businesses to hire workers; to keep teachers in the classroom; to put construction crews to work rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure; and other measures that will help the economy grow while not adding to the deficit over ten years.”
 
While American employers added 103,000 jobs to their payrolls in September, the overall unemployment remains steady at 9.1 percent, “a level that is unacceptably high,” Abraham writes.
 
Abraham highlights the sectors of the economy that are adding jobs, including business services, health care, information, and construction, and those that are experiencing declines, including government and manufacturing. She also stresses that the economy has added private sector jobs for 19 straight months, totaling 2.6 million jobs.
 
As always, she notes that it’s important not to read too much into any one monthly report. “The monthly employment and unemployment numbers are volatile and employment estimates are subject to substantial revision,” she writes.

Copyright 2011 ABc News Radio