Biden criticizes Tea Party, says voters shouldn't be 'generically angry'

Vice President Joe Biden defended Rep. John Spratt's (D-S.C.) handling of the budget process at a fundraising event.

Vice President Joe Biden defended Rep. John Spratt's (D-S.C.) handling of the budget process at a fundraising event in Columbia, S.C. Friday.

Spratt, the House Budget Committee chairman, has come under fire from state Sen. Mick Mulvaney, his Republican opponent, for the House Democratic leadership's decision not to pass a budget blueprint in 2010.

During his speech, Biden instead noted Spratt's role in the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997 and blamed the Bush administration for unraveling his good work.



"This man engineered a balanced budget," Biden said, according to the poll report. "We left George W. Bush on his first day of office with a $270 billion operating surplus. These guys, our opponents, talking about balanced budgets and deficits is like an arsonist lecturing us on fire safety."

Biden said it’s “understandable” that many Americans are angry about the nation's economic situation. But when voters start paying attention to what the GOP alternative is, Democratic prospects will improve.



"They don’t want to think about anything other than what's made them mad," Biden said. "Come September ... they're going to have to look at the alternatives and not just be generically angry."

Biden then noted his motorcade passed a Tea Party protest en route to the event.



"Today’s Republican Party is not your father's Republican Party. It's the party of the Tea Party, some of whom I passed outside," he said. "I'm not questioning their integrity. I'm questioning their judgment."