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Dem governors rip GOP candidates
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01/27/12 08:52 AM ET
A roundtable of Democratic governors slammed Republican members of the House, as well as the GOP presidential candidates, ahead of the Democratic Governors Association conference in New York on Friday.
“There have been a number of Republicans that I have admired over the years,” Markell said. “But I don’t recognize these guys. Instead of talking about things that matter to the country, they’re only talking to the Tea Party.”
Markell cited the Iowa debate in which none of the eight GOP candidates said they would accept a 10-to-1 ratio of spending cuts to tax increases.
O’Malley said the contrast between the messages of the GOP candidates and President Obama was stark.
“The longer the debates go on, the less [Republican candidates] discuss jobs and the choices we need to make to expand opportunity,” he said. “And then you contrast that this week with the president’s vision. Now, I’ve watched every single one of the State of the Union, and I think this one was his strongest in terms of its cohesiveness, its fearlessness and its vision for jobs and opportunity.”
Markell agreed, saying the GOP candidates showed constant negativity toward each other and the president in the debates.
Quinn said Republicans need to put politics aside and work with the president.
“Some of the Republicans need to work with president for the good of the national economy,” he said.
Quinn cited the payroll tax cut, which will expire in February. In December, some members of the GOP House revolted against a temporary extension of the tax cut, arguing that a full-year deal should be negotiated before members left for the holiday.
Republicans were widely criticized for having botched the politics on the issue.
As the election season ramps up, state governors have stepped into the spotlight to advocate for their parties.
Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Ind.) issued the Republican response to the president’s State of the Union, in which he called Obama’s policies “pro-poverty.”
And earlier this week, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) had an altercation with the president after he landed in her state, wagging her finger in his face after Obama confronted her about a passage in her book.
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