Politics & Government

Colbert Busch Opposes Obama Budget As Does Sanford

Released today, the Democrat disagrees with the president's budget.

UPDATED: To include in Mark Sanford's statement on the budget.

Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the Democratic candidate for the First Congressional District, has been painted by Republicans as someone who will be little more than a rubber stamp for the agenda of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

Colbert Busch has resisted that characterization and further evidence of her moderate stance on fiscal matters came on Wednesday when she announced she'd be opposing President Obama's budget. 

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Colbert Busch even goes so far as to link Obama with Rep. Paul Ryan (R- WI) by cutting benefits to seniors. She also said the president's budget does not cut spending enough. Her full statement:

“I respectfully disagree with the budget that President Obama is expected to present today because it simply doesn’t take the right steps to putting our fiscal house back in order – especially from my perspective as a businesswoman. The fact is, we have to balance our budget, cut our spending and lower taxes for small businesses to create jobs. Unfortunately, this budget takes the opposite approach; it raises taxes, doesn’t balance and doesn’t cut enough – when we should be laser-focused on slashing wasteful and duplicative spending.

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“Not only does President Obama’s plan fail to put our finances back in order, it would cut benefits for our seniors, which is wrong. I believe that our seniors earned their Social Security by putting money away every single paycheck for a lifetime – knowing that they could count on Social Security when they retired. Just this week, I met with seniors at Island Oaks Living Center, and they told me how much they worked and depend on Social Security – and I will stand with them. Simply put, Social Security doesn’t contribute to the deficit, and politicians should keep their hands off the trust fund.

“Between President Obama’s budget and Representative Paul Ryan’s plan, neither one has a fiscal approach that is acceptable to South Carolina families. The people of the 1st Congressional District need a representative who will fight for those values in Washington – restoring fiscal responsibility without throwing our seniors under the bus. As a tough and independent businesswoman, I’ll fight for a balanced budget amendment, cut wasteful spending and lower taxes on small businesses.”

Mark Sanford, Colbert Busch's opponent in the race also released a statement on the Obama budget:

"I've been fighting for balanced budgets and lower taxes during the whole of my time in politics, so from the standpoint of the president's budget continuing to deficit spend and raising taxes to boot, I reject it out of hand," Sanford said. "What I find fascinating though, is that while my opponent has spent her time up until now advocating for budget-busting items like the stimulus and Obamacare, she now wants to talk about balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility. I would respectfully suggest that you can't have your cake and eat it too - advocating for more in the way of spending, advocating for a balanced budget, while refusing to offer any plan for changing the financial course we're on as a nation."

"I am starting to see a pattern develop in regards to my opponent's issue stances - she is for Boeing jobs, yet also for the very union that brought the complaint to the NLRB to have Boeing close up shop in South Carolina. She is for balancing our budget and lowering taxes, yet she supported the failed trillion dollar stimulus and Obamacare, which raised taxes and moved us away from balancing the budget."

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