Delaware Delegates in Charlotte for Democratic National Convention are working to make the case that President Obama deserves another four years.
U.S. Senator Chris Coons is among those making that case. He says part of doing that requires pointing out flaws Democrats see in the message Republicans delivered at their convention last week.
One of those flaws, according to Coons, is the suggestion that President Obama’s policies have failed to spark the economy as promised. Delaware’s junior Senator says there’s more to the equation than the President Obama’s initiatives.
“One is that the Republicans in Congress have fought this President at every turn. They have used the filibuster. They have blocked. They have thwarted. They have prevented. All of his job creating proposals that have come to the Senate while I’ve been there have been turned down without any serious consideration,” said Coons in an interview with WDDE from Charlotte. “Second, weakness in the economies of other countries around the world – particularly in Europe and Asia – have made it difficult for our recovery to be stronger as well.”
Coons also argues that the Republicans’ claim that GOP vice presidential nominee Congressman Paul Ryan has a plan to deal with the nation’s budget deficit does not hold up under scrutiny.
“His budget plan is much more of a sketch than an actual budget. I‘m a member of the budget committee. The Ryan budget doesn’t make the tough choices. It makes bad choices,” said Coons. “And its important for folks who take the stage here in Charlotte- including our own Governor Jack Markell who will be speaking Wednesday – to clarify for the American people what Congressman Ryan’s budget does and what it doesn’t do.”
Specifically, Coons says the Ryan plan will make Medicare into a voucher program and that both Ryan and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney have in the past supported privatizing Social Security.
Coons also notes Republicans last week did not mention the war in Afghanistan or much about national security last week. He feels that’s an indication that President Obama has made the nation safer in his first term.
