Sen. Richard Burr Delivers GOP Address

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) gives this week's Republican Address. He presents a counterpoint to the president's bus tour, in which the president drives to battleground states in his million dollar Canadian bus and argues for massive amounts of new government spending.  That tour, incidentally hit North Carolina this week -- a key state for Obama -- and Burr is therefore a fitting choice to respond not only for the Republican Party, but to speak to those constituents directly.

Burr makes the case for government getting out of the way to allow the private sector to create real jobs, as opposed to phony government jobs. He outlines the Republican jobs plan to consist of the following points:

• Simplify the tax code. This is part of the appeal of the 9-9-9 plan, by the way.
•   Rein in government regulations. Steve Jobs apparently told Obama that the amount of regulation in this country was going to make Obama a one-term president.
•  Cap spending and reduce budget deficits.  Need we say more?
•    Propose common sense healthcare solutions. It is not enough to repeal Obamacare; Republicans need to restore competition to drive down costs.
•    Encourage domestic energy development.  This is Rick Perry's platform.
•     Create a competitive workforce,  To the extent that this justifies the federalization of education, I disagree.
•  Increase exports.  There is bi-partisan support for passage of free trade agreements. Let's get it done.