SALON

Wednesday, Sep 12, 2012 7:03 PM UTC

Ryan: Attacks a reminder world needs US leadership

By

Topics: From the Wires,

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (AP) — Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan says President Barack Obama’s defense spending cuts “breed weakness” — a vulnerability the United States can’t afford following the killings of four Americans in Libya.

His comments at a town hall meeting Wednesday near Green Bay came after a question about national defense from a man in the audience wearing a hat indicating he was a Bronze Star recipient. Ryan began the meeting asking for a moment of silence for the four Americans killed overseas.

“Peace through strength works,” Ryan said after the question. “It is very important that a president speak with a singular voice representing our principles and values. We don’t want people around the world wondering what our values are.”

Ryan then repeated his frequent criticism of Obama on defense, saying “I believe the president’s devastating defense cuts breed weakness.”

Obama on Wednesday vowed the United States would “work with the Libyan government to bring to justice” those who killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in an attack on the consulate in Benghazi.

At his Wisconsin gathering, Ryan said the attacks are a reminder that the world needs American leadership.

“We do not want a world climate where our adversaries are so tempted to test us and our allies are worried about trusting us,” Ryan said to loud applause. “That is unfortunately the path we are on in America.”

Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, spent much of the session repeating well-worn campaign themes warning of an economic collapse, criticizing Obama for the level of national debt and promising a more frugal federal government under Romney.

Ryan said the collapse in 2008 wasn’t expected, while the new threat that looms is.

“Remember the Jimmy Carter years?” he asked. “We don’t want to repeat the Jimmy Carter years?”

Ryan was introduced to the crowd by Gov. Scott Walker, who promised that for the first time since he was in high school and Ryan was in middle school, Wisconsin would vote for a Republican for president. The last time that happened was in 1984.

Many in the crowd waved orange fans that said “Defend freedom, defeat Obama.”

Wanda Wanie, 44, of De Pere came to the event with her 14 year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. Wanie said she agreed with Ryan’s criticisms of Obama on foreign policy.

“I think the president right now spends more time golfing than the things he needs to be doing,” she said.

Ryan, a native of Janesville, has spent a lot of time in his home state since joining Romney’s ticket in August. He came to the stage wearing a Green Bay Packers polo shirt.

Wisconsin, and its 10 electoral votes, has become more of a battleground with the increase in advertising and appearances by the candidates. Vice President Joe Biden plans to campaign on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Thursday.

More Scott Bauer.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations