House Candidate Ann Wagner Gives GOP Weekly Address On Obama's "Failed Presidency"

Hello, I'm Ann Wagner from the heartland in St. Louis, Missouri.

“I grew up around here, working from a very young age at the small retail carpet business my parents started. I vacuumed, tagged sale items – worked my way up to the showroom floor. As it happens, that's where I met a young man, working his way through high school, named Ray – who today is my husband of 25 years and the father of our three beautiful children.

“We are truly blessed, but like so many of you, we worry for the future. Our economy is hurting, our national debt is exploding, and the president’s policies are making things worse. Americans deserve leaders who will keep their promises and won't let up until our future is secure and our economy is strong.

“That’s why I’m supporting Mitt Romney, and it’s why I’m asking for the support of the people of Missouri’s Second Congressional District. 

“As a first-time candidate, I do a lot of listening. For all the fear out there, the one thing I hear most often is, ‘we can do better.’ It’s what our parents taught us. I can remember watching mine toil morning, noon, and night. I saw my father deal with every headache the government threw his way – whether it had to do with the signs on the front of the building or the prices on the showroom floor. He knew he could do better, if government would just get out of the way – and stay out of the way. He was right. When we get government off the backs of our job creators, small businesses have a better chance of thriving. And when small businesses thrive, so does our economy.

“That’s why, instead of raising taxes, we ought to fix our 72,000-page monstrosity of a tax code so we can keep jobs here and bring jobs home that have gone overseas. We should repeal the president’s health care law – which makes it harder for small businesses to hire – and replace it with reforms that actually lower costs and protect the doctor-patient relationship. And instead of giving in to high gas and energy prices let’s jumpstart the development of America’s vast domestic energy resources. Let’s build the Keystone pipeline, let’s expand the exploration and use of natural gas and coal.

“These are all good ideas that Mitt Romney supports, but President Obama has ignored or rejected. That’s disappointing, especially considering how his policies have failed. He promised to listen, promised us change, but all we’ve gotten is more of the same. More spending, more red tape, more debt and decline. A loss of hope. 

“The United States Senate, run by the president’s party, hasn't passed a budget in more than three-and-a-half years. That is irresponsible and reckless.

“Now, the president is demanding another tax increase on small businesses that would destroy more than 700,000 jobs and drive our economy off the fiscal cliff.

“In Missouri, we count on coal for 82 percent of our electricity. President Obama's war on coal is threatening higher electricity prices for families and job creators.

“We cannot go on like this. This election is not about President Obama the person, it’s about his failed Presidency and failed leadership. Our country is going in the wrong direction – and Mitt Romney is the only leader who can turn this economy around, get Americans back to work and build the better America our parents worked and sacrificed to make possible.

“That's the opportunity before us. And it’s the one we must seize, for the sake of our children and the future of our great nation.

“God bless your families, and my God continue to bless the United States of America.”