GOP candidates react to credit rating downgrade

Standard & Poor's, a major investment consulting agency, downgraded the United States from its top status on Friday night, saying that the dependability of U.S. policy making had reached a significant low. America's rating was lowered one step, from AAA to AA+, for the first time ever.

Of the Republican presidential candidates, Utah's Jon Huntsman was the first to respond, shortly before 8 p.m.

At 9 p.m., Georgia's Newt Gingrich posted a Twitter message from the Iowa campaign trail, Massachusetts' Mitt Romney issued a written release, and Minnesota's Michele Bachmann emailed a statement from a campaign stop in Dexter.

Bachmann called for the resignation of U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Also last night, those statements were followed by Georgia's Herman Cain, then Texas's Ron Paul, and then, after speaking at an Iowa fundraiser in Tiffin, Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty and Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum.

Michigan's Thaddeus McCotter weighed in this morning.

Here are their written statements:

JON HUNTSMAN

"Out-of-control spending and a lack of leadership in Washington have resulted in President Obama presiding over the first downgrade of the United States credit rating in our history.

"For far too long we have let reckless government spending go unchecked and the cancerous debt afflicting our nation has spread.

"We need new leadership in Washington committed to fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, and job-friendly policies to get America working again."

MICHELE BACHMANN

"Tonight's decision by S&P to downgrade our credit rating to AA+ is a historically significant and serious event for the United States. The United States has had a AAA credit rating since 1917.

"That rating has endured the great depression, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the terrorist attacks on 9/11. This president has destroyed the credit rating of the United States through his failed economic policies and his inability to control government spending by raising the debt ceiling.

"We were warned by all of the credit agencies that a failure to deal with our debt would lead to a downgrade in our credit rating, but instead he submitted a budget that had a $1.5 trillion deficit and then requested a $2.4 trillion blank check. President Obama is destroying the foundations of the U.S. economy one beam at a time.

"I call on the president to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work."

NEWT GINGRICH

"The Obama disaster continues," he said in a Twitter message at 8:54 p.m. "Highest food stamp level and lowest credit rating in history in the same 24 hours."

MITT ROMNEY

"America's creditworthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama's failed record of leadership on the economy.

"Standard & Poor's rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country's decline under President Obama.

"His failed policies have led to high unemployment, skyrocketing deficits, and now, the unprecedented loss of our nation's prized AAA credit rating. Today, President Obama promised that 'things will get better.'

"But it has become increasingly clear that the only way things will get better is with new leadership in the White House."

HERMAN CAIN

"On Tuesday, April 19, 2011, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner promised that America faced 'no risk' of a credit downgrading. Less than six months later, he is proven shamefully wrong. As I have feared for months, the S&P has chosen to downgrade America's credit rating from AAA, which we have always enjoyed, to AA+.

"Perhaps this is because the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats never once demonstrated a willingness to propose its own ideas for meaningful spending cuts, something credit agencies signaled were necessary to redeem America's financial standing in the world.

"As a corporate executive, I've rescued companies from the brink of bankruptcy and returned them to profitability. That involved balancing budgets or even creating them in the first place, something that the Democratic leadership in Congress hasn't done for 828 days. If I couldn't run companies without budgets, how can the government?

"I also had to make tough budgetary cuts to save companies. Leadership is about doing what's right, even when it's difficult. But somehow, that sort of idea was never floated among those within the Obama Administration.

"Now, Americans are fearful for their retirements and for their children's educational savings. This is a country known for dreamers and innovators, for thinkers and doers. And now, we are a nation living in fear.

"This is a sad day for America. Such a rating is unfitting of the greatest and most prosperous nation the world has ever known. And such a weak leader is, as well."

RON PAUL

"We have just learned that for the first time in our history, the United States' top credit rating has been downgraded by credit rating agency S&P.

"We were told by proponents of increasing the debt ceiling that a credit downgrade would come if we didn't raise the limit, but the opposite was true.

"The ratings agencies had been warning us for some time that it is imperative upon the U.S. government to get its fiscal house in order and tackle its debt and deficit problem by taking serious steps.

"Unfortunately, the game in Washington has been one of partisan blaming and bipartisan out-of-control spending.

"America has been dealing with this severe economic crisis for years because the Washington establishment failed to focus on the true issues at hand: a declining dollar and out-of-control spending.

"Last November, millions of frustrated Americans let it be known that they wanted our debt crisis solved and our spending problem to end. They sent a group of new lawmakers to Washington to end business as usual.

"But the old crowd of elites still refuses to budge on doing everything it takes to get us out of this hole they've dug. Instead of real substantial budget cuts, we get minor or 'fake' cuts and budget tricks that may or may not happen far off into the future. We get a Congress that abdicates its responsibility to an unconstitutional 'Super Congress' with the power to make things worse than they already are.

"The American people realize that our nation can no longer afford to stay on this same path of reckless spending and follow the status quo of Washington. They will not tolerate any further ineffective stimulus schemes that do nothing to help our economy and actually do the opposite to the tune of trillions of dollars in money being spent and printed, and millions of people remaining unemployed and without much economic stability or security.

"If Washington refuses to take heed, there is little cause for optimism.

"Growing inflation, rising gasoline and food prices, and trillion-dollar budget deficits will all soon seem like minor issues if our nation does not immediately change our monetary and spending policies.

"We must take bold actions to reduce out-of-control government spending, and get the federal government out of the way of small business and entrepreneurs so that they can start hiring again.

"If elected President, I pledge to veto any unbalanced budget and to balance the federal budget in the first year of my term. I will fight to reduce taxes and remove unconstitutional regulations so that businesses can hire, Americans can get back to work, and our economy can truly recover."

RICK SANTORUM

"If this downgrade holds, then it's another example in a long line of examples of the President's failure of leadership. Is anyone surprised at this point? There are 14 million people out of work and looking to the White House for answers - but they are receiving nothing but a blank stare.

"The markets are scared and the credit downgrade has happened because the President and this Congress continue to address the symptoms and not the disease.

"This nation is spending more money than it takes in and the world knows it - now, it's time to show the world that the United States has the fortitude and resolve to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to stop out of control spending and shrink the scope of government once and for all. The deal the President cut with Congress was supposed to avoid this downgrade but all it did was once again kick the can down the road.

"President Obama and his Administration have been a failure.

"I understand the US Treasury is going back to Standard and Poors to say that a two trillion dollar mathematical error by S&P contributed to the downgrade. So, in addition to blaming President Bush for all of its problems, now the White House is blaming S&P - but this happened on the President's watch - and he has to deal with it. I guess President Obama is left to cling to the 'hope' that a mathematical error caused this. Is that the "hope" the President was talking about?

"Folks, an AA rating should be so far in our rear view mirror that no mathematical error should affect it.

"Tonight, I'm saddened for the millions out of work - but I'm hopeful that I will replace Barack Obama as President and get this country and its economy moving again."

TIM PAWLENTY

"This is a sad moment for the United States, but it's a reflection that our country is in trouble. President Obama is inept when it comes to creating the conditions or job creation and economic growth. It's time for a new direction and a new President."

"The S&P downgrade blemishes our free Republic's revolutionary experiment in liberty and self-government; consequently, it heartens tyrants and terrorists.

THADDEUS MCCOTTER

"We must reject recriminations, and unite to squarely face and fully conquer the fiscal challenge that threatens our prosperity and security.

"For as this downgrade underscores, only by restructuring big government into citizen-government will we keep our nation the world's leading economy and affirm American exceptionalism throughout the 21st Century."