Thursday, October 11, 2012
10:22 PM
VP debate features a few Wisconsin references
Thursday night’s vice presidential debate got a few Wisconsin references.
GOP candidate Paul Ryan mentioned his hometown of Janesville and Vice President Joe Biden’s of Scranton in taking a shot at the Obama Administration over the unemployment rate. He pointed out the jobless rate is 10 percent in Scranton, compared to 8.5 percent when the president took office.
Another reference came up in an exchange over the stimulus.
Ryan got in a dig over stimulus spending that went to green energy companies and noted the vice president was in charge of the program. Biden jumped on the comment to point out Ryan sent two letters to him requesting money through the program for Wisconsin companies. He mocked Ryan’s complaints that the program had problems with cronyism, saying investigations turned up no such thing.
Ryan said his congressional office often advocates for companies seeking government grants.
Biden finished the exchange by telling Ryan, “By the way, any letter you send me, I’ll entertain.”
“I appreciate that, Joe,” Ryan said.
During a discussion on Afghanistan, Ryan mentioned one of his best friends from Janesville at a forward operating base in the country.
“I want him and all of our troops to come home as soon and as safely as possible,” said Ryan, who earlier mentioned talking overseas to a soldier from the Menominee Nation.
RNC Chair Reince Priebus of Wisconsin was also in the debate hall at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
-- By JR Ross
Election Blog site feed