Florida GOP Rep. Allen West says he was not going to allow liberals, who heckled him at a town hall meeting he held on Medicare overhaul Tuesday, dominate the conversation and “take over.” West — a retired Army lieutenant colonel — also told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Wednesday he was not “the type of guy that's going to be intimidated.”
House Republicans have been getting heat over Medicare reform at town-hall meetings back home, but say they are sticking by their vote to lower the long-term cost of government health benefits for seniors.
“I think the most important thing was I was not going to allow them [liberals] to dominate the dialogue or take over our town hall meeting — and as I told them that I’m not the type of guy that’s going to be intimidated,” West said. “I stand on facts and the truth and that’s what we are going to take to the people down here in Congressional District 22 — you have to be above that and you have to be in control and not allow them to take over the town hall meeting.”
Hannity asked West whether he planned on voting to raise the debt ceiling.
“Well, it’s very simple: If we are going to talk about raising the debt ceiling, there are four important spending control measures — as I call it — that have to be put in place,” West explained. “We got to have a balanced budget amendment — we’ve got to cap federal government spending, I think, at 20 percent — that’s historical, where we should be.
“I think you have to look at our corporate business tax rate, it’s just 35 percent — we need to bring it down to 20, 22 percent — take away the loopholes and subsidies, encourage businesses and corporations to come back to America and invest in Americans and hiring them,” he continued.
“But the last and most important condition, I think we need, is a trigger-control mechanism so that when you reach a certain percentage of the debt ceiling, there are automatic spending cuts should come in — because we don’t need to keep doing this thing about raising the debt ceiling ever again,” West said.
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