MONROE - Ron Johnson, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, said he is giving specifics on the ideas he wants to take to Washington, D.C. - and his opponent, incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold, has to acknowledge that.
Johnson's critics, including Feingold, charge he has not laid out his specific plans on issues ranging from curtailing government spending to foreign policy for voters. But Johnson said he has a reason for not going to the U.S. Capitol with a specific plan for change.
"You can go in with plans, but you're going to have to go there and work with others, so having a specific plan is not necessarily the way to go," he told The Times. "I think laying out your overall general governing philosophy is probably more relevant."
Johnson and Feingold are locked in a tight race for the Senate seat, with several polls suggesting Johnson may have a slight lead.
Johnson stopped in downtown Monroe to meet voters and watch the Packers football game against the Jets Sunday afternoon as part of his campaign swing from Beaver Dam to Janesville. Chad Lee, the Republican candidate challenging incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin for the Second Congressional District, introduced Johnson.
Local Monroe residents spoke to Johnson on topics ranging from fishing to federal spending.
"I told him there's a need for change and fiscal responsibility, and he agreed," said Thomas Kelly, Monroe. "I think this election is one of the most important in my lifetime."
An Oshkosh businessman, Johnson became a candidate for Senate just six months ago.
"We're losing America," Johnson told the crowd Sunday at Flanagan's Shenanigans. "The final straw for my deciding to run was the health care bill. It's the single greatest assault on our freedom in my lifetime."
Johnson said the health care bill, signed into law in March 2010 by President Barack Obama, will ration health care to the elderly and the very sick and will lower the quality of health care.
"Medical innovation will come to a grinding halt," he said.
Johnson called the health care bill "a budget buster" and said the health care bill will add trillions of dollars to the country's deficit.
"You can't deny that, it will, and every day that goes by when you see the incentive of employers to drop health care (and) dump employees into subsidized exchanges, that would explode their (health care proponents') estimates," he said.
Speaking on the federal budget, Johnson wants spending caps.
"Sen. Feingold voted against the balanced budget amendment four times," Johnson said. "We've got to establish a hard spending cap."
Johnson is interested in a constitutional amendment proposed by Mike Pence, a Republican from Indiana's 6th Congressional District, which would cap spending at 20 percent of the nation's economy.
The 20-percent level, "which has been our average for the last 50 years, makes sense, because we were in a prosperity," he said. "Now we are at 25 percent and heading toward 26 and 27 percent, and that would be bad," he said.
Johnson also said he would be willing to look at a spending cap limit based on the rate of population growth and inflation growth.
In terms of specific spending cuts, Johnson said the stimulus bill didn't work.
"There's $165 billion we could save," he said.
Johnson said half of Feingold's specific plan to reduce the budget is not allowing the government to spend the TARP money that's already in the law.
"I support that," Johnson said. "Yeah, that should go into the deficit reduction."
"And I'm totally opposed to earmarks," he said. "That's less than one-half of 1 percent, but it corrupts our process."
Johnson's critics, including Feingold, charge he has not laid out his specific plans on issues ranging from curtailing government spending to foreign policy for voters. But Johnson said he has a reason for not going to the U.S. Capitol with a specific plan for change.
"You can go in with plans, but you're going to have to go there and work with others, so having a specific plan is not necessarily the way to go," he told The Times. "I think laying out your overall general governing philosophy is probably more relevant."
Johnson and Feingold are locked in a tight race for the Senate seat, with several polls suggesting Johnson may have a slight lead.
Johnson stopped in downtown Monroe to meet voters and watch the Packers football game against the Jets Sunday afternoon as part of his campaign swing from Beaver Dam to Janesville. Chad Lee, the Republican candidate challenging incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin for the Second Congressional District, introduced Johnson.
Local Monroe residents spoke to Johnson on topics ranging from fishing to federal spending.
"I told him there's a need for change and fiscal responsibility, and he agreed," said Thomas Kelly, Monroe. "I think this election is one of the most important in my lifetime."
An Oshkosh businessman, Johnson became a candidate for Senate just six months ago.
"We're losing America," Johnson told the crowd Sunday at Flanagan's Shenanigans. "The final straw for my deciding to run was the health care bill. It's the single greatest assault on our freedom in my lifetime."
Johnson said the health care bill, signed into law in March 2010 by President Barack Obama, will ration health care to the elderly and the very sick and will lower the quality of health care.
"Medical innovation will come to a grinding halt," he said.
Johnson called the health care bill "a budget buster" and said the health care bill will add trillions of dollars to the country's deficit.
"You can't deny that, it will, and every day that goes by when you see the incentive of employers to drop health care (and) dump employees into subsidized exchanges, that would explode their (health care proponents') estimates," he said.
Speaking on the federal budget, Johnson wants spending caps.
"Sen. Feingold voted against the balanced budget amendment four times," Johnson said. "We've got to establish a hard spending cap."
Johnson is interested in a constitutional amendment proposed by Mike Pence, a Republican from Indiana's 6th Congressional District, which would cap spending at 20 percent of the nation's economy.
The 20-percent level, "which has been our average for the last 50 years, makes sense, because we were in a prosperity," he said. "Now we are at 25 percent and heading toward 26 and 27 percent, and that would be bad," he said.
Johnson also said he would be willing to look at a spending cap limit based on the rate of population growth and inflation growth.
In terms of specific spending cuts, Johnson said the stimulus bill didn't work.
"There's $165 billion we could save," he said.
Johnson said half of Feingold's specific plan to reduce the budget is not allowing the government to spend the TARP money that's already in the law.
"I support that," Johnson said. "Yeah, that should go into the deficit reduction."
"And I'm totally opposed to earmarks," he said. "That's less than one-half of 1 percent, but it corrupts our process."