U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl tells the Arizona Republic that his threat to leave the Super Committee now hammering out a debt-reduction package was not intended to be a factual statement:
U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl made headlines earlier this month when he told the crowd at an American Enterprise Institute event that he’d be “off” the deficit-reduction supercommittee if the panel pursued more cuts in defense spending.
Kyl’s remarks were widely interpreted at that time as a threat to quit the supercommittee. But, in an interview last week with The Arizona Republic, Kyl clarified that he was simply trying to make the point that the roughly $400 billion in defense reductions that were agreed to as part of the recent deal to increase the debt ceiling are enough.
He said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did not put him on the 12-member, bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to have him acquiesce to more defense cuts.
“I didn’t threaten to leave the committee,” said Kyl, one of six Republicans on the supercommittee and the only Arizonan. “I was just making an offhand remark that that’s not what I’m on the committee for.”
Talking Points Memo has a good summary of a recent meeting of the Super Committee.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2011.
Replace Senator Kyl with A Democratic senator
One more statement by Kyl that is not intended to be factual and I will start a draft Gabrielle Giffords for U.S. Senate committee.
I am Arizona resident. The good senator only represents special interest and NEVER any minority in Southern Arizona. He is toxic and yes yes get him off this commitee or the average amercian will pay. He only supports white uppermiddle class and the wealthy.
Great! So, he’d rather cut education spending then defense. Idiot!
What a lying sack of crap.
Arizona has two grumpy old men as Senators who do nothing but vote the same, monger more war, and provide zip for AZ. McCain, the pilot failure, and Kyl, who suffers as an old misinformed fool. Can’t this state do any better?