T.W. Shannon, the conservative who stepped down as Oklahoma’s House Speaker to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), said the country’s spiraling debt is a moral crisis and threatens its national security.
Speaking at The New York Meeting, Shannon, arguably the most conservative Speaker in the state’s history, said he was frustrated that Americans have been sending too many managers to D.C. who want to “manage the decay better than the next guy” when they should be sending leaders who would stand up against President Barack Obama and Democrats and say, “No, we’re not going to do more spending. We’re not going to do more debt.”
“Don’t tell us how conservative you are, show us,” Shannon said.
He added that there are too many people “who have completely given up on America and the American dream” and have resolved that America “be another embassy of the Chinese government.”
Shannon said the $17.5 trillion debt the country faces is a “moral crisis and national security issue.” After seeing Russia’s aggression in Crimea and Ukraine, Shannon stressed that Americans were rightfully concerned about the country’s ability to mobilize quickly in case of an international conflict because the country has “disarmed our American military” to pay down the debt.
He said he believed “our country is on the verge of an economic explosion” and that “conservative principles lead to prosperity.”
The New York Meeting is a monthly event run by Mallory Factor and O’Brien Murray. Panelists included James Taranto, Peggy Noonan, and Sirius XM radio host and Breitbart contributor David Webb.