When you have a country that's been accustomed to government spending at a certain level, it is really hard to ratchet it back.

I'm nobody's deputy. I am who I am. I'm my own person.

It is simply science fiction fantasy to say that, if you do not raise the debt ceiling, that everything is going to collapse.

The Tea Party has an important voice in the country and now they have a voice in the U.S. Senate.

The Tea Party movement as I perceive it is all about recognizing the difference between state and federal powers. And that there are limits to federal power that need to be respected.

You know, in a business, you have to operate on the basis of voluntary investment by individuals in a cause. With government, there is no voluntary effort to invest capital. It's just taken and invested. And the same accountability is not at play. The same natural forces in the economy are not at play.

We can't legislate the creation of jobs, but we can legislate things that will allow jobs to be created.