Earlier this week, Republican Senator Richard Burr offered his solution to the economic crisis before an audience of North Carolina business leaders – “withdraw all money from the bank”.

According to The Hendersonville Times-News, Burr described his reaction to the economic crisis by saying –

“On Friday night, I called my wife and I said, ‘Brooke, I am not coming home this weekend. I will call you on Monday. Tonight, I want you to go to the ATM machine, and I want you to draw out everything it will let you take. And I want you to tomorrow, and I want you to go Sunday.’ I was convinced on Friday night that if you put a plastic card in an ATM machine the last thing you were going to get was cash.” Burr added, “I think it is safe to say the economy has not rebounded. If anything, we have gone deeper into what economists call ‘recession.’ I would tell you it’s not a recession. I would define this as a depression.” [The Hendersonville Times-News, 4/14/09]

If this is Senator Burr’s economic recovery plan for himself, it is no surprise he doesn’t have one for the country. Senator Burr was a strong champion of the George Bush economic approach which helped create this mess but now he will not lift a finger to get us out of it. Instead, Senator Burr has been voting against efforts to revive our struggling economy. North Carolina needs a senator who will work hard to get our economy back on track – not one whose only “solution” is rushing to the bank in a panic to withdraw money. Sadly, Senator Burr is not the only Republican Senator who feels this way. That’s why the DSCC is focused on electing Democrats to the U.S. Senate – because America can’t afford more obstructionist Republicans.

Senator Burr’s disgraceful response to the economic crisis is in keeping with the low opinion most North Carolinians have of his overall performance.