United States Senate candidate Terrence Wall spoke on his views of the economy and health care reform at a University of Wisconsin College Republicans meeting Tuesday night.
Wall is running against Democratic incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Republican candidate and businessman Dave Westlake.
Stephen Duerst, UW Republicans’ public relations chair and Wall intern, said many things are happening in Washington right now that people are not happy about and Wall wants to change that.
“That’s a thing [Wall’s] campaign is focused on, is getting people back in the workforce, and that’s something Democrats have not done and Russ Feingold has not done,” Duerst said.
In his speech, Wall focused mainly on his background in the private sector and how it has given him the experience necessary to know how to create jobs and improve the business climate.
Wall said he decided to run for office because he loves the United States and considers himself a very patriotic person.
“It’s all about freedom and democracy,” Wall said. “America is where it’s at today for a reason; it’s not (a) coincidence. We believe in letting somebody become the best they can become.”
Wall added he believes Wisconsin needs somebody who has experience in the private and business sectors to lead and to help create new jobs for the state. He said he supports cutting taxes and government spending, deregulating industries and freeing up intellectual capital.
“It’s going to take some new leadership, some new ideas,” Wall said. “It’s going to take, frankly, somebody with some business sense and common sense, someone who’s not a career politician to get in there and fix some things.”
Wall also touched on the health care debate and said he believes the new health care bill is not about creating more accessible and affordable care, but instead is a “government takeover.”
“The people in Washington right now are far left… they believe government should own or control large sectors of the economy,” Wall said. “They don’t trust the private sector.”
Crystal Lee, chair of the UW College Republicans, said Wall is a perfect candidate because he is not a career politician. She added they are not endorsing Wall over Westlake, but are instead focused on supporting all Republican candidates and getting Feingold out of office.
“We don’t know what Russ [Feingold] has done for us, but we do know what Terrence [Wall] wants to do for us,” Lee said.
Regarding the reports released last month that Wall has not paid his income taxes for four out of the last five years, Lee said the situation has not affected how she feels about him. There are a lot of regulations and complications with his tax situation, and Wall is not at fault, she added.
Graeme Zielinski, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said Wall has proven himself not to represent the hardworking values of Wisconsin residents.
“He’s not really interested in paying taxes… . I don’t know where he’d have any credibility,” Zielinski said. “If he’s talking to College Republicans, maybe he has something to teach them on spin.”
