STATEMENT BY SENATOR PHIL GRAMM

ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm issued the following statement:

"It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues facing the country. That kind of distraction hurts not only Senator McCain's ability to present concrete programs to deal with the country's problems, it hurts the country. To end this distraction and get on with the real debate, I hereby step down as Co-Chair of the McCain Campaign and join the growing number of rank-and-file McCain supporters."

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Response from Obama for America

“The question for John McCain isn’t whether Phil Gramm will continue as chairman of his campaign, but whether he will continue to keep the economic plan that Gramm authored and that represents a continuation of the polices that have failed American families for the last eight years,” said Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan.  

·         Washington Post: “Gramm Played An Important Part In Crafting McCain’s Economic Plan.” Addressing the recent fall-out over McCain advisor Phil Gramm’s remarks about a “nation of whiners,” the Washington Post reported that “Gramm played an important role in crafting McCain economic plan, and he occasionally appeared at rallies or spoke to editorial boards on the presumptive GOP’s behalf.” [Washington Post, 7/14/08]

·         Fortune Magazine: Most of McCain’s Positions on Economy Are “Vintage Gramm.” Despite John McCain’s admission that he doesn’t know as much about the economy as he should, “economic conservatives should take heart” in Phil Gramm – “the ultimate pure play in free market faith” – and his role as “McCain’s chief economic advisor.” Wrote Fortune Magazine: “If McCain follows Gramm's counsel, and most of his current positions are vintage Gramm indeed, his policies as president would represent not just a sharp departure from the Bush years, but an assault on government growth that Republicans have boasted about, but failed to achieve, for decades.” [Fortune, 2/19/08]

·         Fortune Magazine: Gramm Is McCain’s “Economic Brain.” In an article titled, “McCain’s economic brain,” Fortune Magazine accounts for the large role former Senator and lobbyist Phil Gramm has played in the campaign, writing: “John McCain is portraying himself as a budget-shrinking, flat-tax embracing, health-care privatizing champion of free markets. But is this Reaganesque zealot the real John McCain? The answer has a lot to do with his chief economic advisor, former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, who is counseling him to balance the budget, cut taxes, and let Americans shop for health care with their own money.” [Fortune Magazine, 3/3/08]

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