<blockquote>"I do not think we should shut down government but I do not like either the Democrat or the Republican proposal. Both of them perpetuate enormous deficits. The annual deficit will be $1.65 trillion under the Democrats and $1.55 trillion under the Republicans."
"I did not come to Washington to vote for deficits, I came to balance the budget, and cut federal spending. People at home don't understand what's going on. Up here people think we could never cut $500 billion. At home, when I tell them we are going to cut $500 billion, they say that's only a third of the problem, I want you to cut more."
"This isn't an either-or situation. It's not a Hobson's Choice. There is something in between. It's not either we spend what they want or we shut it down. What if we spend what we have? I'm all for spending about $2.2 trillion, that about what we bring in."
- Senator Rand Paul (
Source) </blockquote>