WASHINGTON – DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement tonight in response to the Republican presidential primary debate in North Charleston, South Carolina:

“Tonight we saw two underwhelming undercard debates from the Republican Party – one at the kids’ table, the other at a slightly larger, more unruly kids’ table where a food fight occurred rather than a substantive discussion. And all we heard from the candidates between the shouting, bullying and hand-wringing was fairy tales, fear mongering and flat-out lies.

“Just miles away from the Mother Emanuel AME church, the site of a terrible and tragic mass shooting, Republicans assured Americans they would do nothing to prevent gun violence saying, ‘we cannot afford to have a president of the United States that supports gun control,’ while referring to the President’s mourning the deaths of Americans at the hands of gun violence as a ‘press conference talking about how he can't wait to restrict people's access to guns.’

“They once again vowed to repeal Obamacare, taking us back to a time when too many Americans had to face bankruptcy to pay for their healthcare, calling a law that has provided health insurance to nearly 18 million more Americans a ‘horror show.’ They talked about how they wanted to lower taxes on corporations and the wealthy which would balloon the deficit or gut important government services. And they promised to return us to go-it-alone, reckless foreign policy that will alienate our allies and make America less safe. 

“Listening to all the noise, you would think the Bush years were a golden age and our best days are behind us. Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth, and the Republicans couldn’t be more out of touch with reality. The American people deserve better. They have worked too hard to finally climb out of the recession that the last Republican president left behind. We’ve come too far – from losing 8 million jobs in the Bush recession to creating 14 million new ones with a Democrat in the White House. And after a record 70-straight months of economic growth, the facts make it clear: we need to elect a Democrat to keep America moving forward.”