Isakson: ‘We should call a regulation timeout’

Taking issue with President Obama’s recent remark that the private sector is “doing fine,” a Georgia senator said “we should call a regulation timeout.”

“The private sector is not ‘fine,’” U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said in a news release. “In my recent travels across Georgia, I’ve talked to many people in the private sector who are not doing well, and they are not doing well because of government overregulation and uncertainty.

“If we could do anything to empower our economy right now, we should call a regulation timeout,” Isakson added. “In addition, this administration has tried to eliminate risk. Government’s job is not to eliminate risk, it is to mitigate risk. If you eliminate risk, you take the power of investment away from the private sector and entrepreneurs.”

Republicans have pounced on Obama since he made his remarks a week ago, saying they show the nation’s leader is out of touch with reality. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has used the remarks in campaign ads.