By Eric Lindquist

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson apologized up front Monday for not bringing a very cheerful message to his audience at a joint meeting of the Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls and Menomonie chambers of commerce.

But the freshman Republican, an Oshkosh businessman who defeated three-term incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold in November, insisted his message was too important to sugarcoat.

"I've got to tell you ... how incredibly dire, how urgent the financial situation is in this nation," Johnson told the roughly 130 local business representatives attending his speech at 29 Pines Conference Center. "Our nation is in peril."

Johnson defended his vote against the bipartisan bill to increase the debt ceiling and avoid a federal government default by saying he wanted to send a message that the United States must get serious about cutting spending and reducing deficits.

"I was never concerned about a default," Johnson said. "What I feared — and we all should fear — is the actual date of reckoning when the U.S. gets its debt crisis."

He also warned that the U.S. is rapidly moving toward a debt crisis such as the one faced last year by Greece, requiring a massive bailout from the European Union.

State Democratic Party spokesman Graeme Zielinski called Johnson's Greece analogy dangerous and misleading.

"This right wing fantasy he's dreaming up about Greece is doing immediate damage to Wisconsin and the national economy," Zielinski said in a telephone interview. "Ron Johnson's rhetoric is actually making it worse by sending signals to people like Standard & Poor's that we were actually willing to default," thus leading to a downgrade of the federal government's credit rating.

Johnson said he practices what he preaches, even if it's not the conventional approach in Washington, when lobbyists visit his office. He tells them they've come to the right place if they want help getting government off the backs of people, but that he's not interested in hearing about new spending proposals, no matter how noble the group's mission may be.

"I tell them the harm caused by your organization not getting your requested funding level will pale in comparison with the harm that will face this nation and your organization if we actually hit that debt crisis," Johnson said.

The key to strengthening the economy is to promote economic growth, he said, suggesting the best way to start would be by repealing the health insurance reform law, all new regulations on business and President Obama's entire agenda.

Regulations stifle job creation and "hang over everybody's head like an anvil," Johnson said, calling for a moratorium on any new regulations.

Zielinski, however, stressed that some environmental regulations are crucial to protecting health and safety.

"If we need to poison our children to create jobs, that's a pretty terrible choice, and I think it's a false choice. Anything that prohibits corporations from doing whatever they want at the expense of ordinary citizens, that's what he wants," Zielinski said, pointing out that the 2008 financial crisis was precipitated by deregulation of the financial markets.

Johnson fielded one question asking what subsidies he would propose cutting from big oil companies — he responded by calling those tax breaks legitimate business incentives intended to promote energy exploration and reduce the price of gas — but for the most part the business crowd offered a supportive audience who appeared to heed his message.

"The budget's too large, and we have to cut government spending," said Peter Farrow, CEO of Group Health Cooperative of Eau Claire. "It's a hard message, but what options do we have?"

Mike Jordan, president of the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, called it a reality that Americans need to grasp.

"It's not a popular message that people want to hear," Jordan said, "but it's the cold, hard facts."

Johnson concluded by reassuring folks they have the power to change the otherwise gloomy outlook by taking the budget issues seriously, demanding that elected officials do the same and electing more people who will take the necessary steps to move the country back on a sustainable path.

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