The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Large Pair)

Posted on | April 4, 2011 | 15 Comments

The gentleman from Wisconsin steps up:

The Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee said his party’s budget proposal for 2012 would cut deficits by more than $4 trillion over the next decade, vowing to tackle costly entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid.
The proposal, set to be unveiled Tuesday, would serve as the Republicans’ official response to President Obama’s proposed $3.7 trillion budget for 2012. The White House claims its plan would cut deficits by $1.1 trillion over a decade.
But Ryan, R-Wis., in an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” accused Obama of “punting” and said Republicans’ plan would exceed the fiscal goals set by the president’s fiscal commission — which issued a report calling for $4 trillion in cuts. That report never made it out of committee.
“We can’t keep kicking this can down the road,” Ryan said. “The president has punted. We’re not going to follow suit.”

The Beltway spin on this: By proposing large cuts for the fiscal 2012 budget, Ryan’s plan gives House Republicans political “cover” if negotiations over the remainder of the fiscal 2011 budget require them to accept smaller levels of cuts for the current year.

Ryan admits that proposing big cuts — including a proposal to block-grant Medicaid funding to the state — will expose the GOP to Democrat demagoguery. Via Cubachi, here’s video of Ryan explaining his plan on “Fox News Sunday”:

Kudos to Ryan for having sufficient testicular fortitude to get serious about cutting the deficit.

UPDATE: Jazz Shaw on Twitter: “Nobody can hear Paul Ryan’s budget message. Why? Drowned out by the clanging of his enormous brass balls.”

Category: Budget, Paul Ryan

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