Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the GOP’s high priest of pecuniary politics, has ascended to the chairmanship of the House Budget Committee. Across the land, fiscal conservatives applaud the rise of the 40-year-old wonk. But the cheers in Congress are more sporadic: Unflinching endorsements of Ryan’s fiscal blueprint are rare. Apparently, the new majority is in no mood — yet — for a full-spectrum fight on entitlements.
With fanfare, Ryan last year published “A Roadmap for America’s Future,” a comprehensive government-shrinking document that tackles the three main problems in the federal budget: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Its bold, data-fueled approach was the single best piece of evidence that Republicans were ready to address long-term liabilities.
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Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, now the No. 2 and No. 3 Republicans in the House, went so far as to include a chapter about the measure in Young Guns, the best-selling campaign manifesto they coauthored with Ryan. Thirteen House Republicans signed on to the plan. Sarah Palin and former House majority leader Dick Armey urged the faithful to rally ’round.
But as Ryan preps for a spring budget battle, Cantor, House Speaker John Boehner, and others are not showing much eagerness to take up the roadmap’s specifics. Ryan’s project, which proposes we curb the looming debt crisis by moving toward a defined-contribution model for entitlements over the next several decades, languishes.
Nevertheless, with Ryan now holding real power, along with a burgeoning national profile, Republicans will be forced to choose how aggressively to act on his big ideas — even if it makes them uncomfortable. With a Democrat in the White House and a Democratic majority in the Senate, chances for major policy change are slim. But the public will eye how Republicans fight — to see if they’re serious about finding a solution.
On Capitol Hill, praise for the Wisconsin Republican comes easy and often, full-scale endorsement of the roadmap less so. Most leading first-year legislators temper their words when discussing the plan. “I think it’s a good start; it’s not perfect,” says Rep. Allen West (R., Fla.). “We have to be able to be flexible.”
Rep. Kristi Noem (R., S.D.), a member of the House leadership team, tells us she likes portions of the roadmap, such as Ryan’s caps on spending, but “beyond that, I haven’t explored too far.”
Rep. Steve Chabot (R., Ohio), who returned to Congress this month after losing his seat in 2008, takes a similar tack. “We are still studying it, what the implications might be for the budget,” he says. “I’m not ready to announce a position. I’m sure there are parts of it that we agree with — probably the vast majority of it — but there may be some things we have problems with. We need more time.”
Rep. Patrick Meehan, a freshman from Pennsylvania, is “reserving judgment.” So is Rep. Jon Runyan (R., N.J.). “It’s something we are digging through slowly,” he says. “I’m not prepared to make a statement on that.” Others point out that they like Ryan’s push to simplify the tax code and his focus on the debt, but become evasive when pressed for their opinion of its adjustments to Medicare and Social Security.
Rep. Sean Duffy (R., Wis.), a freshman and a close friend of Ryan’s, understands the nervous response by many in his class. “This is Paul Ryan’s vision,” he explains. “Many members in the freshman class would be able to tell you a few good things about Paul’s roadmap, but could they all go out there and defend it? No.”
The question we have to ask is; what is it that causes them to hesitate? I really don't think they are cowards. Is it their constituency? Are they hearing wails and moans "oh don't take my bene's?" Or, "go for it we support you." I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and suggest maybe it's our fault and we need to be more aggressive in letting the hesitant representatives know that they have our support in attacking these issues. On the other hand, if they are hearing more from a constituency that is complaining about losing their bene's...well then, that's a different problem isn't it. One more related to the damage done to our society by the progressive movement in this country. I suppose an argument could be made for the proverbial cave in to the ‘special interests’ as well but hopefully the freshman have not yet succumbed.
This is why so many are so warry of what is said by the Republicans. Why even bother coming up with a plan if you never intend to follow through on it. If this continues the Republicans could very well see themselves back in the minority very soon.
It is my hope that a number of these freshmen begin to read the "roadmap". Many of us who helped to get them into office have certainly done so and it is my belief that the hard work needs to begin now. The first thing I would do is to begin crafting a message how this help each and every person in this Country. In the past, the opposition has been out front in explaining how the Right is going to make grandma eat dog food and we just stood there and took it. It is time to fight back. If we don't, this Country will look like Ireland or Greece within a couple years and the Tea Party movement will be just another footnote in a few history books. As will those we elected to carry our water.
Typical. To all members of Congress: WE ARE NOT KIDDING! If you haven't read the plan, do so. You have a duty and an obligation to save our country, just like we elected you to do. You cannot take the easy road, it has been closed.
Since it first came out, the road map has been the only realistic plan for fiscal reform put on the table. It's not rocket science. Paul Ryan is apparently the only guy out there who actually did the math based on realistic assumptions of economic growth, tax revenues, and entitlement and discretionary spending.
As the months roll by, the options available to policy makers to keep kicking the can down the road are, one by one, disappearing down the hole that their predecessors have been digging relentlessly for the past few generations.
The only rational choice is for both sides of the aisle to finally get serious about renegotiating the promises that have been made (by all of us to all of us) that cannot possibly be kept short of some unprecedented miracle where Chinese level economic growth rates kick into the US economy really really soon, and then keep going for a very very long time.
Not that I'm a big fan of politicians in general or "reach across the aisle" talk, but I think it's a little premature to knock the freshman Republicans (they've been in office for what? about 2 weeks now?). There's a lot to like in Ryan's roadmap, but even he has said it's not written in stone and may need to be tweaked. Who's to say it can't be made better?
Nevertheless, we should always be wary about one man's vision of how the future should be (Karl Marx comes to mind--not that Ryan is anything like Marx!). Also, there are a lot of different personalities and interests in the mix here, so I don't think it's unreasonable for Republicans to be measured at this point. And finally, the reality is there is a whole other side known as "Democrats" who have to be appeased to some extent; there will have to be give and take whether we like it or not. It's what makes politics politics.
I'm really not hearing much in this article to fire me up yet. For now, we need to sit back and see what plays out--but be prepared to let them have it if they start talking like they're going to screw things up.
We need bold action to save this country from itself. The Republican controlled House needs to lead and act boldly to show the nation that there is a way out of our financial mess. The Senate will probably not pass this and Obama certainly would veto this action, but the House's action would show the nation that there are clearly two choices for our nation to make--a new way for financial solvency or stay the course of failure as the Democrats seem to embrace.
Chairman Ryan (I like saying that!!) has an excellent plan for doing exactly what he'd like to see done, setting a new direction for America by restoring a limited-powers, pro-growth model of small government. It's going to take a while for others to endorse that vision and the Chairman knows that.
The beauty of the Ryan Plan is that it changes the conversation from a defensive one to an offensive one and gives everyone something to like about it while recognizing that fixing these problems will be a hard lift. This is exactly what the GOP needs to do right now because they don't have the mandate and power necessary to pass these types of reforms (they would be demagogued by the House democrats, probably ignored by the Senate and then, if necessary, vetoed by the President under the ruse of "protecting the middle class"). Chairman Ryan and his plan is in the ascendancy and the best thing conservatives can do right now is keep the conversation going. Let the social democrat surrender-monkeys in Congress howl and throw their feces at it, it won't stick..
This is yet another example of the fact that our system is broken. The idea of big tent conservatism aids no one. The idea that fiscal conservatism would have any resonance south of the Mason Dixon line is wishful thinking.
The only possible venue by which even moderate fiscal prudence might be enacted is by a coalition of western and Northern Republicans and conservative Democrats mostly from the Midwest Northeast and South.
Unless we are willing to address the inability to talk to each other instead of past each other we will never be able to solve our problems. We have far too many "one trick ponies" in congress and without reasoned dialog we are in serious difficulty.
Reading through these comments I noticed many references to the GOP and Republicans, as well as to Democrats. It began to reveal itself during the Primaries when Rove struck out at the Tea Party and undercut some of their candidates (O'Donnell jumps out) that the Tea Party is not a part of the GOP. My Rep (MI - McCotter) may lean Conservative, but is no T Partier. Those of you who are fortunate enough to have elected one KEEP THE PRESSURE ON. Maybe even remind them they are beholden to you and not the GOP. If Chairman Ryan cannot get support for what needs to get done, perhaps he can leverage more clout without the Chairmanship and gather Buchmann, Rubio, Paul, Toomey...et al from both houses and force the R's and D's to deal with them to attain their goals.
If the T-Party Representatives align to closely with the Establishment in DC, they AND OUR MOVEMENT are in danger of poison through association. I wish they would caucus separately.
"But as Ryan preps for a spring budget battle, Cantor, House Speaker John Boehner, and others are not showing much eagerness to take up the roadmap’s specifics."
Mr. Costa, this isn't a new development. Boehner was very cagey and not even lukewarm in his support for Ryan's plan long before November's election.
The GOP is stupid. It has always been stupid, and it will remain so. I know that will gall the likes of Hannity and his ilk, but there it is, and it will become even more clear once again since these clowns didn't even notice it for 16 years.
The only reason the GOP, or the Democrat Party remains viable is because many states, like mine, do not recognize independents as alternatives to the two main parties.
If I could give some advice to conservatives, and it appears that much advice is needed, it would be this: read some Herbert Spencer. Seriously. Things are rigged in this country, and it has totally undercut the people and their ability to self-govern.
Do conservatives, and others, actually believe that if they were to totally dominate every election, that things would be different?
We've got to go after the problem; and electing freshmen politicians in the vain hope that they will not be absorbed by the puppet masters is stupid at best. We have to go after the real reasons that Spencer rightly discloses.
Until then, every one of you are just part of the hypocrisy.
the new majority is in no mood — yet — for a full-spectrum fight on entitlements?
What did you think would happen?
The lobbyists read the news, and each one of the newbies got "the phone call" telling him that he has already taken the bribe ("we got you this job"), and failure to deliver will result in a single term, then back to the real estate office.
If Republicans go whole bore in proposing cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid now, then they will be excoriated by the media and alienate independents to no purpose since any such effort in the House will be defeated in the Senate or vetoed by BHO anyhow. Only victory in '12 can allow the real limitation of governement. Be Patient and Prosper, Grasshopper.
I can just imagine that the GOP frosh are hoping more than even Bernecke that job growth takes off this spring -in that way they can kick this can down the road another year or two.
The House GOP got itself into a bad situation. They're being asked to propose a series of politically devastating budget cuts, that are expected to go nowhere. The Senate will never go for it; and the President will surely veto the cuts. In the meantime, the Dems will fire-up hitmen and other assorted operatives. The DNC will be shooting out attack ads in large number before the end of Summer. It seems kind of ridiculous to ask Boehner to fight for politcally crippling cuts with no one to cover his or his caucuses back. Can't say I blame him for feeling a little exposed.
There MUST be a central plan. If Ryan's Roadmap is acceptable, whole, then accept it. If it must be adjusted, adjust it. But there must be a Plan in place before the new Congress takes out its knives.
Otherwise, the Democrats will be able to fight each cut singly, playing up the anguish suffered by the poor grad students losing their corn muffin research grant, etc.
As a matter of fact, get the GOP behind a Plan, establish it in the media, then submit all the cuts at once.
The Tea Partiers in Congress have a difficult task, and we must support them and learn to be somewhat patient with them. Let's not start eating our own just yet.
The fundamental problem is that although the country is on board conceptually with the idea of curtailing spending, they clearly aren't ready for fundamental entitlement reform yet. The GOP needs to spend the next two years building a consensus for such reform, primarily with the general public, but also within government. Without broad public support, reform will go nowhere.
Having said that, they also need to take significant action right now to show that they are serious.
Does anyone wonder what would happen in the Republicans stood on principle all the time and people knew what they stood for? All this vacillating seems to stem from the fact that they can't propose this stuff because (supposedly, according to the "conventional wisdom") people won't like it. Meanwhile, Democrats constantly propose stuff that no one but their core nut case constituency likes (24% of the population or less?) and get some of it passed through. Then the Republicans dclare victory when they limit the damage. So I would say constantly standign on principle is also known as going on the offensive. Every year the power and size of our centralized government gets bigger and bigger because no one stands up to stop it ... because conventional wisdom says the people won't like it. p.s. Please note that Chris Christie has become more popular by refusing to continue pork barrel spending. Conventional wisdom seems to come from inside the beltway.
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