Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney have both spoken well of the Paul Ryan budget, but have also announced they’ll introduce their own plans. Newt Gingrich referred to it as right-wing “social engineering,” but then backtracked. Herman Cain unabashedly supports the plan, telling Bob Costa that he thinks “we ought to run on it.”
Rick Santorum is also a supporter — and he’s livid that the Senate didn’t pass Ryan’s budget yesterday. His statement:
At a time when our country faces debilitating debt and spiraling deficits, the U.S. Senate chose political maneuvering over voting for real progress in supporting the FY 2012 budget. Chairman Ryan’s budget presented some of the most thoughtful and realistic solutions for getting our country’s fiscal house back in order, and yet Democrats and even some in my Party chose to close the door on fiscal sanity. I hope conservatives will not be discouraged by last night’s vote and continue to propose solutions that will reform our entitlement programs so that we can really achieve a fiscally responsible federal government.