Dems Should Be Scared of This Man—and His Budget

Rep. Paul Ryan is offering a way to avoid deficit disaster
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 10, 2010 8:05 AM CST
Dems Should Be Scared of This Man—and His Budget
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, talks about an alternative Republican budget plan he is pushing in the House.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Obama's outreach to the GOP is looking pretty hollow these days: Soon after Obama told Rep. Paul Ryan that there were some aspects of his budget blueprint he agreed with, Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups slammed the radical plan as a vicious, privatizing assault on Social Security and Medicare, Michael Gerson writes in the Washington Post. Ryan, he notes, believes the attack was coordinated by the White House.

The Democrats should be scared of Ryan, Gerson writes: Not only is he one of their greatest long-term threats, his plan represents the best alternative to their vision of government spending. The Democrats favor the security of a large welfare state while Ryan's plan helps the poor and does far more to foster enterprise and independence. Both sides make good arguments, Gerson writes, but the advocates of security over personal responsibility have a problem: "They are on a path to economic ruin" (More Paul Ryan stories.)

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