House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says that Rep. Paul Ryan should run for president. He also says that he expects all the Republican candidates to support Ryan’s ludicrous budget plan. I think this shows how out of touch members of the House leadership are, not to mention the rank-and-file.
No matter how favorably pollsters with the Tarrance Group or other firms spun the bill in their pitch — casting it as the only path to saving the beloved health entitlement for seniors — the Ryan budget’s approval rating barely budged above the high 30s or its disapproval below 50 percent, according to a Republican operative familiar with the presentation.
The poll numbers on the plan were so toxic — nearly as bad as those of President Barack Obama’s health reform bill at the nadir of its unpopularity — that staffers with the National Republican Congressional Committee warned leadership, “You might not want to go there” in a series of tense pre-vote meetings.
Medicare is incredibly popular. Rep. Ryan proposed the destruction of Medicare. Therefore, Rep. Ryan is not an innovative leader or a bold thinker. He’s the political equivalent of gonorrhea, and he’s every bit as contagious. If Paul Ryan were the nominee of the GOP he’d probably come close to losing 45 states. But, you know, since Gingrich just found out that you can’t criticize Mr. Ryan’s radical budget plan, you can pretty much bet that the eventual nominee will have endorsed voucherizing Medicare and slashing Pell Grants so that we can give another tax cut to the Über-wealthy.
I don’t think it matters whether Ryan runs for president or not. His stupid, crazy ideas will be on the ballot either way.
