The Perils Of Policy
Dems don't have much going for them, but they have found a way to irritate GOPers -- just call them the "party of No."
As election day approaches, the GOP has promised to roll out new policies. A new version of the Contract with America is under development, and House Min. Whip Eric Cantor has said the GOP will spend at least 20% of its time campaigning presenting their new ideas.
Now, the GOP is leaning heavily on its policy wonks for new ideas -- and they could be running into trouble as they do so.
House Budget Committee ranking member Paul Ryan (R-WI), a policy wonk if there ever was one, has a new proposal to decimate the federal budget deficit. In fact, under his plan, the CBO estimates that the US will be running surpluses of 5% of GDP by 2080 -- an incredible turnaround that, if adopted, would do wonders for the profusely bleeding red ink.
But if GOPers hit the trail and point to Ryan's plan as their own, they leave themselves open to an easy, and well-honed, Dem attack. Ryan's budget plan would privatize Medicare, put Social Security payments into private accounts and give seniors vouchers that grow much more slowly than medical costs are projected to grow, as the Washington Post's Ezra Klein points out.
DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen previewed just what will happen if any GOPers jump on board with Ryan's plan.
"A House Republican leader called to renew George W. Bush's scheme to privatize social security and cut Social Security benefits. The American people simply cannot afford to let Republicans take us back to the failed policies of George W. Bush that would privatize Social Security," Van Hollen said in a statement.
The perils of developing policy: If a party has an idea, the other will attack it. GOPers may spend 20% of their time detailing their new ideas, but each one will let Dems take a shot right back.