By Kimberley A. Strassel
The White House is deflecting questions about its ugly budget by hammering on Paul Ryans plan.
Pick the target freeze it personalize it and polarize it wrote Saul Alinksy in his Rules for Radicals. The White House would appear to have a copy.
His agenda stymied and his approval numbers sinking President Obama has realized this years midterm election is shaping up as a referendum on failed Democratic governance. The new White House plan? Change the discussion talk about Republicans and frighten the nation about GOP ideas.
This is the way to read Mr. Obamas sudden re-embrace of his oppositionhis unexpected appearance at the House Republican retreat and his more recent invitation to Republicans to a bipartisan health-care summit. And its the way to understand the recent Democratic targeting freezing personalizing and polarizing of Rep. Paul Ryan.
The idea-driven Wisconsin Republican first released his Roadmap for Americas Future in 2008. The nation can argue about its particulars but what is inarguable is that Mr. Ryans plan is a real attempt to solve Americas biggest problems with bold tax health and entitlement reforms to put the country back on the path to solvency.
At the time Democrats could barely muster a yawn. So imagine the surprise when after Mr. Ryan re-released his plan in late January it became a sudden sensation. Two days later Mr. Obama used his visit to the Republican retreat to thrust it into the national spotlight. The cameras rolling the president praised Mr. Ryan for putting forward a serious proposal. He in fact singled out the congressman at least three times. Having done his spotlight bit Mr. Obama then left it to the rest of the Democratic Party to systematically distort and trash the road map.
Within two days of the retreat Obama budget director Peter Orszag had begun deflecting questions about the White Houses ugly budget by hammering on Mr. Ryans plan claiming it shifted costs to families. Congressional Democrats held a conference call with reporters devoted to road map trashing howling that it showed that Republicans would privatize Social Security voucherize Medicare and give tax breaks to the wealthy. Speaker Nancy Pelosi lambasted the Ryan plan in a speech to the Democratic National Committee.
Democrats used it to turn the health discussion claiming it was hypocritical of Republicans to hit Democrats for slashing Medicare when Mr. Ryans plan would also cut the program. They used it to stoke populist fears. Californias Loretta Sanchez claimed the road map would both privatize Social Security and leave it to the whims of Wall Street.
Connecticuts John Larson (a member of the Democratic leadership) introduced a resolution to force Republicans to oppose Social Security privatization in a high-profile vote. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already announced ads targeting 12 House Republicans calling on them to come clean with seniors whether they support House Republicans extreme budget plan that privatizes Social Security and Medicare. As hoped the assault re-energized liberal bloggers and the base.
Better yet for Democrats some Republicans are falling into the trap. As with its campaign last year to smear Republican Whip Eric Cantor the White Houses attack on Mr. Ryan is designed to isolate and discredit one of the GOPs brightest thinkers. So it only aids the White House when anonymous Republican membersannoyed that they must have this debategripe to the press that Mr. Ryan doesnt speak for them.
Mr. Ryan by contrast isnt apologizing for offering ideas to the very president who keeps claiming Republicans are the party of no and who claims to want entitlement reform. A handful of House reformers are calling the Democrats rusereminding voters that what makes this surreal is that the only choice right now is between bad Democratic ideas and worse ones.
These are the smart GOP members willing to do the hard work of explaining the difference between say Democratic legislation that would strip money from todays Medicare beneficiaries and funnel it to a new unsustainable middle-class entitlement and Mr. Ryans plan which would preserve todays program for older Americans while plowing money from reform back into long-term solvency. As cheap as the attack on Mr. Ryan is they understand that this debate was always coming and that what they say now matters to the GOPs future ability to govern.
Should Republicans take back the House this year or the White House in 2012 they will own giant deficits and runaway entitlements. Reality will force choices. They will either have to embrace politically tough ideas like those included in Mr. Ryans plan or flail through doing nothing or succumbing to bigger government.
The longer the GOP hides or runs from those reforms the harder it will be to embrace them later. Instead of spending so much time telling the press that Mr. Ryans road map is not the official GOP plan the party would be better off asking themselves why it isnt. If Mr. Obama is so eager for a debate about who is more serious about the countrys future they should give it to him.
By Kimberley A. Strassel
The White House is deflecting questions about its ugly budget by hammering on Paul Ryans plan.
Pick the target freeze it personalize it and polarize it wrote Saul Alinksy in his Rules for Radicals. The White House would appear to have a copy.
His agenda stymied and his approval numbers sinking President Obama has realized this years midterm election is shaping up as a referendum on failed Democratic governance. The new White House plan? Change the discussion talk about Republicans and frighten the nation about GOP ideas.
This is the way to read Mr. Obamas sudden re-embrace of his oppositionhis unexpected appearance at the House Republican retreat and his more recent invitation to Republicans to a bipartisan health-care summit. And its the way to understand the recent Democratic targeting freezing personalizing and polarizing of Rep. Paul Ryan.
The idea-driven Wisconsin Republican first released his Roadmap for Americas Future in 2008. The nation can argue about its particulars but what is inarguable is that Mr. Ryans plan is a real attempt to solve Americas biggest problems with bold tax health and entitlement reforms to put the country back on the path to solvency.
At the time Democrats could barely muster a yawn. So imagine the surprise when after Mr. Ryan re-released his plan in late January it became a sudden sensation. Two days later Mr. Obama used his visit to the Republican retreat to thrust it into the national spotlight. The cameras rolling the president praised Mr. Ryan for putting forward a serious proposal. He in fact singled out the congressman at least three times. Having done his spotlight bit Mr. Obama then left it to the rest of the Democratic Party to systematically distort and trash the road map.
Within two days of the retreat Obama budget director Peter Orszag had begun deflecting questions about the White Houses ugly budget by hammering on Mr. Ryans plan claiming it shifted costs to families. Congressional Democrats held a conference call with reporters devoted to road map trashing howling that it showed that Republicans would privatize Social Security voucherize Medicare and give tax breaks to the wealthy. Speaker Nancy Pelosi lambasted the Ryan plan in a speech to the Democratic National Committee.
Democrats used it to turn the health discussion claiming it was hypocritical of Republicans to hit Democrats for slashing Medicare when Mr. Ryans plan would also cut the program. They used it to stoke populist fears. Californias Loretta Sanchez claimed the road map would both privatize Social Security and leave it to the whims of Wall Street.
Connecticuts John Larson (a member of the Democratic leadership) introduced a resolution to force Republicans to oppose Social Security privatization in a high-profile vote. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already announced ads targeting 12 House Republicans calling on them to come clean with seniors whether they support House Republicans extreme budget plan that privatizes Social Security and Medicare. As hoped the assault re-energized liberal bloggers and the base.
Better yet for Democrats some Republicans are falling into the trap. As with its campaign last year to smear Republican Whip Eric Cantor the White Houses attack on Mr. Ryan is designed to isolate and discredit one of the GOPs brightest thinkers. So it only aids the White House when anonymous Republican membersannoyed that they must have this debategripe to the press that Mr. Ryan doesnt speak for them.
Mr. Ryan by contrast isnt apologizing for offering ideas to the very president who keeps claiming Republicans are the party of no and who claims to want entitlement reform. A handful of House reformers are calling the Democrats rusereminding voters that what makes this surreal is that the only choice right now is between bad Democratic ideas and worse ones.
These are the smart GOP members willing to do the hard work of explaining the difference between say Democratic legislation that would strip money from todays Medicare beneficiaries and funnel it to a new unsustainable middle-class entitlement and Mr. Ryans plan which would preserve todays program for older Americans while plowing money from reform back into long-term solvency. As cheap as the attack on Mr. Ryan is they understand that this debate was always coming and that what they say now matters to the GOPs future ability to govern.
Should Republicans take back the House this year or the White House in 2012 they will own giant deficits and runaway entitlements. Reality will force choices. They will either have to embrace politically tough ideas like those included in Mr. Ryans plan or flail through doing nothing or succumbing to bigger government.
The longer the GOP hides or runs from those reforms the harder it will be to embrace them later. Instead of spending so much time telling the press that Mr. Ryans road map is not the official GOP plan the party would be better off asking themselves why it isnt. If Mr. Obama is so eager for a debate about who is more serious about the countrys future they should give it to him.
