Saturday, May 7, 2011

Is Paul Ryan a "Deficit Hawk"?

Brad Delong over at the University of Berkeley with a resounding no:

Paul Ryan voted against Simpson-Bowles.

Paul Ryan voted against the Affordable Care Act--the single biggest long-run deficit-reducing measure in American history.

Paul Ryan voted for the deficit-increasing tax "compromise" last November.

Paul Ryan voted for the Bush 2001 "tax cuts"--actually a tax shift from the present to the future.

Paul Ryan voted for the Bush 2003 "tax cuts".

Paul Ryan voted against authorizing Medicare to negotiate on prescription drug prices.

Paul Ryan voted for Medicare Part D.

Seven times when Paul Ryan had the chance to vote for a deficit-reducing or against a deficit-busting initiative, he passed up the opportunity.

And Diane Lim Rogers calls him a "deficit hawk"? Something is very wrong here.

Me? I think that Paul Ryan will in the end vote for tax cuts--under all circumstances--and will in the end vote against the big Medicare cuts that he put in his plan to fund the tax cuts. The key to Ryan's political strategy is, I think, to pass tax cuts now by promising that he will vote for spending cuts in the future--and then break that promise.

I can't see any other way to read the voting record.


Don't forget its Deficit Week.

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