Ryan: Obama 'Punting' on Budget
Politico reports:
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) accused Barack Obama of “punting” on the budget debate Thursday, saying the president is “ignoring the problem.”
The House Budget Committee chairman said he has “never discussed” budgetary issues with Obama — the last time the two talked one-on-one was during a congratulatory phone call the president made after the November elections, when Republicans swept the lower chamber.
“I think actions matter, and I think his actions suggest that he’s punting,” Ryan said at a Politico Playbook Breakfast hosted by Mike Allen Thursday morning. “He is ignoring the problem and his people know better.”
Ryan said he did not want to divulge details of private conversations with the White House but clarified that he has expressed an interest in speaking with Obama on the budget issues currently roiling the Capitol, including resolutions to keep the government operational and the debt limit.
The Republicans’ budget guru and architect of the GOP economic “roadmap” painted Democrats as MIA partners in the ongoing economic debate, suggesting they are using the impasse as a way to “demagogue” and score points for 2012.
But Ryan said he believes that if the voters are left to choose between the Democrats’ “European social democracy” and the “safe and solvent” future the GOP is presenting, Republicans will win.
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