Republican Plan Is a Recipe for Disaster

About Guy Cecil:

Guy Cecil is the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He is the former chief of staff to Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and political director for Hillary Clinton.

In 2010, Republicans sold voters a bill of goods. Their message was simple: "Send us to Washington and we will focus on creating jobs." But as soon as the election ended, they have set out to end Medicare as we know it while preserving tax loopholes for oil companies and the richest American. Even worse, they want seniors, college students, and middle class families to pay for their extreme agenda. That is not a jobs plan—that is a recipe for disaster.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the budget and deficit.]

Rep. Paul Ryan's plan is not just one person's proposal, it is the Republican Party's vision for our country: slash student loans and Pell Grants, raise taxes on the working poor and middle class, and do irreparable damage to the safety net for seniors.

There should be no confusion: If Republicans gain the majority in the Senate, they will become a carbon copy of the Tea Party caucus in the House of Representatives. They will turn Medicare into a voucher system run by private insurance companies, which will cost seniors an average $6,000 more each year.

Line by line, the Republican budget proves that Republicans in Congress and Republican Senate candidates aren't really interested in cutting spending and dealing with our nation's fiscal challenges—only rewarding the special interest groups who fund their campaigns and super PACs.

[Read Conservatives Should Be Wary of Paul Ryan's Budget Plan.]

No matter how often they duck the issue or dodge the question, every single Republican candidate in the country will have to answer for their party's dangerous plan. It is a political poison pill that the GOP is happily administering to every Republican candidate across the country.

I know we can do better and our country deserves more. That's why Democrats want to responsibly reduce the deficit, invest in education and infrastructure, and preserve the safety net for our parents and grandparents. And we have a plan to get Americans back to work again.

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Tags:

Paul Ryan,

Barack Obama,

Obama administration,

federal budget,

deficit and national debt