Ryan Budget Plan Proves Divisive Point In Senate Primary Election Campaigns
Democrats, and now also Republicans, view members' support for the plan's Medicare changes, which would signficiantly alter the program's current shape, as a theme in campaigns.
Politico: Paul Ryan Budget Becomes A Litmus Test For GOP Primaries
Republicans are already on notice that Democrats plan to use Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal as a key 2012 wedge issue. What they didn't expect, however, was that Ryan's blueprint would also turn out to be a polarizing force within GOP primaries. Across the Senate election map, in swing state after swing state, the House Budget Committee chairman's plan for overhauling the popular entitlement program is emerging as a serious point of tension, a pick-your-poison proposition, forcing GOP candidates to choose between the narrow dictates of conservative primary voters and the imperatives of the broader general election (Catanese, 6/23).
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Democratic 'Super Pac' Hits Cravaack With TV Ad
A new "Super PAC" devoted to winning back the House for Democrats has launched a TV ad against freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack. ... The ad attacks Cravaack on Medicare and oil subsidies, as well as for leasing a car with his congressional office budget (Herb, 6/23).
CNN: Another Ad Attack Against Cravaack
The independent expenditure group's main beef with Cravaack is his support of House Budget Chair Paul Ryan's proposal that would require changes to Medicare as a method of battling the budget deficit (Stewart, 6/23).