They really need to own this:
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) on Sunday said lawmakers who have not signed onto Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to balance the budget lacked “courage” and could be targeted by the conservative tea party movement as a result.
Armey’s comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” came just moments after Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sidestepped a question about Ryan’s plan, which looks to balance the budget by reinventing slimmer versions of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the tax code…. […]
“All Paul Ryan is saying is let Social Security be voluntary, let Medicare be voluntary,” Armey said. “The fact that he only has 13 co-sponsors is a big reason why our folks are agitated against the Republicans as well as the Democrats — the difference between being a co-sponsor of Ryan or not is a thing called courage.”
Steve Benen pushes the message home:
To this extent, Armey raises a reasonable argument: if Paul is putting on paper what Republicans really believe, why don’t they have the courage of their convictions? Why not have the guts to endorse a budget plan that reflects their actual thinking?
Armey and Ryan think the radical roadmap should be part of the debate — and oddly enough, I couldn’t agree more. Are Republicans on board with Ryan’s roadmap or not? Is his plan a reflection of what GOP candidates would do with their majority? Shouldn’t voters have a chance to hear from Republicans about this before there’s an election?
I, too, couldn’t agree more. Every Republican needs to be asked if they support Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan – and they need to answer.
Meanwhile, in the most Republican County in California Conservatives may get the chance to live (or perish) by their principles…
Residents in Modoc County, in the remote northeastern corner of California, will soon vote on whether to tax themselves to save their local hospital.
The county has gone broke trying to keep the hospital open, and a fractious debate has erupted in this proudly conservative frontier community over the best way forward… [T]he county hospital in Alturas– even with its limited services– is a lifeline to the people who live here. The closest full-service hospitals are hours away, and the nearby medical centers over the mountains are often unreachable during winter storms.
…The hospital is not just a lifeline– it’s an economic engine, even if it is just sputtering along. Like many rural hospitals, Modoc Medical Center is the largest employer in town, and people here worry what will happen if it closes.
Wonder how long Modoc County lasts if the hospital closes. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present America’s next Ghost Town – courtesy of the GOP ideology.