Wasserman Schultz says seniors and the middle class 'can't afford' a Romney-Ryan win. Ryan unites Dems, too

Democrats are gleefully united in bashing Rep. Paul Ryan as the GOP vice presidential pick, blasting him as the author of the controversial “Ryan budget,” claiming his proposals “end Medicare,” and warning that his policies will return the country to the “trickle-down economics” of the 1980s and the presidency of George W. Bush.

Democrats also assert that Mitt Romney’s decision to choose Ryan as his running mate is a sign of weakness by the former Massachusetts governor. Ryan is adored by conservative activists and opinion makers, and Democrats believe that Romney was moving to win over those Republicans by tapping Ryan.


Democrats admit that Ryan is a charismatic, even likable spokesman for conservative ideals. But they insist that his negatives will far outweigh the positives when voters head to the polls in November. They point out that Ryan, in his seventh term, has a long list of policy statements and positions - as well as thousands of House votes - that Democrats can mine for political ammo.

( Also on POLITICO: Romney: Ryan ‘an intellectual leader’ of GOP)

And Democrats plan to to paint Ryan - as they have already done with Romney - as the heir apparent of the “failed policies” enacted under Bush. Ryan, who was first elected to Congress in 1998, supported Bush’s proposal to privatize Social Security, backed the Medicare prescription drug plan championed by the former president, and called on Bush to back a bigger tax cut than the $1.2 trillion reduction enacted in 2001. Ryan, however, criticized GOP efforts to cuts taxes while not reducing spending, which led the explosion of federal deficits under Bush.

Bush has already praised Ryan’s selection as the Republican vice-presidential candidate, calling it a “strong pick” by Romney.

“By selecting the architect of the Republican budget plan, Romney is obviously all in with the a plan that provides big tax breaks for people like Mitt Romney at the expense of everybody else, ” Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Budget Committee, said in interview on Saturday morning. Ryan chairs that panel. “The more the American people get to know that budget plan, the more they will hate it.

( PHOTOS: Paul Ryan hearts charts)

Democrats have accused Ryan and House GOP leaders of seeking to “end” Medicare by turning into a voucher program that subsidizes private insurance plans. Ryan refers to his proposal as “premium support,” but House Democrats have used it as a centerpiece of their political attacks on Republicans during the last two election cycles.

In opposing Ryan’s budget plan, Van Hollen has also said that it would provide a $400,000 tax break to millionaires and cost as many as two million jobs by reducing government spending on transportation and infrastructure projects.

“What the Romney-Ryan plan will do is provide another round of windfall tax breaks to the very wealthy at the expense of seniors on Medicare, at the expense of vital investments in our kids’ education and economic growth, and at the expense of middle-income taxpayers,” Van Hollen said. “At it’s core, it’s a recycled version of the Bush economic policies that wrecked the economy, threw millions of Americans out of work and exploded the deficit.”

Van Hollen - who says he likes Ryan personally - believes that Romney is moving up to shore up support from GOP conservatives by selecting the Wisconsin Republican as his running mate. Van Hollen thinks the move could backfire by driving away independents and undecided voters.

“Politically speaking, what this shows is that Romney is throwing a bone to the right wing of the Republican Party and telling independent voters to take a hike,” Van Hollen added.

“This is a good pick to win over conservative opinion makers, but a bad one to win over independent voters,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) said Ryan’s budget plan - and the controversial provisions on Medicare and other entitlement programs - will be front and center from now on.

“Congressman Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney are a match made in millionaires’ heaven, but they’ll be a nightmare for seniors who’ve earned their Medicare benefits,” Israel said in a statement. “Now with Congressman Ryan on the ticket, House Republicans face the one thing they hoped to avoid – a national debate on their budget that puts millionaires first and Medicare and the middle class last.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), chairman of the Democratic National Committee, called Ryan “a disaster for seniors and the middle class.”

“The American middle-class and our seniors cannot afford to go back to the failed policies of the past, and it is unconscionable to ask them to foot the bill for the Romney-Ryan scheme,” Wasserman Schultz said. “A Romney-Ryan ticket is sure to take us back and repeat the same catastrophic mistakes that got us into the mess we found ourselves in in the first place.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who has been dueling with Romney for weeks over the GOP’s failure to fully release his tax returns, went on the offensive against Ryan as well.

“By picking Representative Paul Ryan, Governor Romney has doubled down on his commitment to gut Social Security and end Medicare as we know it. Romney’s choice demonstrates that catering to the Tea Party and the far-right is more important to him that standing up for the middle class,” Reid said in his own statement.

“The months ahead will provide Americans with a clear choice between the Romney-Ryan plan to gut Social Security and Medicare, and Democrats’ balanced approach to deficit reduction that combines smart spending cuts with asking millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. Democrats in the Senate look forward to engaging in that debate.”

“Paul Ryan brings to Mitt Romney’s candidacy a strong commitment to end Medicare as we know it,” added Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. “The disastrous Romney-Ryan plan would take us back to the same failed policies of the Bush years that drove our country into recession and record job losses. Their plan hurts middle class families, encouraging companies to ship jobs overseas instead of creating them here at home, while cutting taxes for millionaires at the same time that it cuts education opportunities for students.”